Son of Hamas

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.

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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.

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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 cliche, 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