about the author
Ed Husain
Author of The Islamist: Why I Became an Islamic Fundamentalist, What I Saw Inside, and Why I Left
Ed Husain was an Islamic fundamentalist for five years in his late teens and early twenties. After rejecting extremism, he has since travelled widely in the Middle East and has worked for the British Council in Syria and Saudi Arabia to address the issue. He is a co-founder of the Quillium Foundation, Britain’s first Muslim counter-extremism think-tank, and in 2010 will join the US Council on Foreign Relations as a senior fellow. Husain’s book, The Islamist: Why I Became an Islamic Fundamentalist, What I Saw Inside, and Why I Left, was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize and the PEN/Ackerley Prize, among others. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.
Learn more about this speakerPress Links
"Egypt's Revolt and the American Model"
The Wall Street Journal
"Why the U.S. still can't count on Iraq"
CNN
"Should Egypt Fear the Rise of the Salafis?"
The Atlantic
"Conservative Wins Make Liberal Egyptians Wary"
NPR's Talk of the Nation
"The Real Risks of Chaos"
The New York Times' Room for Debate
"It is Western Muslims Who Will Beat al-Qaeda"
The Telegraph
"Former Extremist Warns Against Post-bin Laden Triumphalism"
The National
"Why Assad Need Not Fear Gaddafi's Fate"
Financial Times
"Ayman al-Zawahiri's Ambition for al-Qaida"
The Guardian
"King Hearings a Victory for al Qaeda"
CNN
"Former Islamic Radical on Egypt and Muslim Brotherhood"
Fox News' Special Report
"Ghonim electrified Egypt's revolution"
CNN
"Ed Husain Interview on U.S. Role in Egypt"
Bloomberg's "In the Loop"
"How Should the U.S. Respond to the Protests in the Middle East?"
The Washington Post
"Ed Husain to Join US Council on Foreign Relations"
Manchester Evening News
"Don't Call Me Moderate, Call Me Normal"
The Wall Street Journal
"Memoirs of an ex-Jihadi"
Egypt Today
"Frustrated love and forced marriage"
The Guardian
"Rediscovering a kinder, gentler Islam"
The Sunday Times
"We were the brothers"
The Guardian
“New in Paperback: The Islamist by Ed Husain”
January Magazine
Ed Husain's Article Archive
US Council on Foreign Relations
Featured Book
The Islamist
“All who glibly generalise about the no-man’s-land between terrorism and multi-culturalism should read this articulate and impassioned book. It is a plea not only for tolerance, but also for recognising that freedom requires guardianship.”
—The Sunday Times
Speaking Topics
- The Islamist: Why I Became an Islamic Fundamentalist, What I Saw Inside, and Why I Left
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