Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
I recently came across a book called Son of Hamas. Written by Mosab Hassan Yousef, it is a deeply personal story about what it was like growing up in Gaza. But Mosab wasn’t just an average Gazan. He was the eldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, who was a founding member of Hamas.
You might think that this book has nothing to tell you. You might roll your eyes and say, “This is just propaganda meant to make you feel bad for the Palestinians. Hamas is nothing but a terrorist organization!”
But I think truly understanding a conflict means digging deep into both sides. And furthermore, Mosab was anything but a blind follower of Hamas and Islam. In fact, they consider him a traitor.
What’s the book about?
The book is a good story, first of all. It’s one of those things you start reading, and you are grabbed on the first few pages. It begins the first time Mosab was arrested by the Israelis. He was young, still in high school, when he was taken and beaten. He didn’t know whether he would survive to see his family again. He was terrified, as any young person would be in such a situation.
Then, the story goes back to his early childhood. He writes with a deep love for his father – his emotion and respect for his dad leaps off the page. I’m reminded by his prose that not everyone is all good or all bad. His father may have been responsible for the foundation of a terrorist organization, but he was also a beloved fixture in his community, a kind father, and a true believer that there was goodness in his religion. He helped others, he dispensed wisdom, and was deeply respected.
When Mosab was growing up, his most fervent wish was to make his father proud of him. That makes what happens later in the story even more difficult and conflicted.
Mosab writes without seeking pity, telling stories of average Palestinians who were just trying to get by – trying to get enough water to drink and food to eat, trying to avoid being arrested, trying to protect their children from being harmed just for being outside playing. He paints a realistic picture that helps you to see how terrorists are created, not born.
At the same time, he shares how children are brought up to despise and fear the Israelis. His stories show how deeply influenced these kids are by their early experiences and how shocking it was to him to see the other side of this conflict in his later years. His discovery that the Israelis were just as afraid of the Palestinians put him on a path to something different.
Mosab began working for the Israelis.
While he was still quite young – during his second arrest, Mosab agreed to work for the Israelis in exchange for protection for his father. His family never knew that he was doing this. It was during this time he was exposed to Israelis as human beings, not just “the enemy.” He began to see the situation with more clarity, especially as he watched imprisoned Hamas members torturing other Palestinian prisoners on a daily basis. He was sickened by what he was watching.
When he enrolled in college, he attended a Christian bible study for something to do on one boring evening. He was given a copy of the New Testament, and he first began to see that there might be another philosophy. At this point, he was still a devout Muslim but some seeds had been planted – the seeds of peace, love, and forgiveness. All of this was foreign to his upbringing, and we read of his struggle to come to terms with this.
Mosab spent several years working as a double agent, trying to protect his family, trying to stay alive, trying to fulfill the commitment he had made to the Israelis. During this time, his faith in the Christian God grew and his belief that neither side was all bad or all good was solidified.
Mosab’s awakening is incredible to read about. Seeing his shift in perspective is hopeful, and you can’t help but cheer him on.
Mosab’s story came at a great personal cost.
He felt his story was very important. So important that he sacrificed what he held most dear: his relationship with his beloved family. The day before the book was published, his father released a statement from prison that he had disowned Mosab. At the time an additional chapter was added to the book, they had not made amends.
As well, his life remains at risk for the things he divulged – the inside workings of Hamas and the corruption of those who worked to “free” Palestine but actually had other motives.
Why I recommend the book
It’s easy to watch what’s happening in Gaza right now and think that one side is “good” and the other side is “bad.” But by affixing 
some humanity to both sides and truly learning how this legacy of hatred and fear has been stoked by those who benefit from the ongoing crisis, it has helped me to understand how this has been going on for so long. Regardless of your beliefs, challenging them with a new perspective can only help you to comprehend this Middle Eastern Hatfield-and-McCoy-style feud that has gone on for countless generations.
