A few days ago I finished reading Daveed Gartenstein-Ross's book, My Year Inside Radical Islam. I found it engrossing, informative, and well worth the relatively short time it takes to read it. Gartenstein-Ross writes excellently, and his story of working for a radical Islamic "charity" as a young, true believer helps us understand the attraction of Islam, including radical Islam. Those Christians who have engaged in debates about "legalism" in Christianity will be interested in learning about the (huge) degree of legalism associated with radical Islam.
At one point Gartenstein-Ross was told he should no longer listen to music - any music. Before that he wrestled with the following:
"On the inside of a radical Islamic group, there are many rules to remember. A lot of them involve limbs. I could eat using only my right hand. I could never pet a dog or shake hands with a woman. To avoid Allah's wrath, I had to roll up my pants legs above the ankles before prayer. On the other hand, shorts on men had to extend below the knee or they were indecent. I believed in all of this and more. I believed that Jews and other nonbelievers had to be conquered and ruled as the inferiors they are.
Having said that, Gartenstein-Ross never mocks, never ridicules, but soberly tells his story. He recently wrote a response to reviews of his book titled "How Not to Discuss Islam."
While I am on the subject of books related to Islam, I should like to mention that Bilquis Sheikh's I Dared to Call Him Father stands out as a particularly helpful book. Unlike Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, whose pilgrimage began as a Jewish lad born to free-thinking, New-Age type parents and who then journeyed to Islam, and thereafter to radical Islam and eventually to Christianity, Bilquis Sheikh's pilgrimage began as an upper-class Pakistani Muslim. Her book tells her dramatic story of becoming a Christian while still living in Pakistan. Her book is a page-turner as she explores her new outlook on life with all the attendant cultural and family complications. Not only does a reader learn a lot about Islam, but one also receives a powerful lesson in what it means to "walk in the Spirit." Truly a "must read."