In his book Son of Hamas, Mosab Hassan Yousef says, "I am the son of a people who have been enslaved by corrupt systems for many centuries" (p. 248). One of those corrupt systems, in his view, is the Israeli government: "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....Delivered from the oppression of Europe, Israel became the oppressor" (pp. 249-250).
Israel is the oppressor of the Palestinians? It sounds as if Mosab Hassan Yousef hasn't modified his old Hamas views all that much -- for if the Palestinians would cut out the jihad against Israel, they would immediately find that Israeli "oppression" would end. But he doesn't seem to take that into account.
This doesn't mean I think he should have been deported. That he was considered for deportation at all is another blot on the much-marred record of the Obama Administration. But I am surprised that the Jewish groups that are so earnestly championing his cause don't seem to have read his book very closely.
UPDATE: Pamela Geller adds: "I heard him on the radio yesterday speak of the Israelis killing children, which took me aback."
"Judge agrees to grant asylum to ex-Israeli spy," by Elliot Spagat for AP, June 30 (thanks to all who sent this in):
SAN DIEGO -- The son of a Hamas founder who became a Christian and an Israeli spy will be granted U.S. asylum after he passes a routine background check, an immigration judge ruled Wednesday.Mosab Hassan Yousef got the news during a 15-minute deportation hearing after a U.S. Department of Homeland Security attorney said the government was dropping its objections.
The agency denied Yousef's asylum request in February 2009, arguing that he had been involved in terrorism and was a threat to the United States.
Attorney Kerri Calcador gave no explanation for the government's change of heart....
In his book, Yousef describes growing up admiring Hamas and hating Israel, leading him to buy a couple machine guns and a handgun in 1996. He said the guns didn't work and that he was arrested by Israeli forces before he killed anyone....
Mr. Spencer: I researched the question of Mr. Yousef's feelings about the Jews in the posting linked below.
Q: Is Mosab Yousef Anti-Israel? A: No.
I read the entire book the night I bought it.
Like Robert, I couldn't help noticing the very real inconsistency in Mosab's thinking...such as - after a couple of meetings with the Shin Bet, he decided that they were "my buddies"...and this profound (cough, cough) realization ushered in his long journey into espionage. Obviously there were other factors at play (such as his undeniably genuine revulsion for the prison ethics of Hamas). Still, such a fateful turn seemed a tad too flippant and easy for my powers of discernment....(but maybe that's just me).
Having said all that, flaky or not, Mosab WAS the real McCoy, his actions saved countless lives...and his courage is undeniable. I think it would have sent an absolutely counter-productive message to potential friends and apostates in the Muslim world had we turned our back on him.
"It sounds as if Mosab Hassan Yousef hasn't modified his old Hamas views all that much"
====
One would think so if they had not read his articles posted on his blog.
http://sonofhamas.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/hamas-scores-deadly-pr-victory/
"I am sorry, my Palestinian brothers and sisters, but Israel has the right, like every other country in the world, to protect its borders. Every time they were open, weapons and enemies poured in, just as Iraq’s enemies poured in before its borders were secured after Saddam’s fall."
===
Of course, time will tell who Mosab Hassan Yousef will become as he works out his biases.
You are also leaving out the context of "time and place" in the course of Mosab's life story.
Considering the actions Mosab undertook post ethical/moral revelation during his stay in Israeli prison, this should outweigh the words laid down in a book that expresses a man's honest feelings at a 'time and place'.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe a snide missive over good news is appropriate.
I don't often disagree with you Robert, but on this one you seem to be jumping to conclusions that are just not supported in his statements.
"Israel is the oppressor of the Palestinians? It sounds as if Mosab Hassan Yousef hasn't modified his old Hamas views all that much -- for if the Palestinians would cut out the jihad against Israel, they would immediately find that Israeli "oppression" would end."
First, there is no mention of degree of "oppression".
Does Israel take some oppressive actions against the occupiers of Gaza?
Of course they do, bulldozing peoples houses is oppressive. It is also an important measured response to a threat, and fully within their right to do in defense of their country, but to say it doesn't add to the oppression of the persons or people in Gaza is being far too one sided.
Second, you of all people should know there is far more differences between Hamas and Israel than just corruption to pass judgment on someone calling both corrupt. All human governments are corrupt to some extent.
