BOOK: Homegrown Radicals: A Story of State Violence, Islamophobia, and Jihad in the Post-9/11 World

REVIEW BY TOBY A. WELCH
Published by University of Regina Press

How do you sum up a book as comprehensive as Homegrown Radicals? It’s challenging as it covers so much in its 250 pages. The world after September 11, 2001, is such a different place than it was the day before. The story of the years since then is a powerful one.

Canada was greatly affected by the 9/11 tragedy, especially Canadian Muslims. Winnipeg is one of the largest hubs of Muslims in Canada; that community is closely linked to the pockets of Muslims in the United States - places like Chicago, Houston, and Dearborn.

Homegrown Radicals delves into the topic of Islamophobia, which is anti-Muslim prejudice. Muslims were already on the CSIS’s radar - Canadian Secret Intelligence Services - and past academic studies show that the CSIS generally saw the Muslim community as an object of suspicion. And in reverse, many Muslims were skeptical of security agencies. Soufi is hopeful that one day there will be a deep national contrition for the treatment of Canadian Muslims during the War on Terror; we are just not there yet.

A common thread runs through the entire book: the disappearance of three men from the Winnipeg Muslim community. Muhanad, Ferid, and Miawand were University of Manitoba students who had undergone radicalization years before. Homegrown Radicals chronicles their journey, veering into dozens of side tangents along the way.

Reading about the 9/11 experience through the eyes of people in the Muslim community is fascinating. For example, in the days after the tragedy, many non-Muslim Canadians asked, “Where were you when the two towers fell?” But in the Muslim community, a common thought was: How will they treat me now? One upside is that numerous North American Muslim leaders praised Canada and the US for the freedoms the two countries granted their citizens, freedoms they often didn’t receive in their home countries.

Soufi is clearly an expert in the subject matter of Homegrown Radicals. He is the former head of the Connaught Global Challenge Project’s international working group on Islamophobia and the former Chair of CASIM, the Canadian Association for the Study of Islam and Muslims. This is his second book in this field; his first was The Rise of Critical Islam: 10th - 13th Century Legal Debate. Reading a book written by an author who is so knowledgeable is a pleasure and feels like a privilege. Adding to that is the fact that this is a University of Regina Press book, a publication company that only puts out thoroughly researched, top-notch works.

Homegrown Radicals is eye-opening in an awesome way that I didn’t expect. Any book that broadens your worldview and expands your thinking is something that needs to be read. Snag a copy and dive in!

This book is available at your local bookstore or from www.Skbooks.com