It explains why Hamas and other groups like it have sworn animus against those who have funded Israel. It provides deep insight into the Islamic belief system and shares Mosab’s view of why some Muslims who are moderate – not extreme – could be the biggest danger of all.
And it also shows you how difficult it would be for the enmity to end. It’s been bred into the hearts of the people. They were raised bathed in it. Fear is a powerful motivator.
I guess the only thing that is stronger is love.
If you are confused about what’s going on in the Middle East, or if you think you have a solid understanding of it – I recommend you read Son of Hamas. Everything you believe you know will be challenged by this beautifully written tale of family, war, intrigue, and faith.
Have you read Son of Hamas?
Please note that there are some people who have cast doubt on Mosab’s story, calling him a fake. I believe him to be genuine. It would be quite a victory for Hamas to “prove” that nobody left their group and spoke against them, wouldn’t it?
Since October 7, Mosab has advocated for war against Hamas, explaining that they are not trying to make life better for the Palestinian people and that their motives are entirely different.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Did it give you a new perspective on the situation? Is it something you’d like to read?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
All things are not equal. All sides are not equal. Just because a terrorist pets a puppy doesn’t make up for beheading babies. I’m surprised at you, Daisy.
Why are you surprised? That I’m open-minded enough to want to learn more about a conflict?
If you read the book you would see that there is great insight in it. I realize it’s not for everyone – but for those who are curious, it provides a great deal of information I didn’t know about.
I tried to avoid too many spoilers about Mosab’s transformation from Muslim to Christian, but I was very impressed by how he evolved. That can’t have been easy in a society such as his.
I’m thinking it’s way past time that we all do our own digging, searching for the real truth. We’ve all been subject to propaganda since we were born….just like the Israelis and the Palestinians. How do we actually know what WE believe is the real truth, unless we actually search it out for ourselves?
My sister-in-law is renowned for saying, “I don’t have to believe facts. I’m going to believe what I want to believe!” Would you agree she, and in these dark days, a majority of Americans hold the same view that she does? I sense it’s going to take a painful personal and/or national experience (see open borders, failed justice system, corrupt government, failed education system, war, domestic terrorist attacks, fraudulent voting, etc.) to wake up the intellectual sleepers. We appear, as a nation and a culture, to be on the trajectory of a gliding anvil. How does one, or a few, alter that trajectory? By voting? Cheers
There will never be another even close to honest election in the United States, unless they get rid of all voting machines and mail in ballots for anyone other than those in the Military. Just sayin’.
Blessings,
OD
So,,,, you’ve read the book then Carla?
And that’s the comment you came up with.
I can make it easier for you by searching his name with UN address.
Might be easier for you to just listen to him addressing his story to the UN then reading it?
Carla H. you missed the point of Daisy’s excellent review of the book, Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef,. She found that the book gave her greater insight into the minds of Hamas, the Palestinians and the Israelis. All sides think they are the good side and the other side is the bad side. But a greater understanding of how all sides think can open a path to peace.
To paraphrase Vivek Ramaswamy we don’t have to trust Hamas and the Palestinians. But we do believe they will act in their self interest.
Sun Tzu author of the book The Art of War, a book which everyone should read who is concerned about thwar says:
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Abraham Lincoln said “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
Consider Germany and Japan who were are bitter enemies in World War 2 and are now are trusted allies. It may take a generation or more for the Palestinians and Israelis to become friends. But I believe it is possible.
Those are all interesting quotes. But I have one in perfect context.
“We cannot change the hearts of those people, but we can make war so terrible… [and] make them so sick of war that generations would pass away before they would again appeal to it.” -General William T. Sherman.
General Sherman understood war. He understood perfectly that to defeat an enemy in a conflict he felt had already worn on too long, the support structure (the enemies populace) for that enemy must be crushed. Completely. Absolutely.
