Son of Hamas

by Mosab Hassan Yousef

  I tell my story as well to let the Israeli people know that there is hope. If I, the son of a terrorist organization dedicated to the extinction of Israel, can reach a point where I not only learned to love the Jewish people but risked my life for them, there is a light of hope.

  My story holds a message for Christians too. We must learn from the sorrows of my people, who carry a heavy burden trying to work their way into God’s favor. We have to get beyond the religious rules we make for ourselves. Instead, we must love people—on all sides of the world—unconditionally. If we are going to represent Jesus to the world, we have to live his message of love. If we want to follow Jesus, we must also expect to be persecuted. We should be happy to be persecuted for his sake.

  To Middle East experts, government decision makers, scholars, and leaders of intelligence agencies, I write with the hope that a simple story will contribute to your understanding of the problems and potential solutions in one of the most troubled regions of the world.

  I offer my story knowing that many people, including those I care about most, will not understand my motives or my thinking.

  Some people will accuse me of doing what I have done for the sake of money. The irony is that I had no problem getting money in my previous life but am living practically hand to mouth now. While it is true that my family struggled financially, especially during the long stretches when my father was in prison, I eventually became a fairly rich young man. With my government-provided salary, I made ten times the average income in my country. I had a good life, with two houses and a new sports car. And I could have made even more.

  When I told the Israelis that I was done working for them, they offered to set me up in my own communications business that would earn me millions of dollars if I would only stay. I said no to that offer and came to the United States, where I haven’t been able to find a full-time job and ended up practically homeless. I hope that someday money won’t be a problem for me anymore, but I’ve learned that money alone will never satisfy me. If money was my main goal, I could have stayed where I was and kept working for Israel. I could have accepted the donations that people have offered me since I moved to the States. But I haven’t done either because I don’t want to make money my priority—or give the impression that it is what drives me.

  Some people may think I’m doing this for the attention, but I had plenty of that back in my own country too.

  What was much harder to give up was the power and authority I had as the son of a top Hamas leader. Having tasted power, I know how addictive it can be—much more addictive than money. I liked the power I had in my former life, but when you’re addicted, even to power, you are controlled more than you control.

  Freedom, a deep longing for freedom, is really at the heart of my story.

  I am the son of a people who have been enslaved by corrupt systems for many centuries.

  I was a prisoner of the Israelis when my eyes were opened to the fact that the Palestinian people were as oppressed by their own leaders as they were by Israel.

  I was a devout follower of a religion that required strict adherence to rigid regulations in order to please the god of the Qur’an and get into heaven.

  I had money, power, and position in my former life, but what I really wanted was freedom. And that meant, among other things, leaving behind hate, prejudice, and a desire for revenge.

  The message of Jesus—love your enemies—is what finally set me free. It no longer mattered who my friends were or who my enemies were; I was supposed to love them all. And I could have a loving relationship with a God who would help me love others.

  Having that kind of relationship with God is not only the source of my freedom but also the key to my new life.

  * * *

  After reading this book, please do not think that I have become some kind of super follower of Jesus. I’m still struggling. The little I know and understand about my faith came from Bible studies and reading. In other words, I am a follower of Jesus Christ but am only beginning to become a disciple.

  I was born and raised in a religious environment that insisted salvation was all about works. I have a lot to unlearn to make room for the truth:

  You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. —EPHESIANS 4:22-24

  Like many other followers of Christ, I have repented of my sins, and I know that Jesus is the Son of God who became a man, died for our sins, rose from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. I have been baptized. Yet I feel that I am barely inside the gate of the Kingdom of God. I have been told that there is much, much more. And I want it all.

  In the meantime, I still struggle with the world, the flesh, and the devil. I still have misconceptions and confusion. I wrestle with what sometimes seem like invincible issues. Yet I have hope that I, like the apostle Paul who described himself to Timothy as “the worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:16), will become whatever God wants me to be, as long as I don’t give up.

