Mosab Hassan Yousef, with Ron Brackin, Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices (Carol Stream, IL: SaltRiver, 2010). $26.99, 288 pages.

Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef. The elder Yousef is one of the founders of Hamas, the militant Islamic group that controls Gaza and seeks the destruction of the state of Israel. For a decade Mosab spied on his father’s organization for Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency. His code name was “Green Prince,” a nod to his Islamic faith and the importance of his father. The intelligence he provided Shin Bet saved many lives, both Israeli and Palestinian, as Mosab was able to expose Hamas assassination plots and suicide bomb attempts. He provided intelligence for one Israeli assassination of a Hamas operative, which made him feel guilty. He wanted to save lives, not take them.

One more thing: Three years after beginning to spy for Shin Bet, Mosab began attending a Christian Bible study. He was baptized in 2005, near the end of his involvement with Shin Bet. He converted because he became disillusioned with both Palestinian violence and Israeli occupation. He also became disillusioned with the God of the Koran and increasingly attracted to the way of Jesus Christ. Before he converted, he increasingly tried to take Jesus’ moral teachings into account:

“I watched the mindless killing through the eyes of Jesus,” he writes, “who agonized for those who were lost. The more I read the Bible, the more clearly I saw this single truth: Loving and forgiving one’s enemies is the only way to stop the bloodshed.”

Media reports generally focus on the irony that a son of Hamas spied on it for its greatest enemy, Israel. Unfortunately, they overlook the change in moral perspective and spiritual commitment that accompanied this irony. By contrast, when I looked for a copy of this book at a local bookstore, it wasn’t located in the biography section, Middle East section, or even current events section. It was on the bottom shelf of the “Christian Life” section, in “Spiritual Growth and Prayer.” It’s as if the media want to ignore the spiritual aspect of Mosab’s story, and the bookstore wanted to avoid the real-world consequences of his spiritual conversion.

Son of Hamas is a quick read, “gripping,” as the subtitle puts it. If you’re a partisan of Hamas, you’ll be dismayed by Mosab’s account of its violence against other Palestinians and collusion with the Palestinian Authority during the Second Intifada. If you’re a partisan of Israel, you’ll be dismayed by the casual violence of its soldiers, the use of torture by its security agents, and the arrogance of its settlers.

But I hope you’ll be inspired by Mosab’s conversion. If the son of Hamas can learn to love Israelis and Palestinians, perhaps there’s hope for peace in that tortured region of the world. May his tribe increase!

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In January 2009, the Fox News Channel aired a six-part report on Mosab Hassan Yousef, Escape from Hamas. Here it is:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6: