2025-12-27

Son of Hamas, Yousef 요약 + 바코니의 책과 비교



Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices by Mosab Hassan Yousef -
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1] 1,000 단어 요약+평론 해주세오. 
2] 바코니의 책과 관계해서 비교 분석 평론해주세요
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A Word from the Author
Preface
Chapter One: Captured
Chapter Two: The Ladder of Faith
Chapter Three: Muslim Brotherhood
Chapter Four: Throwing Stones
Chapter Five: Survival
Chapter Six: A Hero's Return
Chapter Seven: Radical
Chapter Eight: Fanning the Flames
Chapter Nine: Guns
Chapter Ten: The Slaughterhouse
Chapter Eleven: The Offer
Chapter Twelve: Number 823
Chapter Thirteen: Trust No One
Chapter Fourteen: Riot
Chapter Fifteen: Damascus Road
Chapter Sixteen: Second Intifada
Chapter Seventeen: Undercover
Chapter Eighteen: Most Wanted
Chapter Nineteen: Shoes
Chapter Twenty: Torn
Chapter Twenty-One: The Game
Chapter Twenty-Two: Defensive Shield
Chapter Twenty-Three: Supernatural Protection
Chapter Twenty-Four: Protective Custody
Chapter Twenty-Five: Saleh
Chapter Twenty-Six: A Vision for Hamas
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Good-Bye
53s 동안 생각함


<한국어>

<1) <Son of Hamas> 1,000단어 내외 요약 + 평론>

<책의 성격과 범위>
Mosab Hassan Yousef(모사브 하산 유세프)가 Ron Brackin과 함께 쓴 회고록으로, 2010년 3월 출간된 것으로 널리 소개됩니다. Tyndale+1 저자는 서안지구에서 하마스 지도부 가문(부친은 하마스의 핵심 인물로 알려짐) 안에서 성장했고, 10년가량 이스라엘 국내보안기관 Shin Bet에 협력한 이중생활을 했다고 주장합니다. 이 책은 “폭력의 운명에서 벗어나 평화를 선택했다”는 구원 서사(종교적 전환 포함)를 강하게 전면에 세웁니다. Tyndale+1

<줄거리 요약(핵심 전개)>

  1. <가문·환경·초기 경험>
    저자는 어릴 때부터 점령·충돌·체포·수감이 일상화된 사회환경 속에서 성장했다고 말합니다. 동시에 “하마스 내부/주변의 조직문화”를 가까이에서 보며, 종교적 열정·민족주의·두려움·보복의 논리가 어떻게 서로를 강화하는지 체험적으로 묘사합니다. 이런 초반부는 ‘정치적 조직’ 이전에 ‘가족과 공동체’의 압력, 그리고 폭력이 인간관계를 어떻게 변형시키는지를 보여주는 데 초점을 둡니다.

  2. <구금 경험과 균열의 시작>
    중요한 변곡점은 저자가 구금(혹은 구금에 준하는 조사) 과정에서 “타자에 대한 이미지가 흔들린다”는 대목입니다. 그는 이 시기를 통해 하마스/이스라엘/팔레스타인 사회 내부 폭력의 작동방식(의심, 처벌, 밀고, 보복)이 인간을 어떻게 갉아먹는지 보았다고 서술합니다. 이때부터 ‘충성’이 단순한 미덕이 아니라 생존기술이자 감옥이 되는 느낌이 강조됩니다.

  3. <Shin Bet 협력과 이중생활>
    저자는 1997~2007년 무렵 Shin Bet의 정보원으로 일했다고 알려져 있으며, 그 별칭이 “Green Prince”로 보도되기도 했습니다. Australian Jewish News+1 CNN 인터뷰/트랜스크립트에서도 그가 “10년간 Shin Bet을 위해 스파이로 일했다”는 식으로 소개됩니다. CNN Transcripts
    책의 중핵은 이중생활의 심리입니다. 그는 하마스 내부에서 신뢰를 얻어야 하는 동시에, 공격을 막기 위해 정보를 넘겨야 했고, 그 과정에서 “양쪽의 인간을 살리고 싶었다”는 동기를 반복합니다. 이 부분에서 저자는 (1) 폭력 계획을 사전에 무력화했다, (2) 특정 인물 암살 시도를 막았다 같은 “성과”를 제시하지만, 독자는 이런 주장들이 어느 수준까지 검증 가능한지 늘 의문을 품게 됩니다(아래 평론 참조). Telegraph+1

  4. <가족과의 단절, 종교적 전환, 망명>
    책은 ‘배신’의 드라마를 가족관계로 끌어옵니다. 부친은 감옥에서 아들을 사실상 연을 끊었다는 보도도 있고, 가족 측은 그의 주장에 강하게 반발했다는 전언도 있습니다. 위키백과+1
    또 하나의 축은 기독교로의 개종(회심) 서사입니다. 저자는 이를 폭력 거부와 ‘적을 인간으로 보는 눈’의 근거로 제시합니다. 이런 구조는 회고록을 ‘정치 스릴러’이자 ‘신앙 간증’으로 동시에 읽게 만듭니다. Tyndale+1

<평론(읽을 가치와 한계)>

  • <강점 1: 폭력의 미시사회학>
    이 책의 설득력은 “정치 분석”보다 “체험의 질감”에서 나옵니다. 감옥·의심·조직 내부의 공포정치, 그리고 가족이 곧 정치가 되는 사회를 살아낸 사람의 서술은, 사건의 옳고 그름을 떠나 폭력이 일상을 재구성하는 방식을 생생하게 보여줍니다.

  • <강점 2: ‘개인의 선택’이 가진 비극성>
    저자가 ‘자기편’으로부터도 ‘상대편’으로부터도 완전히 안전하지 않은 위치에 놓인다는 점은, 분쟁에서 개인의 윤리적 선택이 얼마나 가혹한 비용을 요구하는지 드러냅니다. 이런 점에서 이 책은 “저항/협력” 같은 이분법을 흔드는 인간 드라마로 읽힐 수 있습니다.

  • <한계 1: 검증 가능성과 서사의 유혹>
    이 책은 정보기관·비밀작전·성과를 많이 다루지만, 독자가 교차검증할 수 있는 자료는 제한적입니다. 주요 언론(가디언, 하아레츠 등)이 그의 ‘정보원’ 주장 자체는 보도했으나, 구체적 공적의 범위와 해석은 여전히 논쟁적 영역에 남습니다. The Guardian+2Haaretz+2
    또한 출판사 소개문 자체가 “폭력을 거부하고 평화를 택했다”는 강한 도덕 서사를 전면에 둡니다. Tyndale 그래서 이 책을 자료로 활용하려면, “서사가 독자를 어디로 끌고 가는가”를 계속 점검해야 합니다.

  • <한계 2: 구조 분석의 빈자리>
    회고록의 관점은 필연적으로 개인 중심입니다. 따라서 점령·정착·봉쇄·경제구조 같은 거대한 조건들이 ‘배경’으로 처리되기 쉽습니다. 그 결과 독자는
    “왜 이런 운동이 사회적 기반을 갖게 되었는가”라는 질문보다 “왜 저자는 저항을 거부했는가”에 더 몰입하게 됩니다. 이 점이 다음의 Baconi와 대비되는 핵심 차이입니다.

<2) Baconi의 <Hamas Contained>와 비교 분석 평론>

<비교의 출발점: 같은 ‘하마스’를 보지만, 카메라의 위치가 다르다>

  • Yousef: <내부자 개인>의 1인칭. 하마스의 ‘도덕적 붕괴’와 ‘폭력의 자기파괴성’에 초점. 정보기관(Shin Bet)과의 관계가 서사의 중심축. CNN Transcripts+1

  • Baconi: <정치사·조직사>의 3인칭. 하마스가 1987~2017 사이 “변방 무장저항 → 통치 주체”로 이동하며, 이스라엘의 “가자에 가둬 관리하기(containment)”가 그 궤적을 고정시켰다는 분석. Stanford University Press+1

<핵심 대비 1: ‘폭력’의 의미>

  • Yousef에서 폭력은 주로 <윤리적 파국>입니다. 폭력은 사람을 타락시키고(또는 미치게 하고), 공동체를 내부에서 붕괴시키며, 결국 팔레스타인 사람 자신에게 되돌아온다고 묘사됩니다.

  • Baconi에서 폭력은 <전략과 구조>의 일부입니다. 정당화 여부를 떠나, 폭력이 어떤 조건에서 선택되고, 어떤 제약 속에서 변형되며, 통치와 결합하면서 어떤 역설을 낳는지가 분석의 중심입니다. Stanford University Press+1
    즉, Yousef는 “폭력은 악이며 파멸”에 가까운 결론으로 끌고 가고, Baconi는 “폭력/정치/통치/봉쇄가 맞물린 결과”를 추적합니다.

<핵심 대비 2: ‘하마스의 변화’에 대한 해석>
Baconi는 하마스의 정치 참여와 가자 통치를 조직의 ‘전환점’으로 보며, 그 전환이 봉쇄·전쟁·휴전의 반복 속에서 “해결이 아닌 관리”의 장치로 굳어졌다고 말합니다. Stanford University Press+1
반면 Yousef는 통치의 제도적 분석보다, 서안지구 중심의 내부 분위기, 지도층의 권력/의심/내부 처벌 같은 ‘운동의 어두운 심장’을 강조합니다. 그래서 Baconi를 읽고 나면 “왜 하마스가 정치적 행위자로 남는가”가 보이고, Yousef를 읽고 나면 “왜 그 조직이 인간을 소모시키는가”가 먼저 남습니다.

<핵심 대비 3: ‘이스라엘’의 위치>

  • Yousef의 서사에서 Shin Bet은 ‘적대자’이면서 동시에 ‘협력자’이고, 개인적 유대(핸들러와의 관계)가 윤리적 정당화의 장치로 작동합니다. CNN Transcripts+1

  • Baconi는 이스라엘을 ‘하마스를 가자에 묶어두는 정책’을 설계하고 지속한 핵심 행위자로 놓습니다. 즉, 개인적 선의보다 제도·정책의 효과에 초점을 둡니다. Stanford University Press+1

<둘을 함께 읽을 때 생기는 생산적 긴장>

  1. Yousef가 제시하는 “하마스 내부의 폭력성과 공포정치”는 Baconi의 구조 분석에 <미시적 근거>를 보탤 수 있습니다. 다만 그것이 곧바로 “하마스=순수 악”이라는 결론으로 도약하지 않도록, Baconi의 맥락(봉쇄, 분쟁관리, 팔레스타인 내부 권력경쟁)을 같이 붙잡아야 합니다.

  2. Baconi가 말하는 “containment”는 Yousef의 회고록을 <정책 소비재>로 만드는 위험을 경고합니다. 즉, 어떤 개인의 탈출/전향 서사가 분쟁을 ‘관리 가능한 문제’로 축소하는 여론 장치가 될 수도 있다는 점입니다.

  3. 결론적으로, Yousef는 <한 사람의 선택이 분쟁의 도덕을 어떻게 찢어놓는가>를 보여주고, Baconi는 <그 선택들이 벌어지는 구조가 어떻게 유지되는가>를 보여줍니다. 둘 중 하나만 읽으면 시야가 한쪽으로 기웁니다.


<English>

<1) <Son of Hamas> summary + review>

<What it is> Mosab Hassan Yousef’s <Son of Hamas> (with Ron Brackin) is a memoir commonly listed as published in March 2010. :contentReference[oaicite:16]{index=16} It presents the author as the son of a prominent Hamas figure who lived a double life as a Shin Bet informant for roughly a decade, and frames that trajectory through a strong redemption narrative that includes a Christian conversion. :contentReference[oaicite:17]{index=17} <Plot in brief> The book moves from childhood and family expectations inside a highly politicized environment, to formative experiences of arrest/detention and exposure to internal coercion, to recruitment and long-term collaboration with Shin Bet, and finally to rupture with family, religious transformation, and departure to the United States. The public storyline of his claim—“I spent 10 years spying for Shin Bet”—was also presented in major media at the time. :contentReference[oaicite:18]{index=18} <Review> Its main strength is ethnographic immediacy: how fear, loyalty, suspicion, and violence reshape everyday life and relationships. Its main limitation is evidentiary: espionage memoirs are inherently hard to verify in detail, and the narrative is built to pull readers toward a moral conclusion—explicitly reinforced by publisher framing. :contentReference[oaicite:19]{index=19} As a source, it works best when read alongside structural analyses that explain why movements like Hamas gain social and political traction beyond the author’s personal arc.

<2) Comparative review: Yousef vs. Baconi>

Baconi’s <Hamas Contained> (Stanford University Press, 2018) is an academic organizational and political history (1987–2017) arguing that Hamas’s evolution toward governance became locked into Israel’s strategy of “containing” Hamas within Gaza—managing rather than resolving the conflict. Stanford University Press+1
Yousef offers a first-person moral-psychological account centered on internal violence and the ethics of defection; Baconi offers a structural account centered on strategic adaptation, governance, and conflict-management policy. Read together, they create a useful tension: Yousef supplies micro-level texture about internal coercion and fear; Baconi supplies the macro-level frame that prevents a single defector’s story from becoming a total explanation of Hamas or Palestinian politics.

원하시면, 두 책을 한 장짜리 <비교 도식>으로도 정리해드릴게요(관점/자료/핵심 개념/빠지는 부분/독자에게 남는 질문).

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모사브 하산 유세프의 <Son of Hamas>(하마스의 아들)에 대한 요약과 평론, 그리고 타리크 바코니의 <Hamas Contained>와 비교한 분석을 정리해 드립니다. 본문은 요청하신 대로 <해라> 체를 사용했습니다.


1. <Son of Hamas>: 요약 및 평론

1-1. 요약: 신념의 붕괴와 배신, 그리고 개종

이 책은 하마스의 공동 창설자 중 한 명인 셰이크 하산 유세프의 장남, 모사브 하산 유세프의 자전적 기록이다. 하마스의 후계자로 촉망받던 그는 18세에 이스라엘 군에 체포된 후 감옥에서 하마스 조직원들이 동료 팔레스타인인을 고문하고 살해하는 잔혹성을 목격하며 큰 회의를 느낀다.

이후 그는 이스라엘 정보국 신 벳(Shin Bet)의 정보원이 되어 <그린 프린스(Green Prince)>라는 암호명으로 약 10년간 활동한다. 그는 자신의 아버지를 체포하는 데 협력하는 등 수많은 자살 폭탄 테러를 막으며 이중 스파이로 살아간다. 이 과정에서 기독교로 개종하며 <원수를 사랑하라>는 가르침에 귀의하고, 결국 미국으로 망명하여 자신의 과거를 폭로한다.

1-2. 평론: 인간적 고뇌가 담긴 충격적 내부 고발

이 책은 단순한 첩보 스릴러를 넘어선다. 한 개인이 자신이 속한 공동체의 폭력성과 부패를 목격하고, 가장 사랑하는 가족과 민족을 배신하면서까지 지키고자 했던 가치가 무엇인지 묻는다. 하마스를 <해방 기구>가 아닌 <공포 정치의 집단>으로 묘사하는 그의 시각은 매우 주관적이고 감정적이지만, 내부자만이 볼 수 있는 생생한 디테일은 독자에게 강렬한 충격을 준다. 다만, 정보원으로서의 활동과 기독교적 구원 서사가 지나치게 강조되어 복잡한 지정학적 맥락을 개인의 종교적 결단으로 단순화했다는 비판에서도 자유롭지 못하다.


2. <Hamas Contained>와 <Son of Hamas> 비교 분석 평론

두 저작은 하마스라는 동일한 대상을 다루지만, 그 관점과 분석의 층위는 극명하게 엇갈린다.

관점의 대조: 정치적 구조 vs 개인적 경험

  • **바코니의 <Hamas Contained>**는 철저히 외부적, 구조적이다. 하마스를 이스라엘의 점령과 봉쇄 정책에 반응하여 진화해온 <정치적 행위자>로 본다. 하마스의 폭력을 합리화하지는 않으나, 그것이 탄생한 지정학적 필연성을 분석하는 데 주력한다.

  • **유세프의 <Son of Hamas>**는 철저히 내부적, 개인적이다. 하마스를 이데올로기에 매몰되어 인간성을 상실한 <테러 집단>으로 규정한다. 그는 하마스의 행동을 정치적 저항이 아닌, 종교적 광기와 권력욕의 산물로 해석한다.

저항의 성격: 전략적 수단 vs 본질적 악

  • 바코니는 하마스의 무장 투쟁을 이스라엘과의 협상력을 높이거나 가자지구 내부 통치를 공고히 하기 위한 전략적 도구로 파악한다. 그는 하마스가 실용주의와 원칙주의 사이에서 끊임없이 흔들린다고 분석한다.

  • 유세프는 하마스의 무장 투쟁을 팔레스타인인들조차 희생시키는 본질적인 악으로 규정한다. 그에게 하마스의 평화 제스처는 단지 힘을 기르기 위한 기만술에 불과하다.

해결책의 차이: 정치적 인정 vs 근본적 전향

  • 바코니는 봉쇄를 풀고 하마스를 정치적 대화의 상대로 인정하는 등 구조적 변화가 있어야만 비극이 끝날 것이라고 본다.

  • 유세프는 이슬람주의라는 사상적 토대의 해체와 개인의 도덕적 각성만이 유일한 해결책이라고 주장한다.

종합 평론: 두 권의 책이 완성하는 입체적 진실

두 책은 서로를 보완하는 거울과 같다. 바코니의 책이 하마스라는 조직의 <뇌(전략)>를 분석한다면, 유세프의 책은 그 조직의 <심장(고뇌와 광기)>을 적나라하게 보여준다. 독자는 바코니를 통해 하마스가 왜 사라지지 않는지 이해할 수 있고, 유세프를 통해 하마스가 왜 그토록 잔혹해질 수 있는지 엿볼 수 있다. 진실은 냉정한 정치적 계산과 처절한 개인적 고통 그 사이 어디쯤에 있을 것이다.


모사브 하산 유세프는 현재도 하마스에 대해 매우 강경한 목소리를 내고 있습니다. 그의 최근 인터뷰나 신 벳 시절의 더 자세한 에피소드가 궁금하시면 말씀해 주세요.

The Son of Hamas Mosab Hassan Yousef's personal story 이 영상은 모사브 하산 유세프가 하마스 지도자의 아들에서 이스라엘 정보원으로 전향하게 된 과정과 그의 신념을 직접 설명하고 있어 책의 내용을 이해하는 데 큰 도움이 된다.

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Petra X
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April 17, 2019
I haven't read much so far, and I am duly and genuinely shocked, just as I am supposed to be, about the terrible things the Israelis did on a daily basis to the occupants of the Gaza strip. I am not terribly impressed with the glossing-over of the 'guaranteed-non-violent, peaceful, moderate' stance of Hamas during this time. When I read, continually and in detail, that the Israelis often shot innocent Palestinians for just being Palestinians but that a Palestinian just went and shot a couple of Israelis and took their guns and then that became a way for them to get arms all in one sentence I begin to suspect that this book, by a Christian convert, is more the wolf wearing the Lamb of Peace's clothing.

A sentence like, "Then Israel decided to secretly deport 415 leaders...". It wasn't very secret then, was it? And, following on from this, "The men were driven to a snow-covered no-man's-land in Southern Lebanon. Although we were in the middle of a bitter winter, they were dumped there with no shelter or provisions. Neither Israel nor Lebanon would allow relief agencies to deliver food or medicine. Beirut refused to transport the sick and injured to its hospitals."

Then, in the next paragraph, "A couple of weeks later, we finally saw him [his father:] on television for the first time since his deportation. Apparently Hamas members had named him secretary-general of the camp, second only to..." Eventually the father gets a cell phone and communications are normalised.

Doesn't sound a bit like they were dumped in the middle of nowhere without food or shelter.

I hope the book improves, it's naively written by the obvious ghost writer and it seems to be all about total emotional manipulation of the all-too-willing to believe the author's intended, pro-Palestinian audience. I want the facts not this soft, biased pap.

There is more to the war between the Palestinians, the Arabs and Israel than meets the eye but its never discussed. Israel is the West's secure base in the Middle East, it is democracy's secure base. It is a total sore for the Arabs who do not practice any kind of democracy, kings, dictators, and the military rule their countries. They do not want women walking the streets in tiny shorts and halter tops and having relationships of their own choosing. They do not even allow women to be educated and live a self-determined life. They do not allow unmarried women to get contraception and screw whomsoever they please after a hot night at the club. They don't have those sort of clubs for local women either.

How many Arab countries do you hear of where a woman (or a man) has risen from a poor background to a high position? It happens in our societies all the time. Everything about Israel, which is a country very similar to the US, the UK, France etc, threatens the Arabs. It doesn't stop me supporting the idea of a Palestinian State, in fact I want one even more because of it. But they see Israel as the hole of the Western decadence we call freedom in the doughnut of Arab and Muslim repression and any kind of land exchange isn't going to make the slightest difference to their collective enmity to that.

I had hoped this book would present a true picture of Hamas from the inside and see that they are just people trying to live in moderate Islamic way who are terribly persecuted and whom we should all support. Yeah well, I got suckered into paying for this piece of crap but I'm not wasting my time reading any more of it. Deep shite for the PC-people to sigh and tut-tut over, more grist for the anti-Israelis/Zionists/Jews, another biased BBC documentary, and still... still no representation for the Palestinians who would like peace, would be happy to see their daughters educated and for all of them to live in the 21st century.

(Do such people exist? Yes, I used to share an apartment in London with some, I worked for a couple in Jerusalem, there are a few on the island, but no one hears their voices and they aren't loud people by nature, and neither would I be if I were them).

Israel is the only country in the world where the idea of total genocide is approved of by the Left of the US, UK and everywhere else. In other words, they support the return of the Palestinians and ejection of the Israelis, the Jewish, Baha'i and probably the Druze whom they also hate. Where are the Jews to go? What other nation would accept millions of people? Or is it to be the Hamas solution as in their Charter, drive them all into Red Sea, kill them, finish Hitler's Holocaust? These people do not envisage a secular country for all peoples and religion a private practice not a government-mandated one. I do.

Rewritten April 2019 as a response to a comment that is now deleted on how there would be no Muslim terrorism in the West if Israel became Palestine (only it wasn't put so nicely). Original review was 7 Dec 2010.
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Kay
2,212 reviews1,200 followers

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November 14, 2023

"The only real enemy was the enemy inside me."
Never thought I would say this about nonfiction, but I wish it had been longer. I had to pace myself and read other books that I was committed to finishing otherwise I would binge this captivating memoir read by the author.

I went into this blind because it was trending on Hoopla. I had no idea who the author was and the title piqued my interest. I didn't google. Nothing. My rating is purely for Mosab's story, the coauthor's ability to string the events together, and Mosab's terrific narration. It's the first time, I rewind the audiobook over and over to hear Arabic pronunciations and it's such a beautiful language. If I ever start learning Arabic, it's because of this man.

There will be no spoiler. As a fan of fiction would say there is a major plot twist I didn't see coming.

This book started with a bang. In 1996 at the age of 18, Mosab was arrested at a checkpoint and beaten. Hands tied and blindfolded he was taken to Ofer Army base, one of the largest and most secure Israeli military bases in West Bank.


