Ex-Hamas Christian Convert and Co-Author on Israel

GQ has an interesting interview with Mosab Hassan Yousef. Yousef is the son of a senior Hamas figure, and he gained some media attention in 2008 for moving to America and announcing his conversion to Christianity (I blogged on this). He subsequently revealed that he had worked with Israeli security services, and his memoir, Son of Hamas, is garnering consderable interest.

Unsurprisingly, he has a jaundiced view of his former religion, and he rails against what he regards as the essence of Islam, not just fundamentalism. Naturally, the anti-Islamist right is overjoyed at the thought of a new recruit to the band of ex-Muslims who regularly regale conservative groups with tales of Muslim depravity, and Walid Shoebat has conferred his imprimatur via his handler Keith Davies:

Walid and I believe this man is the real deal, he says the exact same things as Walid, understands the bible and also understands the real meaning of Islam.

You cannot be a fraud and speak this way. speaking the truth like this is from a man who has been redeemed.

For those nay sayers, it has been confirmed by the Israeli authorities that he worked for them so his story checks out.

However, it’s not entirely certain that Yousef will welcome this endorsement, and he may yet resist the lure of a career as a professional apostate. According to the interview, Yousef has said he does not want to be regarded as a “spiritual trophy”, and he adds:

Israel can be a problem, yes, I admit that, and I agree, I am against occupation. But they blame everything on occupation, Muslims look at themselves and say, ‘We are the victim. We are under occupation. Israelis have been killing us. And we kill, but not because we love to kill.’ What I’m saying is: Yes, you are right, you are wonderful people, but study your religion. Know who you’re worshipping. You’re worshipping a god who is sending you to destruction.

Some of that is not likely to go down particularly well with hard-core Christian Zionists. And although his book is published by Tyndale (publishers of the apocalyptic Left Behind novels)

…the book is not an advertisement for Christians. When I first sat down with Tyndale, I explained that this is beyond religion, beyond politics. They understood, they sympathized with my story. Of course, they’re a Christian publisher, but this isn’t a typical Christian book, this is the reality I lived.

It’s also worth noting that although Yousef’s co-author, Ron Brackin, is a Christian Zionist of sorts, he’s off-message as regards Christian Right support for Israel. In 2002 he co-authored a book on evangelical Palestinians entitled Between 2 Fires: The Untold Story of Palestinian Christians. This book is sympathetic to Palestinian anger about Israel, and it includes an appendix (solely authored by Brackin) on “The Zionism of Man vs the Zionism of God”:

The Zionism of God sovereignly raised Israel from the ashes, resurrected a dead language, preserved a remnant of Jewish believers and will one day fulfill every prophecy concerning Zion. The Zionism of Man buys tanks for secular Israel, applauds its campaign of ethnic cleansing, encourages it to forcibly restore its ancient boundaries and ignores its sins.

…The fruit of Man’s Zionism is hatred, despair, hostility, intolerance, malice, iniquity, treachery, brutality and unrestraint.

12 Responses

  1. There are quite a number of Muslims converting to Christ. But you don’t want to herar that do you? Afterall, it’s those *Christian zionists* that are behind it all. Muslims have no brains, it seems, and so they’ll fall into lockstep with the first evangelist they meet!

    http://blog.siena.org/2010/03/global-shift-how-did-we-get-here-and.html

  2. Yes, June, the reason why Bartholomew just put up a post on a Muslim converting to Christianity is that he doesn’t want to hear about Muslims converting to Christ.

  3. So, apparently a “Christian Zionist of sorts” can oppose the policies of the Israeli government, support Palestinian rights and self determination. Perhaps even reject the apocalyptic end times doctrines of Pastor Hagee.

    So is a Christian Zionist simply a Christian who supports the right of Jewish self-determination?

    And the term “Christian Zionist” of little real use, except as a smear of sorts.

    • I know that the term “Zionist” ius sometimed used conspiratorially and as a label to deflect actual discussion, but the idea that “Christian Zionist” is now a “smear” is excessive. Of course, many Christian Zionists do oppose “the policies of the Israeli government”, although usually from the right – and not very often to the extent of denouncing “the Zionism of man” in such uncompromising terms.