"Delivered from the oppression of Europe, Israel became the oppressor"
Was Europe even the oppressor of the people of Gaza? I think not. I think what he is doing is talking "from the point of view" of what they are being told, and what they believe, not necessarily what he actually believes. I really wish I had better context clarity on this, because it could be taken other ways.
(E.G. "as oppressed by their own leaders as they were by Israel... so the point of view of the people of Gaza became that they were delivered from the oppression of Europe, Israel became the oppressor.")
Third, from a Christians point of view, which he now is, is that the entire world is "enslaved by corrupt systems" and that the "whole of creation groans and suffers" (Rom 8:22) waiting for the true King. If that is his view, then of course Israel and Hamas will get lumped into the "corrupt systems" category.
I really think that if we should not be taking pot shots at allies in this war. It's hard enough going as is already.
I got two pages into his book and stopped. He referred to the Palestinians....whoever they are....and the Occupied Territories...whatever they are. Perhaps it is an interesting story but I decided I didn't want to waste my time with a writer peddling the usual lies.
Well the point missed is how AP labeled him as an ex-Israeli spy. Perhaps they want to put a larger target on his head or simply refuse to believe what he says as the SON OF HAMAS. That is a bigger story that his views about Israel. It shows the current narrative at work....
I hate to break it to you as a support of Israel, she is not without flaws and mistakes. To think anyone on the other side is simply going to become a good Zionist is foolish. Israel is not perfect nor are all Muslims headed towards jihad.
The beginning starts with shared beliefs like the right to exist for Palestinians and Israelis. That is far more important than killing each other over the dissimilarity of their prospective "truths".
I would be happy about the bridge between the sides rather than amplifying every contradiction. If you haven't noticed, the alternative to dialogue is a coming conflagration. What is need now is maximum self-reflection by all sides. I think this guy is a far better alternative than Hamas, don't you? He is part of the counter-narrative, not a party to the descent into madness...
This is good news. It goes to show you that the governments will listen if there is opposition.
Yousef's book contains page after page of fiction.
He hasn't researched ANY of the things he heard about the Israelis and I found his book highly offensive and superficial on that account.
Everything's in there; Israelis harvesting the organs of Palestinians along with the Mohammad al-Dura incident called 'controversial' without mentioning it was proved a hoax in a French court.
I figured Mosab didn't bother with any research before publishing his book. Unforgivable. Other than his personal accounts and eye-witness testimony, it's all crap.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Crippled+conspiracies/3204235/story.html
Perhaps you should try pulling a 180 when the overwhelming islamic culture is replete with lies, obfuscations and omissions. That's the way the muslims look at us. That's why muslims never fully trust converts. I guess we shouldn't either... But then those pesky facts about Mosab's actions keep my hopes up....
Perhaps the doubters should friend Mosab on Facebook and ask him directly.
{Barack Barack}
I was later than many in absolutely rejecting Obama, but the thing that decided it for me was when Obama's administration simultaneously
1) admitted Tariq Ramadan to the U.S., and
2) started trying to deport Mosab Hassan Yousef, the convert from Islam to Christianity and "son of Hamas."
SEE THIS VIDEO:
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF TEARS ISLAM A NEW CLOACA, AND DEFENDS ISRAEL
Here is a comment from Jonathan Hunt of Fox News, which makes me deeply suspicious of your present US administration:
"His handler, Gonen Ben Itzhak, told Fox News that Hassan saved American, Jewish and Palestinian lives. We aired our exclusive interview with Ben Itzhak on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning Homeland Security had changed its position on Mosab.
WHAT IS STRANGE IS THAT ONE WOULD THINK THE INFORMATION WE REPORTED COULD HAVE BEEN FOUND AND CORROBORATED BY HOMELAND SECURITY WITH A FEW PHONE CALLS TO THEIR ISRAELI COUNTERPARTS. INSTEAD THEY PURSUED A LONG AND EXPENSIVE LEGAL CASE AGAINST A MAN WHO APPEARS TO BE A HERO, WHO APPEARS TO BE COMMITTED TO FIGHTING TERROR. AND A MAN WHO NOW PROMISES TO HELP THE US FIGHT THE THREATS AGAINST IT."
That is strange indeed, trying to deport a friend to certain death and welcoming enemies till the public outcry was just too loud to be ignored.
Has the US, which the rest of the free world looks upto as the bulwark of freedom been infiltrated and subverted from within?