I’m sick of war and conflict. What we need are more Shermans (who became much beloved after his retirement from service by his former subordinates for him saving their lives and for his very vocal anti war writing) who will see a task through to its sometimes horrible conclusion when it is absolutely necessary.
Then we can follow ol’ honest Abe’s advice. You know, the guy that signed into law the first National conscription (draft) in 1963, which alienated him from his popular lower class support, because his political generals were being mauled by an enemy that felt they were fighting for their rights?
Good point about crushing an enemy to the point that the idea of re-building is so daunting, the enemy has no will to continue the fight.
Unfortunately the civilized world does not understand war at all. War is ugly, brutal, not nice and sometimes civilians are killed. What they want is a nice, pretty war. Can you imagine how truly awful it would be had we to face an enemy who studied Sun Tuz, Genghis Khan, modern maneuver warfare and guerilla warfare?
Usually the ones calling for war the most are the ones without any skin in the game. You are not going to see any Senator’s son getting drafted.
I don’t think it’s possible. Islam demands hatred of Jews, and if you envy their success as well, then that’s it.
Mosab is an interesting figure, but he is now completely against Hamas. His Hamas-founder father disowned him when he published his autobiography nearly fifteen years ago. He is a conscientious human who threw in his lot with the West many years ago. He disavowed Palestinian violence decades ago. I don’t think he has much to tell us about the situation now from the point of view of a Hamas fighter. He was born in Ramallah in 1978. I heard a Hamas detainee interrogated by the IDF say that they were told to do whatever horrible thing occurred to them to Israeli civilians. He said they did things that not even any animal would do. They hoped that Israelis would be so horrified that they would give up, and Hamas fighters would keep going to the cities, continuing the massacre. They hoped that surrounding Muslim countries would join the attack with their own forces, and that all non-Muslims in Israel would be killed once and for all. There is not a single point at which I could say, OK, he’s right on that, I have to understand and support his belief as to that.
Yeah, The Art of War, you must know your enemy? Really, how do you do that? It’s like saying, if you want to get rich you must first make a lot of money.
Like installing Linux. The guy say it’s better then windows. Here’s how to do it. Blah, blah, blah, so far so good.
Then he says write this command line. Really? But doesn’t tell you WHERE you write that command line that will start to verify and install it. That’s the point I’m stuck at now and probably for a long time.
So how do I get to know the enemy? You don’t, because you’ll be stuck RIGHT there.
The Israeli-Hamas war isn’t like World War II, unless you mean that Hamas are the nazis and simply want Jewish genocide. However, even as evil as the nazis were, Douglas Murray says that the ordinary soldiers had to drown their minds with alcohol in order to do what they did to the Jews. But Hamas and the people in the street gleefully celebrate the barbarism. There is a huge difference. However, there’s one similarity: Germany and Japan both had to be completely conquered before they would give up. Hamas must be completely crushed. Completely.
Carla,
I love Douglas Murray and heard that talk. I heard him the other day shut down Cenk from the Young Turks. I love his Strange Death of Europe (from Muslim immigration). I don’t entirely agree with him. Six million Jews were murdered, maybe ten million from other groups like gypsies, gays, Communists, mentally impaired, etc. Not all the murderers were drunk, at the time or later. I think you’d have to examine them one by one to look at their motivations and possible sadistic pleasure, as God has done as they died.
I agree that Hamas has to be completely eliminated, but that will not solve the problem. Violent jihad is the sixth pillar of Islam, and death while waging violent jihad is the only way to guarantee that a male Muslim enter Paradise. The mandatory zakat tax, another pillar of Islam, specifies a percentage of the tax which must go for the material support of violent jihadi.
Allah is believed to have designed the perfect way of life in every detail, the sharia. The only way to have a chance at Paradise after death. Jihad is a way to horrify survivors into submitting to the sharia. But in the big picture, then they join the Muslim community and the world becomes peaceful and orderly, with Paradise at the end. And that is their point of view, their reasoning. I think we’ll have to ban Islam in non-Muslim countries. We’ve seen the worldwide riots to ban Christmas, force a ceasefire, gas the Jews, shut down parades. It really is the new Nazism. There is no moderate Islam. As Erdogan said, Islam is Islam. There are those who don’t adhere to its commands.