  So if you meet me in the street, please don’t ask me for advice or what I think this or that Scripture verse means, because you’re probably already way ahead of me. Instead of looking at me as a spiritual trophy, pray for me, that I will grow in my faith and that I won’t step on too many toes as I learn to dance with the Bridegroom.

  * * *

  As long as we continue to search for enemies anywhere but inside ourselves, there will always be a Middle East problem.

  Religion is not the solution. Religion without Jesus is just self-righteousness. Freedom from oppression will not resolve things either. Delivered from the oppression of Europe, Israel became the oppressor. Delivered from persecution, Muslims became persecutors. Abused spouses and children often go on to abuse spouses and children. It is a cliché, but it’s still true: hurt people, unless they are healed, hurt people.

  Manipulated by lies and driven by racism, hatred, and revenge, I was on my way to being one of those people. Then in 1999, I encountered the only true God. He is the Father whose love is beyond expression, yet shown in the sacrifice of his only Son on a cross to atone for the world’s sins. He is the God who, three days later, demonstrated his power and righteousness by raising Jesus from the dead. He is the God who not only commands me to love and forgive my enemies as he has loved and forgiven me but empowers me to do so.

  Truth and forgiveness are the only solution for the Middle East. The challenge, especially between Israelis and Palestinians, is not to find the solution. The challenge is to be the first courageous enough to embrace it.

  The Players

  Mosab’s Family

  Sheikh Yousef Dawood — His paternal grandfather

  Sheikh Hassan Yousef — His father; cofounder and leader of Hamas since 1986

  Sabha Abu Salem — His mother

  Ibrahim Abu Salem — His uncle (mother’s brother); a cofounder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan

  Dawood — His uncle (father’s brother)

  Yousef Dawood — His cousin, son of Dawood, who helped him purchase inoperative weapons

  Mosab’s brothers — Sohayb (1980), Seif (1983), Oways (1985), Mohammad (1987), Naser (1997)

  Mosab’s sisters — Sabeela (1979), Tasneem (1982), Anhar (1990)

  Key Players (in order of appearance)

  Hassan al-Banna — Egyptian reformer and founder of the Muslim Brotherhood

  Jamal Mansour — Cofounder of Hamas in 1986; assassinated by Israel

  Ibrahim Kiswani — Mosab’s friend who helped him purchase inoperative weapons

  Loai — Mosab’s handler in the Shin Bet

  Marwan Barghouti — Secretary-general of Fatah

  Maher Odeh — Hamas leader and head of Hamas security wing in prison

  Saleh Talahme — Hamas terrorist and Mosab’s friend

  Ibrahim Hamed — Head
of Hamas security wing in the West Bank

  Sayyed al-Sheikh Qassem — Hamas terrorist

  Hasaneen Rummanah — Hamas terrorist

  Khalid Meshaal — Head of Hamas in Damascus, Syria

  Abdullah Barghouti — Bomb maker

  The Others (in alphabetical order)

  Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi — Hamas leader; leader of the deportee camp in Lebanon

  Abdel-Basset Odeh — Hamas suicide bomber, Park Hotel

  Abu Ali Mustafa — Secretary-general of PFLP; assassinated by Israel

  Abu Saleem — Butcher; Mosab’s crazy neighbor

  Adib Zeyadeh — Covert leader of Hamas

  Ahmad Ghandour — Early leader of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades

  Ahmad al-Faransi — Aide to Marwan Barghouti

  Ahmed Yassin — Cofounder of Hamas in 1986; assassinated by Israel

  Akel Sorour — Friend of Mosab and fellow prison inmate

  Amar Salah Diab Amarna — First official Hamas suicide bomber

  Amer Abu Sarhan — Stabbed three Israelis to death in 1989

  Amnon — Jewish convert to Christianity and fellow prison inmate with Mosab

  Anas Rasras — Maj’d leader at Megiddo Prison

  Ariel Sharon — Eleventh prime minister of Israel (2001–2006)