Thanks Traeh for that video. IT should be mandatory viewing for all policy makers in the West.
Lorgan you might want to hear this before you give your opinions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOOQtMgLB3M&NR=1
Israel is not perfect? Well, What nation is? Israel's lack of perfection is not the point when you posit an imperfect Israel against the statement that not all Muslims pursue jihad. What's important is that Jews don't kill or maim simply in the name of their belief system, nor do they want the extirpation of any Arab state. Many Muslims do murder and commit mayhem and many more Muslims give such Muslims moral support as well as desiring no Israel at all. You showed a moral equivalency thinking which is deeply aberrant. Tu quoque reasoning when contrasting a free society, a free anything, against a repressive regime or ideology will always lead to profound ratiocination errors in logic and ethics. Your comment is a case in point.
As for dialogue between Muslim and Jew and shared beleifs, your living in la-la land to say this. The fact of the matter is that the Arab Muslim world wants no Israel at all and the idea that Arab moms and pops want the same thing for their children as do Israeli Jewish parents is also way off the mark. We're talking about the difference between light, wisdom and a capacity for true tolerance on the one hand and darkness, a dearth of wisdom and massive intolerance on the other. Good luck, though, with the "dialogue and shared belief" approach. Yeah, lots of luck.
PS I agree with Mosab Hassan that Israelis oppress Palestinians. Are the Christian Arabs treated fairly in Israel? NO ! Why should he turn a blind eye to any injustice, no matter where the source? Specially against his own people? And I am not a terrorist, nor a supporter of Hamas and in fact a supporter of Israel. I'm afraid you may never understand this.
Whatever his views, when it counted Yousef put his life on the line. This is all that should matter. I am sick and tired of the pro-Israel gatekeepers telling us what to think.
...Does Israel take some oppressive actions against the occupiers of Gaza?..Of course they do...
Some people would call what you cal 'oppressive actions'...'defensive actions'...And there are no degree's, you do what you have to or you will lose...Israel has been defending itself non stop since 1948...Israel is still defending itself, and RS is right that Israel would stop defending itself, if the other side would stop attacking it...
If he fought against Islamic Terror, sending him back into the hands of that same Terror was a criminally negligent idea from the start.
Who pressed for his deportation?
That is the story.
We know why.
For my part...
Any fighter again Islamic Imperialism is welcome.
And welcome to keep deepening their understanding.
Of course they dropped the proceedings. The heat of "public scrutiny" was becoming too much.
Here's Ayaan Hirsi Ali on this book:
Let’s talk about the Mosab Hassan Yousef book, Son of Hamas. You say he came to the same conclusions as you did, but via a completely different route?
"Yes. That is the good thing about it. I always get these accusations, ‘Oh, but you are just from Somalia’, your case is not representative. There are many memoirs, but again, if you tell me to reduce it to just one, I pick his. I read a review of this book and it made me buy it instantly. What I liked about it is that it is by a man. It is the story of a man who grew up as the son of a prominent person in Hamas, immersed in the doctrine and the suicide killings. But he ends up living in a US suburb and completely adopting American values.
It’s not only timely [it has just been published] but a lot of people argue that ‘if only the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be resolved…’ or say, ‘Maybe we should talk to the Muslim Brotherhood, we should talk to Iran, we should talk to Hamas. Why not talk to the bad guys? Talking is always good.’ But this to me does not address the fundamental issue. In this book, the author talks about the in-depth philosophy, the philosophy behind Hamas, about the constitution of Hamas, and why peace is absolutely not on its agenda. It’s about how that has first and foremost harmed the interests of the Palestinian people. It makes it clear that it’s a struggle for struggle’s sake, a kind of aimless and eternal struggle. He describes not just what was going on inside of Hamas, and what went wrong, but he goes on to describe what it did to him, and how he discovered an alternative philosophy, and why he chose it. He comes from a completely different background to mine, and yet he comes to the same conclusion."
from here:
http://fivebooks.com/interviews/ayaan-hirsi-ali-on-women-and-islam
回到耶路撒冷！(Back to Jerusalem!)
Whatever rough edges and baggage Mosab Hassan Yousef carries with him, I praise God for his witness. Perhaps he is one more ex-Muslim who found too great a contrast between Jesus Christ and Muhammad to believe that both were in the same stream of faith and spirituality. The numbers of such people is growing, and partly as a result of Muslims becoming appalled at the facility with which their coreligionists resort to violence.