I absolutely agree with you Carla. I do however highly recommend reading the book. They also made a movie that lacks a lot of the details that are in the book but still gets the message across. Daisy clearly didn’t want to give too many spoilers which I appreciate. As Daisy mentioned in the article “Mosab’s view of why some Muslims who are moderate – not extreme – could be the biggest danger of all” is so critical to understanding the book.
I believe I am one of the few millennials on this site. I was 11 years old during 9/11 and I will never forget that day. A lot of us lost our youthful innocence watching those horrors. What people don’t seem to understand is that Hamas and Palestine are one and the same. Their entire religion is based on belief that anyone who is not jihad should perish. That includes their own people. That is the entire basis of Mosab’s story. He saw how they treated their own and turned against it.
People are inherently good and bad. A little of both. We choose between the two every second of everyday. The difference here is that one side just wants to establish boundaries and live in peace. They protect their people. The other side will never be content until their perceived enemy is annihilated and they will go to any extent to make that happen, even killing their own. You are correct, Carla, they are not equal. That is the basis of Mosab’s book.
My disagreement wasn’t with the book, it was with Daisy’s point: “It’s easy to watch what’s happening in Gaza right now and think that one side is “good” and the other side is “bad.” But by affixing some humanity to both sides and truly learning how this legacy of hatred and fear has been stoked by those who benefit from the ongoing crisis, it has helped me to understand how this has been going on for so long. Regardless of your beliefs, challenging them with a new perspective can only help you to comprehend this Middle Eastern Hatfield-and-McCoy-style feud that has gone on for countless generations.”
This isn’t the Hatfields and the McCoys. It also doesn’t fit the eastern religion teaching that both sides are right and both sides are wrong. Hamas is not simply wrong, they are wickedly, totally evil and anyone who thinks otherwise would do well to remember what happened to the starry-eyed young Israelis at the peace festival on the Gaza border.
Survival is literally at stake for the Jewish people because their enemy is on their doorstep trying to push them into the sea.
I agree with you. I try to put myself in the place of a jihadi who considers that he is bringing closer the day when the entire world will be submitted to the orderliness of Islamic law. But I really can’t. It’s still murder. In this case, that’s not even what the jihadi are trying to do. They were just having fun killing Jews and Thais. Douglas Murray saw the detailed movie of Go Pro film and said he was struck by their elation, the joy and pleasure they took in horrible torture, rape, dismemberment, and murder even of babies. I can’t imagine hatred of Jews motivating that. Humans could not do that. There were three thousand of them. No, you cannot say Well, if you understood their point of view. They were/are demons from Hell. Many of those they killed were ex-hippies, who loved and served Palestinians. Several took Palestinian children for treatment in Israeli hospitals. I would really like to know what they are thinking now, those who are still alive. 85% of Palis in both territories strongly supported the massacre several weeks ago. I just don’t see how that could be true. What evil lies in the hearts of men. Israel needs to build a wall and keep all Palis on the other side.
Umm, it’s NOT required reading.
Seeking to understand this complicated situation is so important. Thank you for sharing your thoughtful review. I am in my 50s and am a Jewish American. Many of my ancestors perished in the holocaust. You review of this book is important and I agree it’s important to understand all sides of this issue and educate ourselves. We must learn the many ways individuals and groups are manipulated. We are all being manipulated.
What is not being said is that the horrific events of 10/7 were planned and executed by the globalist psychopaths and allowed to happen. There is no way these terrorists got through the Iron Dome without help. I am devastated by what happened to those poor in innocent people on 10/7.
