Daveed Gartenstein-Ross: Two-Bit Terror Hustler and Spiritual Carpetbagger
Slate Review of his book by Holly Lebowitz Rossi
In a crowded publishing industry, marketing is everything. And Daveed Gartenstein-Ross’ new book, My Year Inside Radical Islam: A Memoir, seems at first glance to hit all the right notes, beginning with its provocative title. Gartenstein-Ross is billed as someone who barely escaped from the very grip of evil, a radical Muslim turned Christian, a counterterrorism consultant who has testified before Congress and volunteered for questioning by the FBI. Conservative commentators, from syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin to Front Page magazine’s Jamie Glazov to talk-radio host G. Gordon Liddy and Fox News’ Sean Hannity, have seized on Gartenstein-Ross as a conquering hero who resisted terrorism and extremism to emerge a Christian. “If there were justice in Hollywood, the book would have already been optioned as a movie by now,” Malkin gushed.
But there was nothing particularly radical about Gartenstein-Ross’ experience with Islam in the first place, except for a few alarming opinions that he briefly subscribed to—in his mind—as a very young man. The book is more a journey inside the developing religious conscience of a 22-year-old than inside the world of radical Islam. Along the way, Gartenstein-Ross does a serious disservice to moderate and progressive Muslims, who are too often suspected of terrorist activities, and non-Muslim Americans curious about the differences between moderate and radical Islam.
Americans tend to have a hard time comprehending the nuances of Islam. Headlines since 9/11 about the religion haven’t offered nearly enough insight into the multifaceted Muslim community and its broad spectrum of beliefs and practices. Even five years into our supposed education about the faith, what usually comes to people’s minds is still the extremism of al-Qaida and the Taliban, groups that are far removed from the faith practiced by most American Muslims. But even that modicum of knowledge is incomplete. Radical, extremist groups follow specific schools of thought, interpretations of the Quran, and religious practice. And we’re still struggling to figure out the difference between Sunnis and Shiites