  4. PRETRIB RAPTURE POLITICS

    Many are still unaware of the eccentric, 180-year-old British theory underlying the politics of American evangelicals and Christian Zionists.
    Journalist and historian Dave MacPherson has spent more than 40 years focusing on the origin and spread of what is known as the apocalyptic “pretribulation rapture” – the inspiration behind Hal Lindsey’s bestsellers of the 1970s and Tim LaHaye’s today.
    Although promoters of this endtime evacuation from earth constantly repeat their slogan that “it’s imminent and always has been” (which critics view more as a sales pitch than a scriptural statement), it was unknown in all official theology and organized religion before 1830.
    And MacPherson’s research also reveals how hostile the pretrib rapture view has been to other faiths:
    It is anti-Islam. TV preacher John Hagee has been advocating “a pre-emptive military strike against Iran.” (Google “Roots of Warlike Christian Zionism.”)
    It is anti-Jewish. MacPherson’s book “The Rapture Plot” (see Armageddon Books etc.) exposes hypocritical anti-Jewishness in even the theory’s foundation.
    It is anti-Catholic. Lindsey and C. I. Scofield are two of many leaders who claim that the final Antichrist will be a Roman Catholic. (Google “Pretrib Hypocrisy.”)
    It is anti-Protestant. For this reason no major Protestant denomination has ever adopted this escapist view.
    It even has some anti-evangelical aspects. The first publication promoting this novel endtime view spoke degradingly of “the name by which the mixed multitude of modern Moabites love to be distinguished, – the Evangelical World.” (MacPherson’s “Plot,” p. 85)
    Despite the above, MacPherson proves that the “glue” that holds constantly in-fighting evangelicals together long enough to be victorious voting blocs in elections is the same “fly away” view. He notes that Jerry Falwell, when giving political speeches just before an election, would unfailingly state: “We believe in the pretribulational rapture!”
    In addition to “The Rapture Plot,” MacPherson’s many internet articles include “Famous Rapture Watchers,” “Pretrib Rapture Diehards,” “Edward Irving is Unnerving,” “America’s Pretrib Rapture Traffickers,” “Thomas Ice (Bloopers),” “Pretrib Rapture Secrecy” and “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty” (massive plagiarism, phony doctorates, changing of early “rapture” documents in order to falsely credit John Darby with this view, etc.!).
    Because of his devastating discoveries, MacPherson is now No. 1 on the “hate” list of pretrib rapture leaders!
    There’s no question that the leading promoters of this bizarre 19th century end-of-the-world doctrine are solidly pro-Israel and necessarily anti-Palestinian. In light of recently uncovered facts about this fringe-British-invented belief which has always been riddled with dishonesty, many are wondering why it should ever have any influence on Middle East affairs.
    This Johnny-come-lately view raises millions of dollars for political agendas. Only when scholars of all faiths begin to look deeply at it and widely air its “dirty linen” will it cease to be a power. It is the one theological view no one needs!
    With apologies to Winston Churchill – never has so much deception been foisted on so many by so few!

    [Above item just seen on the web. Another interesting Google item is “David Letterman’s Hate, Etc.”]

  5. The problem with the son of Hamas is that he refers to his teachings at the hands of his father’s political convictions as the essence of Islam, when they are not. The way he perceives god is the way he was taught to see him. Other Muslim scholars oppose these teachings, as do the Salafis (not salafi jihadi). One sheikh of the salafi school of thought -who adhere to the first teachings of Islam- even advises all Palestinians to leave their country and emigrate, because they are overpowered by the Zionist occupiers, and have no hope of regaining their land without causing excessive harm to their people. The salafis also consider anyone who goes out to combat with the specific intent of killing themselves as committing suicide. And that the fighting in Palestine is not in the name of Allah and Islam, rather it is for worldly gains : power, land and revenge. But try telling that to Hamas and they’ll shoot you for being a traitor.

  6. […] speaks out at Barths Notes on Relition – Resource Links – 666 = Allah – Son of Hamas – (Ambassadors for Sun Yung Moon) – NufffRespect speaks out at NufffRespect YouTube Channel – […]

  7. […] alienates thoughtful Palestinians and puts some, like Yousef, in impossible situations. As I blogged recently, Yousef is against the Israel occupation, and his co-author in Son of Hamas is very critical of […]

  8. […] Hassan Yousef Posted on May 5, 2011 by Richard Bartholomew A couple of times last year I blogged on Mosab Hassan Yousef, author of the book Son of Hamas. Yousef is the son of a senior Hamas […]

  9. […] meanwhile, co-authored Son of Hamas with Yousef; as I noted here, Brackin previously co-authored a book on evangelical Palestinians entitled Between 2 Fires: The […]

  10. […] and his opposition to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. At the time, I thought it possible that he might resist the lure of a career as a professional ex-Muslim. A few months […]

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