Sebastian Abdul-Salaam Blasco

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Diary of a fallen so(u)ldier

How do good young men become religious extremists? Are they inherently evil, or is their transformation a result of more complex factors we haven´t considered? When a journalist fishes out some torn notebooks from an abandoned shelter in Syria, what he finds is a story rarely told: that of a rebel in his last days, looking back and recounting all of the events that led to him becoming another casualty of a senseless war.

Written from the perspective of a young Muslim growing up in post-9/11 America, the soldier´s narrative analyzes the ingredients of radicalization, from rampant anti-Muslim prejudice to the failures of the criminal justice system - and the sense of injustice this breeds in incarcerated communities. The diaries, often laced with both theology and street-smart humor, tell the story of how easily self-righteousness is misdirected, and that of a man resigned to paying the ultimate cost for his choices.