Over the weekend I read a book named "Son of Hamas". It is one of the most eye-opening, thought provoking, emotionally wrenching books I have ever read. It gave me a fresh perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, displaying the situation in more grays than definitive black and white, as most of the world sees it. I recommend it to everyone, absolutely everyone and would love to hear what you think.
The book is written by Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the seven founders and leaders of Hamas. The book is an autobiography depicting his life journey, from a zealous Hamas activist to one of the most valuable spies for the Shin Bet in Israel. I was riveted and glued to the book the entire weekend. I could not focus on anything else.
Yousef brings the human dimension into the conflict questioning the goals, and the means used to reach goals. He struggles with the idea of losing life over land, of losing sight of the bigger picture of peace and sovereignty for the details of whose side kills more people.
I do not want to spoil the book for you, however, I would like to quote two paragraphs that shook me up.
"…And the Israelis, unable to find and arrest the violent young militants, continued to pursue soft targets like my father. I think they figured that since my father was a leader of Hamas., which was carrying out these attacks, his imprisonment would put a stop to them. But they never made an effort to find out who or what Hamas really was. And it would be many painful years before they would begin to understand that Hamas was not an organization as most people understood organizations., with rules and a hierarchy. It was a ghost. An idea. You can't destroy an idea; you can only stimulate it. Hamas was like a flatworm. Cut off its head, ad it just grew another."
(Son of Hamas, pp.57-58)
In the final chapter of his book, Yousef wirtes:
"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 a relationship with God is not only the source of my freedom but also the key to my new life."
(Son of Hamas, p. 249)
In my opinion, the reason Yousef ultimately converted to Christianity, because to him, that symbolized a relationship of love, peace and kindness, despite its bloody past. He was raised in the conflict, where Jews and Muslims killed each other in the name of the Torah and the Qu'aran. He wanted out.
Okay, I'll leave it here. Would love to hear your thoughts and discuss this book with someone.
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| Image: http://files.tyndale.com/thpdata/images--covers/500%20h/978-1-4143-3309-0.jpg |
Also, you could check out the SON OF HAMAS blog
