I thought this recent news story was fascinating.

You can get the book here: Amazon

Watch an interview here: Youtube (or do a search for others)

Read an interview here: GQ

It’s a tangled web to unravel, but here’s the summary.  Mosab Yousef grew up the son of a Hamas founder in one of the most divisive regions of the world: the West Bank region of Israel.  He had a senior position in the youth recruiting arm of Hamas for some time before being picked up and imprisoned by Israeli forces.  Long story short, he then became an informant of sorts against Hamas, working with Shin Bet (the equivalent of the FBI of Israel).

After his release from prison, he was walking down the street in Jerusalem and bumped into a missionary tourist who gave him a bible and invited him to Bible Study.

Nothing happened overnight, but over the course of years, wrestling with the Bible in one hand and the Qu’ran in the other in the hills of Ramallah, he decided to follow Christ.  What got his attention most of all?  A commandment in Matthew’s gospel: “Love your enemies.”

It was so foreign to anything he’d ever heard or experienced.

He is now in the USA, where he was baptized some time in 2005.  He has now written a book, entitled “Son of Hamas”, in which he speaks bluntly about the religion of Islam. But his desire is to let other Muslims know about the love of God through the Lord Jesus.

What strikes me here is the risk this young man is taking in telling the truth – fully knowing it might well cost him his life. Already, there are websites out there (and a release from Al-Qaeda) saying he should be killed.  His father has disowned him.  Yet, he refuses to hide.  This should not be foreign to us, but somehow it is.

I think you’ll find this story shocking, captivating, humbling and motivating.