Exquisite. ( )

​I Was Told to Come Alone

​The author of "I Was Told to Come Alone", ​Souad Mekhennet, is a journalist well equipped to investigate and write about radical Islam and the draw of ISIS, especially among young Europeans. Ms. Mekhennet, born and educated in Germany, was brought up in the Muslim faith by her Moroccan and Turkish parents. She has covered radical Islam as a freelance journalist, and as a reporter for the New York Times and Washington Post. Her Muslim faith, language skills, and understanding of the religion allowed her access to people and places most western journalists could not access. And she used that access well in gaining the insights she shares in this book.

Since 9/11, I, like many others, have asked the question "why do they hate us?". And over the past several years, I've also tried to understand the draw of ISIS, especially among young Muslims brought up and living in western societies. There are several good books which touch on addressing these questions, including Joby Warrick's "Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS"; Graeme Wood's "The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State", Peter Bergen's "United States of Jihad"; Jessica Stern's "ISIS: The State of Terror"; and Jeremy Scahill's "The Assassination Complex". But I found "I Was Told to Come Alone" to be as informative and interesting as any of these others.

Ms. Mekhennet tells her own story, and how she came to become the go-to expert in radical Islam for several Western newspapers. She developed a trusting relationship among several leaders of radical groups, allowing her to gain insights into these movements and break several stories in western media.

Her book provides a number of insights into the current Middle East turmoil, including why young Europeans of Middle Eastern​ descent join(ed) ISIS​;​
​the practical and political impact of the Arab Spring​ on several Middle Eastern nations, and how Europe's policy to admit refugees from war torn Syria and Iraq was easily abused by immigrants from many other Middle East and African nations looking to gain access to Europe. She also give examples of main-stream Muslims trying to combat radical teachings and providing assistance to police authorities to prevent terrorist attacks or help arrest those who have committed crimes.

Her interviews with family and friends of several young men and women who went to Syria to join ISIS were valuable, explaining why many Middle Eastern immigrants in Europe, especially the younger 2nd generation among them, often feel out of place, lost in a system where they're not integrated nor welcomed. With poor job prospects, often due either to prejudice, lack of job skills or education, many of the young are susceptible to the propaganda of ISIS and radical Islam. They're taught that the Islam of their parents is a westernized, incorrect version of "true Islam". They become angered by YouTube videos showing deaths of non-radical Muslims killed in collateral damage in war torn areas or killed by errant drone strikes, and further corrupted by distorted teachings of Islam by these radical groups. ( )

How did Souad Mekhennet do it? How did she make such deep inroads behind the lines of Jihad? This is not what the memoir is about but I was quite fascinated by this question when I was reading this memoir. You get an inkling from the book, she did it by plain old journalism i.e. talking to people and making contacts. This began her amazing and incredible journey, She mentioned some of her escapades in the book. The memoir provides very good insights into why young Muslim men chose Jihad. Crucially, Mekhennet made the distinction between those who chose radicalism and those who didn't like the West but didn't choose this path. ( )

Souad Mekhennet, a German born to parents of Moroccan and Turkish descent, becomes a journalist and goes into the Middle East where Americans often cannot easily go. I found this book so interesting. Ms. Mekhennet shows us the other side of the story as she works independently for the New York Times, Washington Post, Der Spiegel, and others. She asks the questions that need asking and does not shy away from pressing her point when she does not receive an answer. I liked her strength and the sense of humor that comes through. She is in a tough profession. She astonishes the people she goes to write of with her knowledge of the area and language. She is not to be taken lightly. She keeps going after the story until she gets it even if she has to do it from afar when her life is threatened. This book makes me think of what we don't hear in the U.S. about what is really going on and how we respond to the events. It also makes me think that we overstep too often. An enlightening and fascinating read. ( )

Can you feel it? Can you see it in what I type? This book is resonating through me, pulsing through me. I am not a new student to the issues affecting the world surrounding the apparent clash -- Did I say clash? The author has this to say about the clash: "The world is not facing a clash of civilizations or cultures, but a clash between those who want to build bridges and those who would rather see the world in polarities, who are working hard to spread hatred and divide us." Say the word, "jihad", and the clash between Muslim and Western Judeo-Christian culture (and the equally intense clashes within those cultures) immediately fills our brains with imagery of conflict, war, hatred, and religious zealotry, overladen with powerful, often devastating economic weaponry. I reflected back on the many books I have read, both fiction and non-fiction, involving some aspect of these clashes, both modern and ancient. I counted 27 altogether. Some were intentionally broad in scope, such as a history of Islam and another one specifically of Afghanistan. Others were fictionalized or highly personal nonfiction accounts showing individuals trying to survive the storms around them. Many were middle east war related, both from a military and political perspective. Despite all that prior scholarship(?), this book easily does more than any other to pull it all together, and it does it in a personal, highly and consistently suspenseful, and extraordinarily lucid, balanced manner. It is very simply a memoir, but it is a memoir that reads much more like a John Grisham novel, albeit from a journalist's, rather than an attorney's, perspective. There is not a single chapter in the book without palpable suspense to one degree or another. I ask you: when was the last time you read a book that dealt so keenly with political policies and religious behavior that could repeatedly stimulate your base emotions? Needless to say, I'm terribly impressed with this book and with the individual that wrote it. Recommended without reservation. ( )