just finished reading Son of Hamas, its on the best seller list at barnes and noble, what an incredible story. about the son of a influential religious and political hamas father who met with yassar arafat etc
He ended up working as a double agent both for hamas and the israelis, when he 'chance' encouter with a british tourist in 2000 and started going to bible studies and became confused about his own faith etc, and eventually a christian believer, who is is now living in the U.S on asylum. Anyway, very incredible story and his tales of preventing some violence and saving lives amidst the palestinian and israeli conflict.
No kidding! I read this book for one of my classes, and it truly does offer an incredible insight into the Arab-Palestinian / Israeli conflict. The transition from Islam to Christianity is striking, even though it is a gradual shift in his life.
I think one of the best parts of this book is that it points out the deep corruption and base sinister nature of Islam, from a believing insider before his heart was changed and his eyes were opened to the truth. Below are some snippets of the book review I composed for my aforementioned class.
Throughout Son of Hamas, Yousef masterfully depicts the realities of the Arab Palestinian world, giving the reader an insider�s perspective on the ethnic struggle of the Jewish and Arab peoples. A casual reading might provide some insight into the conflict, while a more critical reading can yield a deeper understanding of the realities of Islam and its use of its own followers as pawns in a great game of absolute domination. Son of Hamas characterizes the players into personalities, people that the reader can somewhat identify with even through cultural barriers in such a way that the story transcends common misconceptions. By writing his book in a nonfiction narrative format, Yousef is able to capture reality and explain the state of Hamas and its actions far better than mere information would.
Yousef�s primary purpose of writing the story of his life as the son of a Hamas founder is actually stated explicitly in the postscript for each audience genre. For those who are still under Islamic regimes, he seeks to expose the truths of corruption. For his onetime enemies, he writes so the Jews can gain a glimmer of hope in a seemingly endless battle. More pertinently, Yousef says he wrote targeting government leaders and Middle Eastern experts in hopes that they would be able to take insight from his book and apply it sensibly to the situation between his people and Israel. His is a tale of turnaround, where he was once part of a corrupt organization trusted with great power yet using his placement to better not only his own people but his �enemies� as well. The overall thesis is that the terrorist organization known as Hamas and the religion of Islam from which it draws its legitimacy is not what most people believe it to be, even including the Palestinian population it claims to fight for.
The various examples Yousef provides show his thesis to be correct, especially given that it is a view counter to the culture that he was once part of. There is incredible hypocrisy of the Palestinian community that would leave his family to rot whenever his father was in prison and then rush to greet him as a hero upon his release, even including his uncle who would only ever criticize Yousef�s mother and never provide any help or money. Looking at the corrupt terror tactics that Hamas and other organizations would employ on themselves and each other within the prisons shows the bully mentality that the organization really has. Even the inner workings of politics and manipulating each other shows Hamas to be a hindrance to itself and its goals. The Israelis are smart to have prisoners declare affiliations upon entrance into prison; as Captain Loai said that the organizations are far more effective at destroying themselves and each other than the Israelis are� not that they don�t help them along at times.
It is clear that God planned things out wonderfully to place the young Yousef in just the right places and times, even in the right family and given the right heart to be willing to see the truth when it was presented to him. Coincidence does not adequately explain the incredible series of events in Mosab Hassan Yousef�s life, nor can it explain how perfectly he was placed and especially not his miraculous escapes from death. An honest reader cannot escape the realities of active divine workings in Yousef�s life.
I, as a fascinated reader, would certainly recommend this book to any and all who have even a remote interest in Islam, terrorism, the Middle East, or tales of God working today. It shows a unique perspective into Hamas and the turmoil in the Middle East, overlaid with a message of hope and love that can be possible if the violence of Islam were to be removed from the scene. I only ever put Son of Hamas down reluctantly, being forced to do other things instead of read it all the way through. I believe it is a must-read for any in the counter-terrorist field, especially those who profess a saving relationship with the Christian God as Mosab Hassan Yousef does. He serves as great inspiration for those who wish for peace.
Bottom line: If you have the time, being caught up in this man's story is one of the most insightful books I can name.
