Daveed Gartenstein-Ross speaks about My Year Inside Radical Islam: A Memoir.
Raised by parents who were Jewish by birth but dismissive of strict dogma, the author reveals his experience of converting to Islam and recounts a story of how a good faith can be distorted and a decent soul can be seduced away from its principles- Books Inc.
Bio
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is a senior consultant for the Gerard Group International, a Massachusetts-based counterterrorism and homeland security firm.
He frequently works with federal and local law enforcement, providing analysis of possible terrorist threats and activity as well as conducting topical training seminars. Daveed brings a unique perspective to his work. Born into a Jewish family, he converted to Islam in his early twenties and ended up working for the head U.S. office of the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, an international Wahhabi charity that served as a major al-Qaeda financier. Prior to 9/11, Daveed left the Islamic faith for Christianity.
Daveed's articles have appeared in publications that include Commentary, The Weekly Standard, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Washington Times, The Dallas Morning News and The American Spectator. He frequently appears on TV and talk radio; recent appearances include The Big Story with John Gibson, Studio B with Shepard Smith, Scarborough Country, ABC News Now, The 700 Club and The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly.
I found this presentation very interesting indeed, especially for the value it has as account of personal experience. Of course, it only hints to more deeply rooted questions about some religious Islamic organizations which are rather intransigent toward many things which most Muslims would accept readily (as the terrible banning on music which the speaker refers). Probably they are in the book he has written. Nevertheless, it strikes me as curious that he didn’t say anything about the psychological aspects implicated in the joining of people to these organizations. As professor of Islamic philosophy, it seems to me that is a key question. In whole, his account being an abstract of his book, I think he could have been a little bit more profound. The theme deserves it.