{"id":5480,"date":"2020-02-01T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T17:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/?p=5480"},"modified":"2020-02-20T12:39:08","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T20:39:08","slug":"the-terrorists-son-a-story-of-choice-teen-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2020\/the-terrorists-son-a-story-of-choice-teen-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice — Teen Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review by Nina Dinan, 16<\/p>\n

The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice\u00a0<\/em>By\u00a0Zak Ebrahim with Jeff Giles<\/h3>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In writing The Terrorist\u2019s Son,<\/em> Zak Ebrahim does not mince words. He writes, \u201cMy father was the first known Islamic jihadist to take a life on American soil. He worked with the support of a terrorist cell overseas that would ultimately call itself Al-Qaeda.\u201d Ebrahim was a seven-year-old Ninja Turtle enthusiast who was learning to tie his shoes when his father, El-Sayyid Nosair, killed the controversial Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Jewish Defense League. The assassination catalyzed a nightmarish chain of events for young Ebrahim and his family: \u201cIt tipped us into a life of death threats and media harassment, nomadic living and constant poverty, a thousand \u2018fresh starts\u2019 that almost always led to something worse.\u201d The family was left in even worse circumstances when Nosair was found complicit in planning (from his prison cell) the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In the aftermath, Ebrahim endured not only bullying, poverty, and the resentment of others, but also the barbarity of a cruel stepfather whom his mother had turned to in desperation. This man \u201cpunishes my brother and me for every infraction, whether real or imagined. He uses his fists, his belt, a hanger.\u201d Despite the tribulations of his childhood and adolescence, however, Ebrahim emerged as an opponent of bigotry and an advocate for nonviolence.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Throughout this narrative, I was struck by the candor of Ebrahim\u2019s writing. His story was unique and fascinating, told from the perspective of someone who was raised to hate, and who turned instead to peace and tolerance. Shocking details revealed themselves continuously. For example, Ebrahim explains that in the days following his father\u2019s assassination of Rabbi Kahane, his family lived off of donations from Nosair\u2019s supporters. He writes, \u201c…To many Muslims, my father is a hero and a martyr.\u201d He also reveals a detail from the days leading up to his father\u2019s trial, when $163,000 was donated for Nosair\u2019s defense. Ebrahim\u2019s relative \u201creaches out to Osama bin Laden, who contributes twenty thousand himself.\u201d I was impressed by Ebrahim\u2019s admirable rejection of bigotry and his devotion to peace. He relates how exposure to people from different backgrounds (especially during a summer job, which he describes with wonderful humor) led to his unbiased attitude. In Ebrahim\u2019s words, \u201cI\u2019ve got incontrovertible proof that my father raised me on lies. Bigotry is stupid. It only works if you never walk out your door.\u201d I highly recommend this concise, powerful book.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
4.5 stars.<\/div>\n
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Find this book in our catalog: Title<\/a><\/p>\n

Catalog Number:\u00a092 EBRAHIM, Z<\/p>\n

96\u00a0pages<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review by Nina Dinan, 16 The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice\u00a0By\u00a0Zak Ebrahim with Jeff Giles In writing The Terrorist\u2019s Son, Zak Ebrahim does not mince words. He writes, \u201cMy father was the first known Islamic jihadist to take a life on American soil. He worked with the support of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":5541,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-teen-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/18\/files\/sites\/18\/2020\/02\/terroristsson.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ZwbD-1qo","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6766,"url":"https:\/\/pasadena-library.net\/teens\/2022\/ashfall-legacy-teen-book-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":5480,"position":0},"title":"Ashfall Legacy — Teen Book Review","author":"Teen Blogger","date":"January 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Review by Sam Redfearn, 15 Ashfall Legacy By Pittacus Lore When Sydney Chambers was just a toddler, his father left, and he and his mother began to run from the Australian government. 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