We are all the victims of our corrupt globalist controlled governments. We the people must not play into their hands and feed the divide! We the people must declare war on these corrupt globalists who are orchestrating these horrific tragedies in order to divide and conquer. We must Stop feeding the division. That’s what the psychopath globalists want! They want war. They want chaos. They want to implement the Great Reset. RECOGNIZE THE REAL ENEMY. We must unite against our common enemy.
I appreciate your review and people that don’t see that you are just seeking to understand are still in that egoic controlled state of mind.
Anen, Naomi
Nicely said
Iron Dome was overwhelmed by the thousands of missiles simultaneously shot into Israel from Gaza. It was not designed to withstand such an onslaught.
Iranian-supplied drones took out the watch towers on the security fence. A new Iranian cyber technology scrambled the electronic security system in the fence, allowing the three thousand Hamas fighters trained by Iran to break down the fence in several places, allowing the entrance of barbaric hordes.
Iran and its proxies are the main culprits here. I think war with Iran is inevitable. However, apart from Shia proxies like those in Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria, I think moderate Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia and the oil emirates, Egypt, and Jordan, would side with Western forces against the Iranian-linked ones, and I think we would win.
Let’s root for Iran….hopefully they can win.
?
That’s “Amen!” Naomi
“It’s easy to watch what’s happening in Gaza right now and think that one side is “good” and the other side is “bad.”
Thus my comment that neither sides hands are clean. Sad part is we don’t know how many new terrorist groups will spawn from this mess.
I think Israel’s hands are clean. No one is perfect, but it has striven to treat the Palestinians ethically. No one could have done better.
I read about a quarter of Son of Hamas yesterday, also bought The Green Prince on Amazon Prime and started to watch it. I still don’t know why Mosab’s father was arrested and imprisoned several times. He said he was incapable of killing even an insect, but Mosad observes that he was capable of ordering others to commit violent murders. I assume he was imprisoned because of starting Hamas. Mosab was first detained for throwing rocks at soldiers, he hit the windshield of a moving car with a rock and the owner chased him, threw him down, and kicked him. Deserved. Later he was arrested for buying illegal automatic guns. I didn’t know that before ‘95, Palis didn’t have guns. I’m looking for reasons Palis thought they were justified in killing Israelis. Mosab, his father, and others were tortured while being interrogated. I’ll continue to consider whether I think it was justified, as when the information learned can save lives. Mosab gives examples of Pali brutality: once a man lifted him above his head and slammed him to the ground. Pali prisoners tortured fellow prisoners suspected of being informants, sometimes killing them.
So far I haven’t seen why the Palis thought violence against Jews was justified. It just looks like a primitive tribal group against a rich civilized one.
I read the book when it came out. An excellent read. An eye opener. I recommend this book for all of Western societies to study.
Dang.
Another book to add to my book reading list.
I do believe in the importance of knowing the full story, the history of any given conflict so we may be able to make informed takes, points of view or form a opinion.
The question I have is where do we or they I should say, go from here or after the war ends? Then again, this is a conflict that has raged for thousands of years and I think it will continue for a few thousand more.
I have read of Palestinians in Gaza who are against Hamas, against the fighting, just want peace. Unfortunately for them, a terrorist organization has all the guns and are in charge. I have read more than a few articles about Hamas beating Palestinians who do not support them.
Just read an article about gunmen highjacking UN humanitarian aid trucks and forcing Gazans to PAY for food that is supposed to be supplied to the people for free.
Also, it appears Netanyahu is trying to find countries who would take in Palestinians who want to flee the war zone. What does that look like?