This is why I pray that the Gospel of how God was in Christ reconciling mankind to Himself might appear to Muslims as a door through which they are invited to pass rather than as a club held over their heads. Further, conversion rather than destruction is the only real and lasting victory that the West can know in this conflict.
And, I also pray that as the Wlid Shoebats and Mosab Hassan Yousefs as well as the Turkish martyrs of a couple of years back multiply, that we Westerners might get the point of the book of Jonah, found at the very end:
"Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, neither madest it grow; which came up inn a night, and perished in a night: And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?" (Jonah 4:10-11)
I agree with many of the posters above who are willing to cut Yusef a break, as one who becomes a Christian, we are a "work-in-progess" always learning and improving in faith, it is truly a life-time endeavour.
http://newstime.co.nz/signs-of-sanity.html
Signs of Sanity
Government Dismisses Deportation Case Against Mosab Hassan Yousef
Judge agrees to grant asylum to ex-Israeli spy
By KyleS
EMET has just received word directly from Mosab that the Government has officially dismissed its deportation case against Mosab Hassan Yousef at a federal detention center in San Diego. …
… Thanks also to former Ambassador R. James Woolsey, who also wrote a letter on Mosab’s behalf, and to all those who called, wrote, or emailed their congressional representatives and the White House on behalf of seeing justice done.”
Kepha. Right again. '' it is a wicked and adulterous generation that asks for a sign. The only sign that they will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah''.
Off topic:
Very weird-
Has anyone seen the picture of President and Michelle Obama holding their left hand over their heart?
http://65.55.72.7/att/GetAttachment.aspx?file=9cc9c850-c326-4497-864a-2176ee30224b.jpg&ct=aW1hZ2UvanBlZw_3d_3d&name=QVRUNDUwMjAuanBn&inline=1&rfc=0&empty=False&imgsrc=cid%3a0218734455784782AF482A8DB9D4AA0A%40your22ca86d5c4&hm__login=pvanschoyckbrown&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.118.8&d=d3994&mf=0&hm__ts=Thu%2c%2001%20Jul%202010%2011%3a15%3a10%20GMT&sc=2PZG8VguaA7My4O6PZ1CJ%21sEwMwgJFrbxxaD9x9%2a705vi3H5fyHy%2a56JfjXeOCq0ZqESE9TZX7VLB5%21bVTf9QUNkfGEY7JRB4wCNBAHUVKD%21VowqTOHKar2g6QYzpSGlhasZMNMZTo4b%2arG8%2a%2apTtpzIeV%2189mmUARLfW8g9PjmI%2aK9VwMH%2axz7VjFcCcRS4I%21rS%21COEDPL95VsclmmDYXXT04sjcIIVeNKt8wVwHpk5K3Qktvfp89bDK89Xs42KTW6ZdGy%21K8uZKhY9FHVoOgXhsEiucbZ7opgry2I4BWTqOCA3%2a91Apzi7Ntg1%2aQcKQN%2agoNqm9YM5WLaCZFrzFbbqrsJIuDfeAeb5bTcgfNteNykTmTsUbRI4w%2aCWG7JfuDUtZhn26cHRjfUTBHQgAB%21K2RPMGbw1Fd&hm__ha=01_eecc041980061e3c84f8e86a1872ea33bcefc47a2e4efc38ea39b970b726a259&oneredir=1
Rasool often puts his rt hand over his groin...
In his book, Yousef describes growing up admiring Hamas and hating Israel, leading him to buy a couple machine guns and a handgun in 1996. He said the guns didn't work and that he was arrested by Israeli forces before he killed anyone....
The idea was in his head...In the institution when someone says, 'don't worry, I won't hit you', get ready to duck, because the idea is in his head...The idea to kill many people was in Yousef's head...If it is not there now, where did it go?
Those of us who are Christian should pray that the stronghold of antisemitism/ Jew-hatred, and all other forms of bondage and evil spiritual influence that have come upon him during his upbringing in Islam, will be completely removed from this man's life.
I'd guess he's got a lot of spiritual/ psychological 'de-bugging' to do, with God's help.
