How a terrorist came to Christ

Mosab Yousef, author of Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices, spoke to a group of Geneva College students, alumni and friends on Nov. 4 as part of Geneva’s Visiting Artist and Lecture Series.

Mosab Yousef spoke of his life growing up in the Middle East as the son of the leader of Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization. His story includes working as an informer for the Israeli internal security services Shin Bet and being involved in both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yousef presented his testimony of his conversion to Christianity after being introduced to the Christian faith by a British missionary in 1999. In 2008, he publicly announced his conversion to Christianity and accepted political asylum in America, renouncing his ties to Hamas and the Arab leadership.

Geneva students turned out in large numbers to hear Yousef’s testimony and were left with lasting impressions.

Senior political science major Caitlyn Mitchell had read Yousef’s book in her Global Terrorism class before she heard him speak in person. The lecture “definitely left a mark,” she says. “I was impressed by how much he was willing to question his upbringing even though he was raised with so much pressure to meet his father’s destiny for him, but instead he was willing to experience other truths.” Caitlyn also noted that she liked the comparison that Yousef made to political correctness in the United States with the idea of shame in the Middle East, and how both of these ideas have an impact on the way we choose to act in our respective cultures.

Senior human services major Nicole Stout says, “I respected the fact that he had really strong views on things, and he wasn’t afraid to say what he believed. He wasn’t apologetic.”

Another student, David Altmann, a senior independent major of politics, philosophy and economics, was aware of Yousef’s “balanced perspective with his experiences on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I appreciated his testimony, especially him saying that the conflict between the Muslims and the Jews will continue unless both sides turn to Christ.”

Professor of Political Science, Dr. Thomas Copeland, has had a large part in organizing the lecture series. “Transforming society is a major task, and indeed we may not be able to do it unless we are transformed ourselves,” says Copeland. “Romans 12:2 says, ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ That process of transformation through the renewing of your mind is what we are about at Geneva College. And that is the focus of this lecture series, bringing to campus speakers from a wide variety of perspectives, philosophies and faiths.”