Netanyahu has several options, none of them very good. I think a large artificial island two miles off the coast is the best idea, and has been seriously discussed for over ten years. Several billion, but feasible. He could put the Palis in the Sinai, but Egypt so far refuses to cooperate, saying it’s willing to lose millions of Egyptian lives to keep a single Palestinian from entering Egypt. Egypt used to administer Gaza, but lost it to Israel in the Six Day War. Israel later gave it back. I don’t think either is that attached to the Sinai, and something might be worked out. It would be dangerous to rebuild Sinai with all the collapsed tunnels, and Israel would want a much wider security zone around the perimeter, reducing the already overpopulated territory. Hamas would probably find a way to continue shelling Israel and murdering Jews. I wouldn’t let them come back. PA administration is a foolish idea. A commission of EU, UN, and moderate Arab countries administering it is also a foolish idea, but possibly the least immediately foolish. No Muslim country wants to fool with the Palis. Both Jordan (1970) and Kuwait (1990) killed thousands and expelled more when Palis sought to overthrow their governments. Hamas is Muslim Brotherhood and no one wants them in their country. Non-Muslim countries would be ill-advised to take any. We’ve seen how immigrants and university students have been ripping down hostage photos, closing bridges, disrupting parades, vowing to end Christmas, with many supporting the genocide of Jews. In Australia in front of Sydney Opera House chanting Gas the Jews. I wouldn’t let them get a foothold.
Rebuild Gaza, not Sinai.
I agree with Carla. Yes, all humans are human, all began as innocent babies. But in this case we’re looking at the face of absolute evil (Hamas), and Mossab Youssef would be the first to describe it as such. Both exploitative, dishonest, brutal Hamas, an Iranian proxy, and Islam. The motto of Hamas is a hadith, a holy example of something Muhammed, the perfect man in their estimation, said or did. He said on the Last Day all Jews would be slaughtered and try to hide behind trees, and the trees would cry Muslims, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him! Islam cannot tolerate that the reviled Jews have become so successful, so they must be eliminated.
How many Gazans could be considered innocent? The majority voted for Hamas twenty years ago. If elections were held now, PA Abbas would get 15% of the vote according to polls, Hamas leader Haniyeh would get 80% in Gaza and the West Bank combined (less in Gaza). Hundreds gathered in the square to cheer the body of the raped, mutilated, murdered girl from the Nova festival being driven around. Hundreds flocked out to join with the Hamas fighters on October 7, and rape and kill. Pali women and children followed on bicycles to steal whatever they could from the pillaged kibbutzim. Noa Argamani, the girl kidnapped screaming on a motorcycle, was kidnapped by a Pali civilian.
Israel left them three thousand greenhouses when it pulled all Jews out of Gaza in 2007. Palis destroyed all of them within weeks, resources which could have fed them. They got billions in donations to build luxury hotels, but instead used all of it to buy weapons and build tunnels to kill Jews. Israel made six concrete offers of land for peace which would have given them 95% of what they said they wanted, but Palis refused. They have never wanted peaceful coeexistence with Jews, only their death and to loot all their property.
Mossab Youssef is admirable, intelligent, and brave, having betrayed his father, Hamas, and the Pali cause, now a Christian living in the US with American citizenship. But by the same token, he is not representative. I bought his book on Kindle on Oct 20, on seeing it recommended here, but have not finished it.
Everyone has what he thinks are justifications for his choices and actions. Palis are raised from infancy to hate Jews, being told they are greedy, dishonest, and avaricious. And blame their abject poverty on them, being unaware of its real causes. So were Germans under the Nazis. Palis demand from the river to the sea, after killing all the Jews. Germans demanded Lebensraum and stole Poland, Czechoslovakia, and other lands in eastern Europe, occupying, colonizing, and genociding in them. After the war, millions were pushed out of their new homes and forced into exile.
While anyone feels sorry for an illiterate, hungry family of Palestinians whose home was bombed by Israel and fell on top of them, Israel was not targeting the family, but the weapons stored in tunnels below the house. Every school, hospital, clinic, and UNRWA building entered so far by the IDF has had an entrance to the tunnel system in it.
