This year’s Kent State University
Common Reading book is The Terrorist’s
Son by Zak Ebrahim.

The Common Reading Program is currently seeking 200 faculty, staff, alumni and community members to facilitate book discussions during Destination Kent State: Welcome Weekend. The Common Reading program will involve a one-hour discussion on Friday, Aug. 28, from 2-3 p.m. Prior to the discussion, leaders will be provided with a copy of the book, offered a training session and given discussion materials. There will be several training sessions that will be held throughout the summer for new and returning discussion leaders.

2015 Kent State Common Reading Book Announced

The Kent State University’s Common Reading Committee and the Office of Student Success Programs is pleased to announce the selection of this year’s Kent State Common Reading book, The Terrorist’s Son, by Zak Ebrahim.

Ebrahim was only seven years old when, on Nov. 5, 1990, his father, El-Sayyid Nosair, shot and killed the leader of the Jewish Defense League. While in prison, Nosair helped plan the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. In one of his infamous video messages, Osama bin Laden urged the world to "Remember El-Sayyid Nosair."

For Ebrahim, a childhood amid terrorism was all he knew. After his father’s incarceration, his family moved more than 20 times, haunted by and persecuted for the crimes of his father. Though his radicalized father and uncles modeled fanatical beliefs, the hateful ideas never resonated with the shy, awkward boy. The older he grew, the more fully Ebrahim grasped the horrific depths of his father’s acts. The more he understood, the more he resolved to dedicate his life to promoting peace.

In his book, Ebrahim traces his remarkable journey to escape his father’s terrible legacy. Crisscrossing the eastern United States, from Pittsburgh to Memphis, from a mosque in Jersey City to the Busch Gardens theme park in Tampa, The Terrorist’s Son is the story of a boy inculcated in dogma and hate — a boy presumed to follow in his father’s footsteps — and the man who chose a different path.

About the Author

Ebrahim was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on March 24, 1983, the son of an Egyptian industrial engineer and an American school teacher.

In 2013, Ebrahim participated in TED’s talent search in New York City and was selected to speak at the main conference, TED2014, in Vancouver, British Columbia. His TED talk was released on Sept. 9, 2014, in conjunction with the publication of his TED book, The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice, and has been viewed more than 2 million times. In the book, as in his speeches, Ebrahim traces his remarkable journey to escape his father’s terrible legacy, coming to realize that the only way to overcome the challenges of his past would be to help others understand that hatred only produces more hate, but belief in nonviolence heals. Those cycles of violence, no matter how old, do not have to continue forever.

Common Reading Objectives

The Common Reading Program is designed to welcome and connect incoming students to the Kent State academic community. The goal of the program is that reading the book will provide common ground for new students to share with their peers. The objectives of the program are:

• To help students get acclimated to the academic life of the university.
• To provide students with an understanding of the university values, principles and standards.
• To build and maintain relationships that foster success with peers, faculty, staff, administrators and community members.
  

All new students will discuss the book with faculty, staff or community members on Aug. 28 from 2-3 p.m. during Destination Kent State: Welcome Weekend. The program, as a whole, will build a supportive and encouraging atmosphere that will ease the transition to university life. The book is available for purchase at the Kent State University Bookstore.

Facilitator Registration

Faculty, staff, alumni and community members interested in serving as discussion leaders should visit www.kent.edu/success/reading and click on the facilitator registration page (in red toward the center of the page) for the electronic sign-up. Please be prepared to provide your contact information and training time preference.