Confessions of a Mullah Warrior

Confessions of a Mullah Warrior is the story of one man's extraordinary journey from the heart of the Islamic world to the halls of Harvard University and far beyond. Born into a family whose history is inextricably tied to the history of his country, Masood Farivar was ten years old when his childhood in peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan was shattered by the Soviet invasion in 1979. His family fled to Pakistan, where Farivar entered a madrassa for refugees. At the age of eighteen, he returned to Afghanistan and joined the jihad, fighting beside not only the Afghan mujahideen but also Arab and Pakistani volunteers. Two years later, after the Soviets withdrew, he left his country again to continue his education in America, where he attended the prestigious Lawrenceville School and Harvard, and ultimately became a journalist in New York. Finally, after ten years in America, Farivar was propelled home to Afghanistan, where he currently serves his country by running a national radio program. As a native Afghan, a former mujahideen fighter, and a longtime U.S. resident, Farivar has unprecedented insight into the recent collision between Islam and the West. He not only saw war devastate his native country and turn it into a safe haven for international terrorists, he also saw terrorism turn the United States into a hotbed of racism against Muslims. In this dramatic and timely memoir, Farivar paints a vibrant portrait of his family and his nation's history, exposes the world of militant Islam by taking us deep inside the madrassas, vividly recounts his experiences on the battlefield at Tora Bora and elsewhere, and conveys the culture shock of a Muslim living in contemporary America.