Fra Fam. Ottar og Sheila julen 2017

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. *

In 2013, two teenage girls, Norwegian citizens originally from Somaliland, abruptly left home and went to Syria to join the jihadists there.

Asne Seierstad's book tells the story of these two girls and their father's efforts to track them down and bring them home. What could have convinced a couple of intelligent girls from a moderate Muslim family to join Islamic State and support the ISIS fighters? In the process of telling this story, she examines the process of radicalisation and paints a realistic picture of how such a bizarre outcome could gradually come about.

Seierstad also gives a lucid and at times harrowing account of the activities of ISIS and the other Islamist rebels in Syria. The violent chaos that she describes sits strangely with the girls' insistence that they are living happy, fulfilled lives in the midst of all this mayhem.

Seirstad acknowledges that her story is necessarily partial; the girls never agreed to give her an interview, and she has had to rely on their father's unsupported account for part of the story. Even bearing that in mind, this is an eye-opening and compelling account of the radicalisation of Muslim youth in a Western society. ( )

This book was interesting, especially the sections on how the girls were radicalized, but I was troubled by it as well.

My problems stemmed largely from the afterword where Seierstad describes her methods. I do not fault her for publishing a book without interviewing Ayan and Leila, though it would have deepened the book to have had their perspective. However, their parents were given considerable input into the book, and the level of control they exercised over the final text is not entirely clear. It made me wonder if anything surrounding their actions had been excised or if Seierstad had held anything back.

Seierstad's conclusion is that two immigrant girls, searching for their identity in Norwegian society, were ripe targets for radical Islam--and I don't think that's a lie. But there are hints that perhaps Norwegian society had more involvement in the girls' alienation than she wants to examine. I would have welcomed more examination of the integration of Muslims into Norwegian life. ( )

Det är skrämmande läsning men intressant och lärorikt. Tyvärr är det ju sant och denna religiösa fanatism är ju mer aktuell än någonsin. ( )

Sadiq and Sara are Somali refugees, raising their family in Norway in what seems to be a typically middle class environment comprised of other Muslim refugees. They aren’t concerned – in fact they are happy - when their two oldest daughters begin showing more interest in their Muslim faith – attending events at the mosque more often and even expressing interest in wearing hijab, an unusual sight in Norway.

Unbeknownst to the parents, the girls came under the sway of radicalized Islamic teachers, including the very teacher whom the parents employed to give them lessons in Islam.

Suddenly the girls are gone. They’ve left a note that they have gone to Syria to join Isis – as wives for the fighters in the Jihad.

The family immediately swings into action, hoping to recover them before the cross the Turkey/Syria border. But they find little help from the international authorities, so father Sadiq makes the perilous journey being smuggled across the Syrian border.

This story is a not only a look into radicalization, but is a mini history lesson about Syrian history and geography and the factions that divide it. It was incredibly timely as my book club read just as the US was pulling its troops out of Syria in order for Turkey to invade.

At times the writing seemed a bit repetitive and uninspired – perhaps due to translation? All in all though a great look at events in a very troubled part of the world.

I’ll be looking for the author’s other books, including The Bookselller of Kabul. ( )