By Mosab Hassan Yousef with Ron Brackin. Grade: B
The story, which is an autobiography, is set in the Israel-Palestine belt which has been in conflict over various religious, military and political reasons from the beginning. The author is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, who is in the upper echelon of the political wing of “Hamas”, a Palestinian liberationist faction, which was why he saw the Image may be NSFW.
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power struggle up close and personal. When the struggle got really ugly, Mosab decided to help the Shin Bet, the Israeli version of FBI, only in order to make sure that peace is maintained. He then operates as a double agent, feeding information to the Israelis to make sure that chaos doesn’t strike everywhere. During this excruciating, painful voyage, Mosab rediscovers himself and finds his faith in Christianity.
From the Inside Flap
Before the age of twenty-one, Mosab Hassan Yousef saw things no one should ever see: abject poverty, abuse of power, torture, and death.
He witnessed the behind-the-scenes dealings of top Middle Eastern leaders who make headlines around the world. He was trusted at the highest levels of Hamas and participated in the Intifada. He was held captive deep inside Israel’s most feared prison facility. His dangerous choices and unlikely journey through dark places made him a traitor in the eyes of people he loves—and gave him access to extraordinary secrets. On the pages of this book, he exposes events and processes that to this point have been known only by a handful of individuals. . . .Mosab Hassan (“Joseph”) Yousef is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding leader of Hamas, internationally recognized as a terrorist organization and responsible for countless suicide bombings and other deadly attacks against Israel. An integral part of the movement, Mosab was imprisoned several times by the Israeli internal intelligence service. After a chance encounter with a British tourist, he started a six-year quest that jeopardized Hamas, endangered his family, and threatened his life. He has since embraced the teachings of Jesus and sought political asylum in America.
Ron Brackin has traveled extensively in the Middle East as an investigative journalist. He was in Bethlehem, Ramallah, Gaza, and Jerusalem during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. He was on assignment in Baghdad after the fall of Iraq and more recently with the rebels and refugees of southern Sudan and Darfur. He has contributed articles and columns to many publications, including USA Today and the Washington Times. Ron served as a broadcast journalist and a congressional press secretary in Washington after graduating from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
The first thing that strikes is that this book is different. The reason it is different is that although it is a completely nonfiction autobiography, the plot seems to be so close to fiction. The guns, the war, the espionage, the prisons, the religious extremism, the political fanaticism – the story has all the pointers of a classic fiction plot. The simple fact, that a person had to face so much and then come out of it, is what makes the story so different. I guess that is why they say – “truth is stranger than fiction”.
The characters are real and too many, which gives a variety to the story. Even though the characters were real, it is a difficult job to portray them on paper, which to the credit of the author, was done well. It is effective in putting a human face on the high-stakes drama that is the Middle East conflict by going behind the scenes and showing the intense personal dynamics that shape the headlines.
The story, in the way which it is told, is highly spiritual. The continuous mention of religious texts would corroborate the same. However, oddly and quite oxymoronically, it points to a certain practicality as well, especially towards the end.
One thing which is very interesting is the religious metamorphosis of the author. When the story starts, it is filled with references from the Quran. Then, it gradually subsides and gives way to the Bible. The best part about the transition is that it’s very subtle which indicates a level of maturity in writing.
It is also an inspiring work of peace, helping us see that there are no cut and dry answers to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. All have done wrong, with Jesus all are capable of peace.
There is one problem:
“…that I won’t step on too many toes as I learn to dance with the Bridegroom…”
I’m not sure how the author would learn how to dance with the bridegroom. I think he meant the bride. Translation errors, I suppose, since the book was originally published in Arabic.
On the outset, Son of Hamas is the autobiography of the son of a Palestinian extremist leader, who in search for peace, turns to the other side. Actually, it is a story of “a child”, a child who had seen so much of violence and confusion in his own people that he decided to help the other side in a desperate attempt to make sure that peace prevailed in a region which has seen turmoil from the very onset. World peace starts with but a single step. Son of Hamas is perhaps that first step. That is certainly heartwarming.
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