The danger is to feel so much empathy with the suffering overpopulated masses that it paralyzes you into inaction, bothsidesism. In your first article on the Gaza war in October, there was a link to a statement by a Pali official, who said that Hamas did not and had not killed Israeli civilians. It’s also necessary, as the Bible tells us, to be wily as snakes and be aware that many lie to protect themselves.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SE5QG_BDUks&pp=QACIAgE%3D&rco=1
Well said.
Excellent and eloquent.
Daisy.
I have not read this book, however it sounds like you had the same experience that I had when I read the book Exodus by Leon Uris.
If you or anyone else has not read this book I Highly recommend it.
It was definitely an enlightening experience for me and if you want to understand Jewish history and how the nation of Isreal was reestablished and how the Palestinian situation developed I can’t recommend Exodus enough
Information is hard to come by, accurate information is even harder. Look to the past to help understand the present and future.
Read up on the Balfour Declaration. Watch the utube video The British in Palestine. Do some historical research about the area of the Middle East known as Palestine.
If you approach the research with an open mind I guarantee that you will be stunned.
To me, this is straight out of the “playbook,” used on 1. Indigenous people all over the world 2. Blacks (watch “Black Judas.” 3. Japanese during WWII That is his story (history) repeating with the lions never allowed to tell what the hunter did/does repeatedly.
Malcolm X prophecy “chickens” are coming to roost.
Is it something you’d like to read? Yes, it sounds like a good book. I’m familiar with Mosab Hassan Yousef through articles I’ve read about him. Mosab is proof that there are “reasonable” Arabs who want to live peacefully with Israel. Shalom all.
But Mosab converted to Christianity, and left his previous Muslim worldview. Islam demands submitting every person in the world to Islamic law.
Daisy, I read the book at the suggestion of another author who has opinions similar to your own. Honestly, to begin with, I was more interested in looking for the testimony of a Muslim turned Christian in order to be able to quote it as proof of the reach of Christ. What I came away with was so much more. First, the book was a very good read. Well written and informative. One tactic of warfare is to dehumanize the “enemy”, thus making it easier for the populace to accept the unavoidable atrocities of war. Mosab strips away a lot of the propaganda, and as you stated, shows the humanity of both sides of the Hamas/Israeli conflict. Are there monsters? Yes. In any conflict there are going to be monsters. Men are monsters in general in my opinion. But the propaganda machine in the US would have us believe that ALL of the Palestinians are monsters and ALL Israelis are victims, and that the actions of the few are applauded by the majority. The book shows us that this belief is just not true. Most people, human beings, on both side of the conflict are merely trying to survive in a conflict that has been going on since biblical times. It leads us into an understanding that much of the hate for each other is bred into the people generation after generation, and that stepping out and going against those ingrained beliefs is unacceptable. It made me question my own worldview, and I asked myself how much of it has developed by my own research and experiences, and how much of it has actually been passed down to me or propagandized into my own thought process. It made me realize that propaganda is like a fine, extravagant, rich and tasty meal served to you on a silver platter. Most people accept it willingly and dig right in, trusting that it will be right, healthy, and fulfilling. At one time, I was most people. Not anymore. Now I not only want to know why the meal is being served, but I also want to know every single ingredient in it right down to how many grains of salt were used and what the purpose of them are. What does this have to do with the book? It made me realize that I had overlooked some ingredients and was still tempted by the meal.
Well written Kim. You express what I have troubles expressing. Thank you.
Nothing new under the sun.
I will need to read this book for sure.
Thanks Daisy for an open minded look at what’s probably a very controversial book. Everything people do is a choice. Everything.
While everyone wants to put Hamas under a microscope no one seems to want to examine Jewish Zionists and their role in the current devastation in Gaza. They played a big part with the Rothchilds in bringing about the Balfour declaration in which men divided up the land of Palestine. Arab peoples already lived there but that did not matter. Colonial settlement was initiated in that land and many innocent people were killed and/or dispossessed of their homes. I understand that Hamas is not good, however that does not mean that all people in Gaza need to be eliminated. There are good people there who are just trying to live their lives as all people have an inherent right to do.