  Avi Dichter — Head of Shin Bet

  Ayman Abu Taha — Cofounder of Hamas in 1986

  Aziz Kayed — Covert leader of Hamas

  Baruch Goldstein — American-born physician who slaughtered twenty-nine Palestinians in Hebron during Ramadan

  Bilal Barghouti — Cousin of Hamas bomber Abdullah Barghouti

  Bill Clinton — Forty-second president of the United States

  Captain Shai — Israel Defense Forces officer

  Daya Muhammad Hussein al-Tawil — French Hill suicide bomber

  Ehud Barak — Tenth prime minister of Israel (1999–2001)

  Ehud Olmert — Twelfth prime minister of Israel (2006–2009)

  Fathi Shaqaqi — Founder of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and initiator of suicide bombings

  Fouad Shoubaki — PA chief financial officer for military operations

  Hassan Salameh — Friend of Yahya Ayyash, who taught him how to make bombs to kill Israelis

  Imad Akel — Leader of Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas military wing; killed by Israelis

  Ismail Haniyeh — Elected Palestinian prime minister in 2006

  Izz al-Din Shuheil al-Masri — Sbarro pizza parlor suicide bomber

  Jamal al-Dura — Father of twelve-year-old Mohammed al-Dura, who Palestinians say was killed by IDF soldiers during a demonstration by Palestinian security forces in Gaza

  Jamal al-Taweel — Hamas leader in the West Bank

  Jamal Salim — Hamas leader killed in assassination of Jamal Mansour in Nablus

  Jamil Hamami — Cofounder of Hamas in 1986

  Jibril Rajoub — Head of security for the Palestinian Authority

  Juma’a — Gravedigger in cemetery near Mosab’s childhood home

  King Hussein — King of Jordan (1952–1999)

  Kofi Annan — Seventh secretary-general of the United Nations (1997–2006)

  Leonard Cohen — Canadian singer and songwriter who wrote “First We Take Manhattan”

  Mahmud Muslih — Cofounder of Hamas in 1986

  Majeda Talahme — Wife of Hamas terrorist Saleh Talahme

  Mohammad — Founder of Islam

  Mohammad Daraghmeh — Palestinian journalist

  Mohammed al-Dura — Twelve-year-old boy allegedly killed by IDF soldiers during a Fatah demonstration in Gaza

  Mohammed Arman — Member of Hamas terrorist cell

  Mosab Talahme — Oldest son of terrorist Saleh Talahme

  Muhammad Jamal al-Natsheh — Cofounder of Hamas in 1986 and head of its military wing in the West Bank

  Muhaned Abu Halawa — Member of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades

  Najeh Madi — Covert leader of Hamas

  Nissim Toledano — Israeli border policeman killed by Hamas

  Ofer Dekel — Shin Bet officer

  Rehavam Ze’evi — Israeli tourism minister assassinated by PFLP gunmen

  Saddam Hussein — Iraqi dictator who invaded Kuwait in 1990

  Saeb Erekat — Palestinian cabinet minister

  Saeed Hotari — Dolphinarium suicide bomber

  Salah Hussein — Covert leader of Hamas

  Sami Abu Zuhri — Hamas spokesman in Gaza

  Shada — Palestinian worker killed by mistake by an Israeli tank gunner

  Shimon Peres — Ninth president of Israel, who assumed office in 2007; has also served as prime minister and foreign minister

  Shlomo Sakal — Israeli plastics salesman, stabbed to death in Gaza

  Tsibouktsakis Germanus — Greek Orthodox monk murdered by Ismail Radaida

  Yahya Ayyash — Bomb maker credited with advancing the technique of suicide bombing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

  Yasser Arafat — Longtime chairman of the PLO, president of the PA; died in 2004

  Yisrael Ziv — Israeli major general for the IDF

  Yitzhak Rabin — Fifth prime minister of Israel (1974–1977; 1992–1995); assassinated by right-wing Israeli radical Yigal Amir in 1995

  Zakaria Botros — Coptic priest who has led countless Muslims to Christ, via satellite television, by exposing the errors in the Qur’an and revealing the truth of Scripture

