Palestinian / Israeli Conflict and the Gospel
I just finished reading the book Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef printed by Tyndale House Publishers. It was a book that once I began reading I just couldn’t put it down. The story describes the journey of Mosab, who is the oldest son of one of the founders of the Palestinian group of Hamas. The book details his journey from a child filled with rage against Israelis to someone who began working with them to curtail the violence and terrorism of the region. Along the way, Mosab begins to study the New Testament and is transformed by the teachings of Jesus especially his command to “love your enemies and do good to those who persecute you.”
I have a couple of observations from reading the book. First, the inside account of the history of the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis show the difficulty of the political situation. When people have been driven from their homes and forced into refugee camps, should we be surprised when the fight back? Often we only see the Israeli side, when in actuality there is plenty of blame to go around.
Secondly, the book reinforces the power of the gospel and how the words of Jesus can truly change a person. As Mosab begins to study the Bible, the light of the gospel breaks through the years of devotion to Islam. He begins to be confronted by a new ethic, the Jesus ethic, that doesn’t return evil for evil, but overcomes evil with good. He says, “As long as we continue to search for enemies anywhere but inside ourselves, there will always be a Middle East problem. Religion is not the solution. Religion without Jesus is just self-righteousness. Freedom from oppression will not resolve things either….Manipulated by lies and driven by racism, hatred, and revenge, I was on my way to being one of those people. Then in 1999, I encountered the only true God. He is the Father whose love is beyond expression, yet shown in the sacrifice of his only Son on a cross to atone for the world’s sins.”
To find out more about the book, check out the website www.sonofhamas.com
Also, I came across a video produced by Austin Stone Church in Austin, TX that is an interview with a Palestinian Christian and the issues he faces. You can check it out here: Interview with Daoud Nassar
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