But, whereas many of Abou El Fadl's contemporaries responded to such police-state tactics by embracing militant Islamism, the abuse only magnified his desire to find a community where he could speak his mind without fearof retribution from either secular or religious authorities.
But ever since 2009, when he broke his left thumb sliding into second base, he's slid with the nagging fear in the back of his mind that he'll hurt his hand again.