About the Book

The Young Terrorist: Journey from Arab Militant to Proud American traces the remarkable transformation of Nabil, an 11-year-old Lebanese Christian boy in 1960s Jordan, from a militia recruit to an American immigrant embracing a new life.

As a child, Nabil witnesses the Arab-Israeli War, Jordan’s Black September, and Lebanon’s brutal civil conflicts. At nine, he loses friends to an air raid; at eleven, he joins the Arab Liberation Front, seeking protection and belonging amid hostility toward Christians. He trains in the desert, survives violent clashes, and watches a militia leader being assassinated — experiences that harden and isolate him.

By seventeen, trapped in Lebanon’s civil war, Nabil hides in hallways as shells pound his neighborhood. A year later, he flees to Spain, hoping for college and peace, only to be forced back to Lebanon when funds run out.

Determined to escape the cycle of violence, Nabil seizes a chance to study engineering in the United States. At first, America bewilders him — language barriers, cultural shocks, financial struggles — but slowly, he discovers friendship, freedom, and opportunity. Returning to the Middle East means militias and likely death; staying in America offers the possibility of a future.

Both coming-of-age story and cultural memoir, The Young Terrorist reveals how war, identity, and migration shape a life — and how hope survives even the bloodiest beginnings.