  Glossary

  abu — Son of

  adad — Number

  adhan — Muslim call to prayer, five times a day

  Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades — Terrorist group, formed during the Second Intifada out of various resistance groups, that carries out suicide bombings and other attacks against Israeli targets

  Al-Aqsa Mosque — Islam’s third holiest site from which Muslims believe Mohammad ascended into heaven; located on the Temple Mount, Jews’ holiest site and believed to be the location of the ancient Jewish Temples

  Al-Fatihah — The opening sura (passage) of the Qur’an, read by the imam or religious leader

  Al-Jazeera — Arab satellite television news network; based in Qatar

  Allah — Arabic word for God

  Allenby Bridge — Bridge across the Jordan River between Jericho and Jordan; originally built by British General Edmund Allenby in 1918

  baklava — Rich pastry made with layers of dough, filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with honey

  Black September — Bloody confrontation between the Jordanian government and Palestinian organizations in September 1970

  Caliphate — Islamic political leadership

  Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) — Secular Marxist-Leninist organization opposing the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza

  dinar (dee'-nahr) — Official currency of Jordan, used throughout the West Bank in addition to the Israeli shekel

  emir — Arabic for chief or commander

  Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades (Eza-deen' al Kas-sam') — Military wing of Hamas

  Fatah — Largest political faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization

  fatwa — Legal opinion or decree concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar

  feda’iyeen (fedai-yeen') — Freedom fighters

  Force 17 — Yasser Arafat’s elite commando unit

  hadith (hah'-dith) — Oral traditions of Islam

  hajj — Pilgrimage to Mecca

  Hamas — Islamic resistance movement in the West Bank and Gaza, listed by the United States, European Union, and others as a terrorist organization

  Hezbollah — Islamic political and paramilitary organization in Lebanon

  hijab — Head covering or veil worn by Muslim women in some cultures

  IDF (Israel Defense Forces) — Israel’s military force, including ground forces, air force, and navy

  imam — Islamic leader, usually of a mosque

  intifada — Rebellion or uprising

  Islamic Jihad — Islamic resistance movement in th
e West Bank and Gaza, listed by the United States, European Union, and others as a terrorist organization

  jalsa — Islamic study group

  jihad — Literally means “struggle” but interpreted by militant Islamic groups to call for armed struggle, even terrorism

  Kalashnikov — Russian AK-47 assault rifle; invented by Mikhail Kalashnikov

  Knesset — Legislative branch of the Israeli government

  Ktzi’ot — Israeli tent prison in the Negev where Mosab spent time

  Kurds — Ethnic people group, most of whom live in Kurdistan, which covers parts of Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey

  Labor Party — Socialist/Zionist left-wing political party of Israel

  Likud Party — Right-wing political party of Israel

  maj’d (mah-jeed') — Hamas security wing

  Maskobiyeh (mahs-koh-bee'-yah) — Israeli detention center in West Jerusalem

  Mecca — Islam’s holiest site, located in Saudi Arabia, where the prophet Mohammad founded his religion

  Medina — Islam’s second holiest site; the burial place of Mohammad located in Saudi Arabia

  Megiddo — Prison camp in northern Israel

  Merkava — Combat tank, used by the Israeli Defense Forces

  minaret — Tall spire of a mosque from which a Muslim religious leader calls the faithful to prayer

  mi’var — At Megiddo, a processing unit where prisoners stayed before being moved into the camp population

  Molotov cocktail — A petroleum bomb, usually a gasoline-filled glass bottle with a rag wick, that is ignited and thrown at a target.

  mosque — Muslim place of worship and prayer

  Mossad — National intelligence agency of Israel, comparable to America’s Central Intelligence Agency

  mujahid (moo-jah-ha-deed') — Muslim guerilla soldier

  Munkar and Nakir — Angels believed to torment the dead

  occupied territories — The West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights

  Operation Defensive Shield — Major military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces during the Second Intifada

  Oslo Accords — The 1993 agreements reached between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization