Son of Hamas

by Mosab Hassan Yousef

First published 2010

Mosab Hassan Yousef grew up as the eldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of Hamas's founding members and its most beloved leader. From childhood, Mosab worked alongside his father in political activities and prepared to inherit his position within the organization. The young man had unprecedented access to Hamas's inner workings and witnessed the terrorist group's operations firsthand. Then everything shifted when Mosab rejected the violence and terror that surrounded him. He discovered Christianity and adopted the name Joseph. His conversion led him to make an extraordinary choice that would separate him from his family and homeland forever. Yousef reveals previously unknown details about Hamas's structure and operations while recounting his own transformation. He describes the painful process of distancing himself from his father and the dangerous decision to publicly declare his new faith. The book explores his conviction that following Christ's teaching to love one's enemies offers the Middle East its only path to genuine peace.

Genres: history, christian, politics, non-fiction, biography-memoir, middle-east

Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family

Setting: Hamas, Middle East

Period: 20th-century, 21st-century

265 pages · Hardcover · SaltRiver

Content warnings: violence

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