Living in Terror, Betrayal and Political Intrigue – Day 16

Mosab Hassan Yousef* born in Gaza in the Middle East, made a dramatic statement. He shared, “Israel has many enemies, but few have been deadlier than the terrorist group in its own back yard.”

Hamas, the governing body of Gaza founded in 1987, is an internationally known terrorist organization. Mosab stated, “Armed with the Koran and the gun, the people of Hamas are trained to hate Israel beginning at early childhood. For more than two (now three) decades, Hamas has terrorized Israelis through suicide bombings to thousands of rocket attacks.” The suicide bombers and shedding of innocent blood resulted in great chaos, both in Israel and Gaza.

While Hamas military leaders were planning attacks on Israeli restaurants and buses, Mosab grew up as the son of a respected Hamas founder, Sheikh Hassan Yousef. Mosab and had a great love for his family. He honored his father and, as the older son, was groomed to be a Hamas “prince,” to succeed his highly respected father in the group’s leadership.

Mosab said he had watched his father struggle with an irrational internal conflict. “On the one hand, he didn’t see those Muslims who killed settlers and soldiers and innocent women and children as wrong,” he writes. “He believed that Allah gave them the authority to do that. On the other hand, he could not personally do what they did. Something in his soul rejected it. What he could not justify as right for himself he rationalized as right for others.”

The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) knew that Mosab’s father was behind much of the violence against Israel. He would be arrested, interrogated, even tortured, and imprisoned. He would be gone from his family for months at a time, return home, only to be imprisoned again. Sheikh Yousef was imprisoned by the IDF thirteen times, and the family struggled financially and emotionally.

Most lived amid terror, betrayal, and political intrigue. How can the love of God touch Mosab to overcome the conflict and anger in his heart? Stay tuned …

• Mosab Hassan Yousef – Son of Hamas

Prayer

Romans 5:20 says, “Where sin abounds, grace will abound much more.” The places in society that seem most challenging to reach for the Lord have grace abounding in their midst. Just as in other cultures, sin is abounding in the Muslim world. Declare that grace, favor, blessing, and the kindness of God is being released over their lives, opening their eyes to their need for salvation in Christ.