THE ISLAMIST

“My son, the Prophet is not our leader; he is our master, the source of our spiritual nourishment. Leaders are for political movements, which Islam is not. The Koran is his articulation, as inspired by God, not a political document. It is not a constitution, but guidance and serenity for the believing heart…Jihad is a just war against tyranny and oppression, fought by the Prophet after persecution, not ‘a way’”.

- The Islamist, by Ed Husain

I am currently in the middle of reading Ed Husain’s, “The Islamist”, the story of a young Indian man’s journey into radical Islam in Britain, his observations and eventual decision to reject fundamentalism. Husain reminds me of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who attracted international attention with her autobiography, “Infidel”, a story that stripped Islam bare and exposed its very real dark side. Although I am not yet finished with Husain’s book, I have realized that there is a silent, but ever growing organization of Muslim men and women who have publicly begun to reject the present day radicalism of Islam that dominates the media and that has monopolized the faith. These men and women are more than just authors and out-spoken critics of radicalism, but have rather become the vanguard in the fight against Islamic extremism, more potent than the American military, economic sanctions or UN delegates. If the world is going to win the battle against this ever growing breed of extremism, we need to start listening to the Husain’s and Ali’s, and giving them the exposure needed to win the hearts and minds of impressionable Muslims throughout the world.