The Zionists continue to play their role. If you tell a lie often enough it becomes truth. History proves that one.
Funny how no one who writes here, that is American, wants to see the parallels with what was done to the Native Americans in this land. Same thing. Only good Indian is a dead one was the mindset of many. We invaded them for their land. Our very own colonial settlement. We killed them (women and children too) or moved them into settlements far from where their homelands were. We just called them reservations instead. The Jesuits forced them to abandon there beliefs and conform to so-called civilized people! Called them bucks or squaws. Dehumanized them like so many do to the Palestinian people currently.
Christ can change the hardest hearts if a person makes the choice to believe and make room for love. What is going on in Gaza is nothing but darkness and evil. This book looks like an interesting read to me. I can’t imagine what this man went through practically.
I also can’t fathom a tribal community/culture. Completely different from anything I know. Perhaps that’s where a major disconnect is between Western and Eastern cultures.
I just know it is so sad to hear so many calling for the extermination of a people group. I don’t have the answers. History is repeating itself and people don’t seem to be able to see that.
Arab peoples did not live there before Jews. There were mo Arabs in the time of Abrahsm, four thousand years before Christ. There was always a Jewish presence even after the Diaspora. More returned starting around 1800, before Zionism. Mark Twain in the 1860s described the land, but didn’t mention any Arabs. It was a part of the Ottoman Empire, which was not Arab. Jews bought the land they occupied from absentee Egyptian and Ottoman landlords. And made it bloom to the point that many Arabs from Syria and Iraq flocked there to get work from the Jews. They were called Arabs, not Palestinians. Many left when other places offered more work.
The Ottoman Empire became Muslim around the 8th century, I believe.
Bless you,
O.D.
There are so many unanswered questions. A longstanding Palestinian complaint has been the total control of their society by Israel. With video feeds being aired of the “300” miles of Hamas tunnels one wonders how the Palestinian managed to get that much building material past the Israel defense folks. How did the locals not know what was going on ? It seems EVERYONE had to have known to some extent. I came to work thru the Military and then construction. The amount of material it would take to build even 5 miles much less 300 is mindboggling. Consider the soft, sandy soil of that region. If the video/pics of the tunnels are authentic …….The story on either side lacks credibility. Semper Fi Moniqueo
What we are witnessing, in all the terror and atrocities committed by both sides of this conflict, is actually approaching the end of their war. The real beginning of all of this turmoil that is between the Jews and the Arabs was when Abraham impregnated his wife’s handmaid, and Ishmael happened. That was the beginning of the war with Ishmael’s descendants and Abraham’s descendents. It is still going on today, and will continue until Yeshua (Jesus) returns to claim His birthright. Then it will be over … for at least 1000 yrs. Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. It’s all in there. And the most important thing in all of this is to remember that HE who built the Universe said to favor the Jews because they are the apple of His eye. Those who bless them will be blessed. Those who curse them will be forever cursed.
May you be blessed,
O.D.
The struggle I have with his culture is trust. They can and will say anything to manipulate and blindside. They relish the look in your eye the moment you realize that they have betrayed you, or as they see it they have outsmarted you. There is no cause for the murder of innocents. And as a society as a whole, they reward and celebrate it. They’re definition of honor and nobility will always conflict with ours.
I just finished reading Son of Hamas – a very interesting read. This does give insight into many of the players in that part of the world. This reiterated my belief that the war going on now is not going to change anything, no matter how much infrastructure or how many people are eliminated. All of the organizations involved have people all over that part of the world and others, and many may be hiding until they are needed. Not only that, but all of the survivors of this current situation, especially the young ones, are just another generation that will be full of hate and revenge. And I think that’s true of both sides.
I also found it interesting to see more proof of media changing truth to fit their message. Not at all surprising but interesting.