I’m pretty sure I passed out several times, but every time I came to, the soldiers were still there, hitting me. I couldn’t dodge the blows. The only thing I could do was scream. I felt bile rising in the back of my throat and I gagged, vomiting all over myself.

Mosab is the oldest of five brothers and three sisters. His father is a Hamas co-founder/leader, Sheikh Hassan Yousef who was arrested more times than you can count, both by Israelis and by the Palestinian Authority. Often, Mosab had to care for his siblings and help his mother sell pastries in order to survive while his father was imprisoned.

In 1995, when the Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, Yasser Arafat called his father and asked to keep Hamas from celebrating his death. It was a loss because peace negotiation was in place. A crackdown on Hamas by the Palestinian Authority put his father in prison.

Now my hatred had multiple focal points. I hated the Palestinian Authority and Yasser Arafat, I hated Israel, and I hated secular Palestinians.

I could think of nothing else except joining the military wing of Hamas and taking revenge on Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Allah had given us the responsibility of eradicating the Jews, and my father didn’t question that, though he personally had nothing against them.
From throwing stones when he was young, Mosab and his friend searched and bought submachine guns and pistols. He was angry and desired revenge killing.

Manipulated by lies and driven by racism, hatred, and revenge, I was on my way to being one of those people.
But it wasn't meant to be, they were cheated by the Palestinian man who sold them the guns. The guns didn't work and Mosab was stopped at a checkpoint, arrested, and interrogated.

Son of Hamas reads like a thriller. It's terrible to say that I enjoyed listening to it. I don't know how else to describe it really, because the audiobook was unputdownable. It's a tough life story through the author's eyes and memory.

Truth and forgiveness are the only solution for the Middle East.
A gripping and worthwhile read/listen.
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Douglas Wilson
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April 13, 2010
Here is a book to break your heart. Mosab Yousef is the son of one of the founders of Hamas, and was intimately involved in its operations. He was also doing intelligence work for the Israelis, all while in the process of becoming a Christian. This one really is a page turner. With regard to the Palestinian situation, this book will really give you a different vantage point from which to look at everything. When you are done, you will ache for everybody over there, and be angry with everybody over there. There is no political solution. The answer is Jesus Christ.
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David
387 reviews

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May 27, 2010
I'm skeptical of many of the author's claims and have a strong feeling that he's telling us what he thinks we want to hear in these troubled times. The book is strongly self-serving and I doubt that his alleged conversion to Christianity is valid.

He lied to the Israelis, he lied to his Hamas compatriots, he lied to his family...and I think he lies to his readers.


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Debbie Y
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July 1, 2024
Thoughts to come, and I have quite a few.
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Darryl Greer
Author 10 books363 followers

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October 21, 2019
Mosab Hassan Yousef’s non-fiction book, "Son of Hamas" charts the author’s upbringing in Ramallah in the Palestinian Territories, his secretly working for Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, his conversion to Christianity and his move to the United States, where he had to fight his next battle: deportation due to his Hamas connection. As the title suggests, his father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef was a Hamas leader who spent many years in Israeli prisons. While some elements of the story have been questioned, the alleged facts are far too detailed for me not to accept them at face value. As a child, Yousef wanted to be a fighter because that was expected of Palestinian children in the West Bank. His first arrest came at ten years of age during the First Intifada, for throwing rocks at Israeli settlers. He was further arrested and jailed by Israel numerous times. As Sheik Yousef’s eldest son, he was seen as his heir apparent and became an important part of the Hamas organisation. His doubts about Islam and Hamas began to form when he witnessed Hamas’ brutality and how the organisation, which is recognised as a terrorist organisation by numerous countries and international organisations, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, used the lives of suffering civilians and children to achieve its goals. According to the book, while imprisoned and under interrogation by Shin Bet in 1996, he was shocked by its interrogation methods, which he considered humane compared to how Hamas tortured and imprisoned suspected collaborators. He decided to accept a Shin Bet offer to become an informant. Yousef’s account of the matters covered in his book gives a fascinating insight into life for ordinary Palestinians under the brutal Hamas rule, the extraordinary friendship that developed between him and his Shin Bet handler and his conversion to Christianity. "Son of Hamas" is a most interesting read.




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Dergrossest
438 reviews31 followers

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April 1, 2015
I can’t tell whether this book is the product of an elaborate disinformation campaign or simply the excrement of a feeble mind. Either way, it is total crap.

