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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 297.574
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Tarcher
Manufacturer: Tarcher
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: February 01, 2007
Publishing house: Tarcher
Sale Popularity Level: 474885
Studio: Tarcher
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My Year Inside Radical Islam is a memoir of very first a spiritual and then a political seduction. Raised in liberal Ashland, Oregon, by parents who were Jewish by birth but dismissive of strict dogma, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross yearned for a religion that would suit all his ideals. At college in the late nineties he met a charismatic Muslim student who grounded his political activism with thoughtful religious conviction. Gartenstein-Ross reflects on his experience of converting to Islam-a process that began with a desire to connect with both a religious community and a spiritual practice, and eventually led him to sympathize with the most extreme interpretations of the faith, with the most radical political implications.
In the year following graduation, Gartenstein-Ross went to work for the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a charity dedicated to fostering Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia's austere form of Islam-a theological inspiration for many terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda. Shortly after he left al-Haramain-when his own fan-aticism had waned-the foundation was charged by the U.S. government as being a source of funds for terrorist organizations. Gartenstein-Ross, by this time a lawyer at a prominent firm, volunteered to be questioned by the FBI. They already knew who he was.
The story of how a good faith can be distorted and a decent soul can be seduced away from its principles, My Year Inside Radical Islam provides a rare glimpse into the personal interface between religion and politics.
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Rated by buyers 
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After having painfully made my way through this book, I'd like to share a few thoughts on it. First of all, I don't understand at all the other reviews here that claim this is a "must read", or that it's a great book. The author, Mr. Ross, was clearly confused about his faith (whatever it happens to be at any given point in time), and about Islam in general, and that confusion shows in his writing. This book is certainly not any type of objective essay on Islam, in America or otherwise. It's more of a diary of his miscommunication and misconception of the people and events that he experienced during those years he writes about. If the dear reader wants a truly fair, objective, and accurate portrait of Islam and Muslims in this country, I suggest that they read "American Islam" by Paul M. Barrett. It baffles me, and many other readers, how Mr. Ross could have come to Islam via a Sufi organization, the Naqshbandi's, who's interpretation and practice of Islam is the pole opposite of that of the fundamentalist Wahabis, and yet end up in the radical "gutter" of Islam. I think that says something about him and his intentions. As to his style of writing, mediocre at best.
Rated by buyers -
Not that this book (or any other single book, for that matter) will give you the whole picture of what radical Islam is about. But it's very informative in regard to what's going on right under our noses. It was interesting that as Gartenstien became more and more deeply intrenched in the fundamentalist belief, his disdain and intolerance increased for anyone less devoted than he, very first toward non-Muslims and then even to fellow Muslims. It made me see how the most radial Muslims justify their behavior toward anyone outside their tight circle of equally strict practitioners. Pretty sobering when you hear the proclamations that Islam is a peacful religion. Yes, it can be, depending on which individuals you are talking about. While, no, it isn't when you are talking about people like the ones Gartenstien was associating with. His conversion to Christianity was not covered in great detail but certainly played a big part in the outcome of the story. All I can say is he's got a brilliant mind and a good heart and I'm glad he's on the other side of it all now. I'm glad I read this book and I am reassured when I hear his name on the news because he's working on counter-terrorism. I gave it 4 stars only because the though the content was excellent, the style was good but not as riveting as other memoirs I've read.
Rated by buyers 
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The book is not difficult to read but does not flow very smoothly. It does not have a significant relation to today's headlines, but rather centers on the Muslim's individual life. The author was not a planted spy for obtaining information. After becoming friends with a young Muslim in college, he converted to the Islam religion. He becomes employed in a Muslim office in his hometown and tries to conform to every minute rule in a Muslim's life. Some comparison is made between Islam and Christianity and he finally concludes that Islam is not the religion for him. A glossary of Arabic terms contained in the book is a great help.
Rated by buyers -
Judging by the title, you know what you're in for with "My Year Inside Radical Islam." This is a so-called insider's story, about a seeker seduced by a faith only to have grave doubts about the religion's extremes. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is drawn to Islam because it is more universal and seems more inclusive (both racially and in terms of doctrine) that Christianity or Judaism, the faiths he has ties to. After gaining introduction to the faith through a college friend, Daveed is soon working for a Muslim organization in Ashland, Oregon, his hometown. Here he is both drawn to fundamentalism and eventually repelled by it.
There are many things I liked about the book. Ashland emerges as a fascinating example of small town America: hippies and hicks coexist as a backdrop to the Islamic presence. Gartenstein-Ross's path to Islam (and out of it) is relatable to just about any college student without a fixed set of beliefs. His critique of radical Islam, and of the left-leaning political environments that are overly tolerant of it, has some substance. I think it is true that certain liberal types (I am a liberal myself, by the way) are reluctant to be critical of any religion with "minority" status. Having spent the post 9/11 years as a student at Berkeley, I can sympathize with the author's concerns about political correctness and bias in the approach to radical Islam.
That said, the book has its problems. Gartenstein-Ross embrace of Islam doesn't last long, so he really only has a small amount of experience with it. Karen Armstrong, who has a stronger academic background in comparative religion, has stated emphatically that Muslims who support terrorism do so for political reasons, not religious ones, and that they are a considerable minority within the religion as a whole. Gartenstein-Ross doesn't say explicitly that fundamentalism is the cause of violence, but a reader might infer that.
In addition, Gartenstein-Ross's conversion to Christianity seemed to come out of nowhere. Can someone with a law degree really be converted based on the arguments put forth by Josh McDowell? I find that implausible. Josh McDowell is a lightweight who believes that Moses wrote the very first five books of the Old Testament, which few credible scholars believe. Even CS Lewis (a far less literal apologist whom the author also mentions) has some weak moments such as the "lunatic, liar, or Lord" puzzle. The problem with that, as the author himself states, is that it doesn't account for the fact that the Gospels were shaped by fallible men who may have misrepresented Jesus's ministry due to the political times in which they wrote. The author says he embraces the faith because he is compelled by evidence for the resurrection, which Islam denies. And yet he doesn't really lay out the evidence for it. To me it seemed more that he had a crisis of faith and was then drawn to the more liberal and modernized type of Christianity that he encountered in New York. So why not talk about the appeal of modernity instead? It seems to me that is what's driving the change.
Overall, this is a good read. Don't come to it expecting a comprehensive understanding of either Christianity or Islam, but rather as one part in a greater understanding of these faiths.
Rated by buyers -
A very interesting and readable acount of a young Jew being gradually sucked in deeper and deeper into radical Islamic groups. Shows the influence that well-regarded peers can have. Gives some idea of how people involved in radical Islam view people on the outside. Provides some insight into how unsuspecting young idealists can be drawn into something that they only fully understand later. As a personal story it really held my interest and there was a romantic interest which proved very beneficial in bringing the writer out of the difficult area he had entered. A very good read.
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