The Islamist: Why I joined radical Islam in Britain, what I saw inside and why I left

This tale of one young man's journey into the world of Islamic fundamentalism delivers important messages for youth workers.

On first picking up The Islamist, I expected to gain an insight into the minds of radical, hate-filled fundamentalists and the workings of extremist organisations that are hell-bent on the destruction of the West and deviant Arab leaders.

But The Islamist did not provide this insight, nor does it attempt to do so. Instead it delivers some vital messages about the importance of engaging with young people and offering them positive values.

Author Ed Husain provides a powerful autobiographical account of his own personal journey through Islamism. Starting with his childhood, he describes growing up in the east end of London in a loving family and attending a primary school that created no big tensions over race or religion - a school that promoted multi-cultural Britain in the truest sense of the term.

However, Husain's high school - a single-sex institution dominated by individuals from South East Asia - was an environment that left him feeling distant and isolated. It was from here that he slowly began to tread the slippery path towards radicalism, hate and the mindset of Islamic domination.

"I was drawn to Islamic groups because there was no alternative: either I became involved in Islam or I joined a gang," explains Husain. "There were simply no other available outlets for young Muslims."

As he moved between Islamist groups, Husain's most vivid recollections are of the political party Hizb ut-Tahrir. Under the guidance of Omar Bakri, this group was highly active and visible in learning institutions across the country. Husain himself became leader of the Islamic Society when he was a student at Tower Hamlets College and made Hizb ut-Tahrir an influential force on the campus.

Husain's insight into the group reveals just how effective it was at breeding hate in the minds of Britain's young intellectuals during the mid-90s. But ultimately the flaws in each organisation he became involved with led Husain to reject their individual ideologies and, with them, the Islamist mindset.

Well-written for the most part, The Islamist does not provide a wealth of information for modern-day Britons on the difficulties of tackling the Islamist mentality. However, it does point to one aspect that is common among radical organisations, whether they are based on faith, race, or nationality: young minds are the most susceptible when they are in an environment of isolation.

Husain describes himself as a high school misfit - a young boy who didn't really belong - at the start of his movement into Islamism. In his search for friends, a mentor and a sense of belonging he found the East London Mosque and the Young Muslim Organisation.

There he met young, articulate, passionate and purposeful men who quickly gained his respect and, in many ways, his adoration. And it was these same men who led Husain, along with hundreds of others, to work for the destruction of the very society that he was living in.

The Islamist shows that now, more than ever, every young person - not just young Muslims - must be positively engaged. History shows us that failure to do so can result in losing them to radical ideologies.