The purported author is the son of a founding member of Hamas and his muse has connections to the Washington Times – I guess I should have known what I was in store for once I learned that the Moonies were involved. Anyway, his goal to deliberately distort history is demonstrated straight off as the “Time Line” appended to the story contains a laundry list of Arab misdeeds, but glosses over significant bad acts of Israel. Worse, the book gets major parts of world history completely wrong, for example, by claiming that Islam “spread from its base in Turkey” to 3 continents with the rise of Ottoman Empire from “1527-1923.” Since when is Turkey the base of Islam, rather than Saudi Arabia? And is the author unaware that Islam had already spread to the plains of Spain, the coast of China and the jungles of Africa by 711 AD, more than 300 years before anyone had ever heard of the Turks? The book also claims that the Ottomans “oppressed” Moslem villages, which leads to the ridiculous suggestion that non-Moslems had it better under Ottoman rule – somehow I don’t think 1 million dead Armenians would agree.

However, what is far more troubling are the book’s conclusions regarding Islam. First, the author suggests that Islam is a fundamentally dangerous religion completely incompatible with peaceful co-existence, which is completely contrary to most of the history of the Ottoman Empire itself and that of modern Moslem life in the US. Second, the author makes the wild claim that the most dangerous Moslems are the moderate Moslems because one never knows when they will spontaneously radicalize, as if our Islamic neighbors and co-workers are like recently unburied World War II ordinance that might go off at any time. This is the type of zealotry to be expected by a recent convert to Christianity, but that doesn't make his wild claims any easier to stomach.

I could go on as to the many ways that this book is a complete joke, including its turgid writing style. However, perhaps the most damning condemnation I can make is to list some of the Congresspersons who apparently supported granting this buffoon refugee status in the US: Michele Bachman, Aaron Shock and Dana Rohrbacher. Anything else you need to know?



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Sleepless Dreamer
897 reviews400 followers

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October 28, 2020
Updating this because the activists have finally been released from jail and I am so incredibly relieved that they're okay (and fucking furious that they spent six months in jail for the terrible crime of talking to Israelis).

--------------------------------
I had a chance to participate in a conversation with activists from Gaza last week. I spent a few days after thinking about compassion and empathy, the sheer magic of having a conversation. And then, yesterday, I came across this article that says that after this video call, the Hamas arrested the activists that we met and really, no one knows what happened to them since.

And I can't recall the last time I felt such anger.

I can't get his smile out of my head, the way he kept trying to make everyone comfortable throughout the conversation, the positive energy they all had. In those moments during the talk, I genuinely felt like peace isn't as far as we all think. We're all people, we're all scared of the coronavirus, we're not so different. Someone asked if taking part in a conversation with us was dangerous and they all smiled and shrugged, making it seems like it's not but I think deep down we all knew that as always, Palestinians risk more than Israelis.

So maybe I shouldn't have read this book right now because I'm so upset. I'm so angry at Palestinians for acting this way, for forcing their people into this position. Up until now, I've always focused on the sacrifices that we, the Israelis make (and truly, I will never ever forgive this country for teaching me how to shoot a gun) but this was the first time I realized that the Palestinian leadership forces itself people into far worse situations and that's not okay. Talking to Israelis shouldn't be a crime and oh my god, I can't stop thinking about this and I can't stop feeling compliant, I can't stop feeling like my mere presence in a conversation could have helped ruin a person's life.

And it's so easy to ignore. Everything has been deleted from online, there's no connection to Gaza, I might never hear from these people again. We all spoke in the video chat about doing this again but will anyone be ever willing to do it again? And if we will, what will Palestinians have to sacrifice for it?

Anyway, I should probably get to the actual book (although, I doubt people actually read through all of my reviews and heck, is it even my review if I don't rant about my feelings and irrelevant stories?).

This book tells us about Yousef and the way he grew up in the Hamas and ultimately started working for Israeli intelligence and converted to Christianity. This book is somehow very popular for people who are interested in the conflict.

My first thought about this book is that Yousef doesn't come across as very trust worthy. Yousef seems like a perfect example of a Slytherin and I don't mean this in a bad way. He is cunning and ambitious. It seems like his goal was to protect his father and he was willing to do whatever it took to do so, even if it meant lying to everyone he knows the second it became convenient.

To me, it makes it hard to believe a lot of what he writes here. There's no way to certify that what he's saying is right and that's a little unsettling. I wish there were some chapters with Ben Yitzhak, the guy he worked with in the intelligence agency.

My other issue with this book was that somehow, even though he technically "changes sides", it almost seems like he's still justifying Palestinian terror. By this, I mean, as a teen he went through the effort of buying a gun (which is no easy task) and yet, to this day he describes it as a stupid thing kids do and not as a big problem. In the same vein, his problem with stone throwing isn't that, you know, people die. It's that Israelis retaliate so it's dangerous for whoever throws the stones.