I recall reading recently - it may have been in something by Patrick Sookhdeo, or it may have been another Christian writer who has had experience with apostates - that most Muslims who convert to Christianity do still have all kinds of 'bondages' (as some Christians refer to it) that have to be broken, and removed, by heavy-duty prayer on the part of the person and those assisting them.
At first I thought that the government's effort to deport Mosab Hassan Yousef, the Son of Hamas, was merely incompetence on the part of immigration authorities. Then I was reminded of a wonderful book written years ago by Howard Blum, entitled, Wanted: the Search for Nazis in America, which details the large number of ex-Nazis who after WW II concealed their Nazi past and migrated to America where they lived well for many years under the protection of the Department of Immigration (which knew the truth about their histories), as per strings pulled by high level politicians. In one case, a notorious ex-Nazi from an Eastern European country returned the favor by delivering a large block of ethnic votes for a particular politician. Simple quid pro quo. With this in mind, unthinkable as it may be, I can't help wondering whether there was more than incompetence involved in this present effort to send the Son of Hamas off to Gaza to be executed.
Good, good news! Every little bit helps.
Ok ppl, listen hear. I love Yousef (Joseph). Just b/c he is the son of Hamas doesn't mean he is still a terrorist!
The Lord can heal ppls hearts, Ok! Paul the apostel was a murderer, persecutor of Christians, and yet the Lord used him in a mighty way, making Paul the greatest missionary that walked this planet!
For those of u who think Yousef isn't a changed man, need to read the Bible and see how God/Jesus always used the wicked with a change of heart to do wonders for Him. i.e. Moses, David, Paul, Peter, Abraham, Sarah, Issac, etc.
Maybe those of you who think Yousef isn't changed are probably Jewish. Now i have nothing against Jews, I love them b/c im a Christian. But sometimes Jews are just as programed to hate and distrust Any muslim. So all u Jews Chill out! You have no idea what YHWH is capable of doing to the heart. Love u all!
You are right, T! ...our Lord is a miracle worker, and the apostle Paul is a great example :)
T. Very interesting. YHWH bar Issa. (ban Mohammed)
On the other hand, 'T', your post-modern ramble could land you in a bingle. Txt spk don't travel far on this forum. Clarify y'self or get shot down in flames....jus like Jesse James.
I read “Son of Hamas” and persevered to the end even though I was initially very put-off by a number of passages and comments in the earlier sections of this book; such as subtle but important nuances like Yousef casually describing wihout question all of the terrorist prisoners as “heros”.
I also had the feeling he was very selective and quite economical with the truth; e.g. he didn't really say what he'd really been up to (even if just for appearances sake to protect his "cover") at a number of important points in the story, and I don’t for a moment believe Hamas “won” their infamous election simply because his father decided at the last minute to give their campaign his blessing (second-hand, by the way, from prison).... surely intimidating the voters with extreme violence and murdering many of the key opposition “politicians” (who are, or were, also terrorists) must have had a little more to do with it?!
Having said all that I nonetheless forgive him for apparently retaining a few Hamas ideologies (hard to shake if they've been your whole world and life), as well as for hanging on to several deep-rooted prejudices (again, hard to shake), since he DID (so far as we know – and I’m willing to believe him) risk all to provide intelligence and support for the Israelis behind the backs of his own people.
My impression is these faults are perhaps just due to poor editing (I should know – I freely admit that despite all my research and valuable material my own book could do with a complete re-write!). I think his plan (which doesn’t quite come off) was to steadily lead you (the reader) through his changing mind-set from the early days when he believed without question in the fictitious “Palestinian cause”, through his doubts and uncertainty, up to the his later realisation much (though we know all) of their ideology was simply counter-productive fantasy. He should have put quotation marks around all of the ideological words (such as “heros” and Israeli “oppression” ) that I assume he later wanted to question or (better still) debunk.
But despite its various flaws, as well as some elements that make me cringe, I’m delighted he chose the path he did and even more delighted he’s willing to publicise the fact.... we just need a few hundred million more to follow his example and get the ball rolling!
I have heard Yousef speak several times and read his book. He is the real deal. He calls Islam evil. He said that Islam is like a ladder, most are on the first rungs, but once they start to learn more, become more devoted to Islam, climbing those rungs, it will lead to Jihad, violence. He said Islam is the religion of hate and continues to work to expose how evil it is. He is the good guy in the fight against Islam, we need to support him in this.