Imprisoned, Yet God Still Opened Doors – Day 17

As the son of a Hamas founder and leader, Mosab Hassan Yousef saw the hostility and destruction around him, and he hated it. He recognized that living in Gaza he had become a radical.

As a youth, Yousef was arrested by the Israeli government for weapons possession. He spent time in prison as the government tried to get him to divulge all that Hamas in Gaza was doing. They wanted Mosab to reveal, “What is your involvement? Where are the Hamas weapons? Tell us about the organization. Do you know anything about the Islamic youth movement?” Mosab was told, “Israel is a small country, and we have to protect ourselves. We cannot allow anybody to hurt Israeli citizens. We suffered enough our whole lives, and we will not be easy on those who want to hurt our people.”

While a prisoner, he endured brutal treatment at the hands of Israeli soldiers. Life was difficult, but in prison, he witnessed much worse treatment that his fellow Hamas members inflicted on fellow Muslims to keep them in line.

While in confinement, a member of Israel’s security agency, the Shin Bet, approached him. Mosab learned that they knew so much about him, and they wanted him to secretly work with them to help stop the violence and protect and save lives.

His culture—not his father—had taught him that the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) and the Israeli people were his enemies. The young Palestinian was unprepared for the treatment he got from the Shin Bet agents. They were “not trying to break me down or make me do bad things. They seemed to be doing their best to build me up, to make me stronger and wiser,” he said.

“As time went on, I began to question my plan to kill the Israelis,” he recalled. “These people were so kind. They clearly cared about me. Why would I want to kill them? I was surprised to realize that I no longer did.” Every time he met with them, the world he knew from growing up in Gaza was relentlessly eroding, revealing another world he was beginning to understand.

God was intervening, and in our next post, we will share the dramatic change about to take place in Mosab’s life!

Mosab Hassan Yousef – Son of Hamas

Prayer

Through small happenings each day, God was softening Mosab’s heart toward truth. Today this is happening in Muslim lives worldwide, including in our nations. They resist the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Continue to pray that the barriers and resistance to the sonship of Jesus is revealed, enabling them to see how much the true and living God loves them.