Masab Yousef, the oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a political leader of the Hamas organization of the West Bank, speaks out about his faith in Christ and gives some insight into the terrorist organization that he was raised in. He gave his life to Christ in 2004 after reading the Bible and finding answers that he could not find in Islam:
“At this stage I was still a Muslim and I thought that I would remain one. But every day I saw the terrible things done in the name of religion by those who considered themselves ‘great believers. I studied Islam more thoroughly and found no answers there. I re-examined the Koran and the principles of the faith and found how it is mistaken and misleading. The Muslims borrowed rituals and traditions from all the surrounding religions.”
Yousef believes that Christian love and forgiveness holds the only hope for peace in the Middle East. He contends that Hamas and Islam will never support a lasting peace with Israel:
“You will never, but never have peace with Hamas. Islam, as the ideology that guides them, will not allow them to achieve a peace agreement with the Jews. They believe that tradition says that the Prophet Mohammed fought against the Jews and that therefore they must continue to fight them to the death. They have to take revenge against anyone who did not agree to accept the Prophet Mohammed.”
Response: Yousef brings us some valuable first hand insight into the Hamas ‘culture’ and mind set. Those who are critical of the Israelis for their treatment of the West Bank should read what he has to say about the folks he grew up with.
The real hope for these people can be found only in Christ. Let’s pray that more Palestinians and more folks in the Middle East will come to Jesus and be saved in this life and the life to come. This is the only way that Islamic terror will ever be permanently eliminated. Come Holy Spirit and come Lord Jesus, let the gospel go forth once more in the land of its birth.