Throughout the book, he talks a lot about the deaths of everyone but again, I felt like Yousef ultimately wanted to protect his father and was enjoying the action that came with being a spy. That's not a bad thing but I was surprised to see how throughout this all, it seems like there wasn't an ideological shift, apart from discovering Christianity. I mean, he seems to blame it all on Islam and not on the politics, which is what seems more logical.

My anger at the Palestinian government just grew while reading this. It's so frustrating to think that leadership could cause so many problems and that I would feel so helpless to solve them because let's be real, there's no lack of political problems in Israel as well and I haven't gotten around to solving them. It's just, how could their leadership care so little about them?

The writing was simplistic but at the same time, this guy speaks Arabic which is drastically different from English. I feel like hearing this in his own voice matters.

All in all, this was a really quick read. I feel like there are far better books about the conflict out there. This book was a little strange, I'm still not sure how to explain why.

what I'm taking with me:
• People often talk about how it's hard to differentiate between civilians and soldiers in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict due to civilians who act like soldiers and this book highlights this.
• Israeli prisoners are split into political factions? It really makes you think about how the Palestinian society is very split apart.
• I would love to read more about his father and understand how he could be so peaceful and yet support this organization.
• I wonder what Yousef thinks of America.


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Matal “The Mischling Princess” Baker
496 reviews27 followers

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January 21, 2024
As an anthropologist, I have studied numerous religions and appreciate the roles they play in human society. As an individual, though, I have had many negative experiences with them—Christianity, Catholicism, Islam, Mormonism, and Judaism—not just because of the way that I’ve been personally treated, but also because of how I have seen groups from those religions treat others (e.g., forcing women to have children (anti-abortions), child rapes covered up by religious authorities, and etc.).

To be perfectly honest, I wanted to read Mosab Hassan Yousef’s book, “Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices,” but I was put off by the fact that he was a “born-again Christian.” It’s not that I’m opposed to Yousef’s choices or that I’m prejudiced. Rather, these types of people, in my experience, usually come off as preachy, rigid, and generally try to force the world into living according to their values.

However, as I was flipping through YouTube, I noticed that Yousef had given a lecture to a synagogue in Florida. So, I decided to watch it. After hearing Yousef speak, it was obvious that he was just a normal, non-preachy guy who just happened to be Christian. So, I decided to give his book a chance. I’m glad that I did.

There has always been a lot of misunderstandings about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In fact, most people around the world—especially here in the United States—believe that one side or the other is 100% to blame for everything. Even today, you hear about large groups of people running around calling for a ceasefire when those same people don’t even have the knowledge necessary to explain what it’s all about. For example, they can’t tell you the names of the river or sea in the “from the river to the sea” chant is. Everyone, it seems, wants to make a victim out of one side or the other. But in reality, neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are 100% innocent. And one’s support of Israeli hostages does not indicate support for the right-wing fascist faction currently ruling the country. Likewise, support for Palestinians does not indicate support for Hamas, a known terrorist organization.

The dual responsibility of both Israel and Palestine in the conflict is something that Yousef discusses in great detail throughout the book, particularly when Yousef states that he,

“…was a prisoner of the Israelis when my eyes were opened to the fact that the Palestinian people were as oppressed by their own leaders as they were by Israel…” p. 248

Throughout the book, Yousef appears honest and thoughtful. Even though he worked with the Shin Bet—the Israeli secret service—he doesn’t shy away from Israel’s responsibilities. For example, he clearly states that Israel violated international law when diverting water away from the occupied territories (p. 152). However, the author is blunt and honest about how Palestinians also bear their brunt of responsibility for the ongoing conflict.

This book was eye-opening, interesting, and easy to read. It provides an insider’s view of how this conflict continues to escalate even to this day. I definitely recommend this book to everyone, and especially to those who are determined to make “martyrs” out of either Israelis or Palestinians.
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Michael O'Brien
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August 1, 2015
This was a fascinating story to read in so many ways. I enjoyed Yousef's candor --- he does not gloss over the bad and the ugly from either the Palestinian or the Israeli sides that he dealt with. Neither does he exaggerate their virtues. The result is an unvarnished tale of a young man caught up in the one of the most complicated conflicts in the world who, somehow, manages to rise above the limitations and prejudices of such a situation, and, not only that, finds a relationship with Jesus Christ.

In addition, I really enjoyed how he humanizes the Palestinian people --- it is clear that these are not the fanatical terrorists shown so often in the media, and his own family --- including his father --- were very close and caring for each other. It's clear that, notwithstanding his renunciation of Hamas, Yousef deeply loves his people for good reasons, but is grieved by the way they are manipulated one or another by their leadership's various factions.

It's a remarkable tale overall ---- one of Middle Eastern culture and history that, at times, almost reads like a spy novel. It is also one of a young man's trek to salvation through Jesus Christ which clearly helped him in dark hours and spurred him to take actions that saved both Israeli and Palestinian lives.


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