'Son of Hamas' warns about Islamism's creeping hold on West
Mosab Hassan Yousef is a rare voice to emerge from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a man whose journey took him from the dark pit of Hamas, to an outspoken critic and bestselling author.
Born in Ramallah in 1978, Yousef is the eldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the founding leaders of Hamas, the terror group that rose to dominate Gaza. Growing up steeped in Jihadist ideology, he was expected to inherit his father’s legacy — until a crisis of conscience set him on a radically different course.
His transformation began in the late 1990s, after witnessing the brutality inflicted by his own peers on suspected “collaborators.” Disillusioned, he accepted an unlikely recruitment by Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, agreeing to act as an informant under the code name “The Green Prince.” Over the next decade, he worked undercover to sabotage terror plots and, by his own accounts, helped save hundreds of lives — including fellow Palestinians, as much as Israelis. All this transpired while his father remained a leading Hamas figure — that ultimately forced Yousef into exile and estrangement.
His story exploded onto the world stage with the publication of his bestselling memoir, Son of Hamas, in 2010. More recently, he expanded his story, in From Hamas to America, chronicling his years as an American citizen, reflecting on the cost and complexity of his choices, which include a conversion to Christianity.
Tafsik, a pro-Israel organization, brought Yousef to speak in Toronto on Nov. 19.
He spoke of recent Palestinian flag raisings in Toronto, Calgary and Winnipeg, excoriating Canadian politicians as “hypocrites looking for votes” who are “supporting chaos and terrorism.” Local demonstrators against Israel are “spitting venom, taking advantage of Gaza’s tragedy” while “using your freedoms to destroy your freedoms.”
He spoke of being raised in a “death culture” where “women are treated like cattle, as property” and “they feed children from an early age how to hate, in the name of resistance and occupation.”
He called Islamists “savages” that cannot be negotiated with. He said they perpetuated an “inverted narrative” that used projection to accuse Israel of genocide and colonization, but they were guilty of those very crimes.
Yousef spoke with Dave Gordon for National Post:
Q: On a governmental level, what needs to be done to prevent more antisemitic incidents?
A: The problem with the government of Canada, is they have been platforming Palestine. This is the biggest antisemitism out there – rewarding Palestinians for their violence, then expecting from such a government to actually be fair to the Jews.
They are appeasing Muslim voters, and there is going to be consequences. (The government is) legitimizing jihad against all Western values.
If they continue to choose to close their eyes and see it differently, then they are part of the problem. They are not part of the solution.
I don’t count on them being fair to the Jewish people, and their fight against antisemitism. How can this be possible, when they are raising Palestinian flags, in their capitals?
Q: Would you say that the Gazans were unique, in that, as a group, they were for decades subjected to daily jihadist messages by Hamas?
A: Actually, some of the most dangerous terrorists that the West ever experienced came from very wealthy Arab oil countries like Saudi Arabia. The only difference (with Gaza) is poverty, and that they are very close to the Jews. Like, for example, if Pakistan was close by, jihad would not be limited to the Palestinians.
Terrorists, jihadists, are worldwide. What we saw, for example, in Syria, remember ISIS? Remember what happened just recently against the Druze in Syria? See what the Houthis are doing. See the barbarism of the Iraqis, for example, during the Shia-Sunni clashes. But of course, there were no headlines. Take Algeria also. I can go on and on. Look at Sudan recently.
What I’m trying to tell you is that the entire region is ruled by tribalism. This is not only unique for the Palestinians. It’s a death culture. They just find in Israel a common enemy, because they are Jews. But practically, if they don’t have the Jews to kill, they will kill each other.
Q: From time to time, Gazans will say things against Hamas on camera. Is this genuine, and how prevalent is that sentiment?
A: Hamas ruled over the Gazans for 17 years, and they made many enemies, they killed many people, and they oppressed their political rivals.
They imprisoned them, they killed them, and these people basically are still there, and they have a blood feud with Hamas. So now Hamas has enemies. There are tribes who actually oppose Hamas, and they are armed, and they are defending themselves. There are so many divisions and subdivisions within the Gaza Strip.
But as of now, I think the vast majority of Gazans, they don’t see Israel as a possible peace partner, and they don’t recognize Israel. They still want a Palestinian state on the rubble of Israel.
Q: There is a sense among many that a large-scale terror attack is imminent in the West. Do you agree?
A: First of all, the jihadis, the extreme Muslims, they are thinking, ‘Oh, it’s a political win. The political win is better than the military win.’ I’m not saying it’s better. What I’m saying is, to them, right now, they are winning.
They always will come to a point where they choose violence. For now, I call it, diplomatic, political and financial jihad. This is something you must understand about how the Muslim Brotherhood works, which is basically the main mover and shaker behind all this chaos in the West.
Social jihad, which is what you experience on social media, is also significant in this game. As long as the jihadis are looking like freedom fighters, and the Jews are looking like terrorists, they are not going to go and do something that is going to actually change the narrative, or change the price.
But you need to take into consideration the lone wolves. Those are the ones that are basically not under control, and they take hateful indoctrination literally, and they may act on it.
We have more mayors being elected by social media. They also can now use these accounts to manipulate Americans and manipulate Westerners to get to power.
This is, in my opinion, a lot more dangerous than just a terrorist attack that would unify Westerners. If this continues, then eventually they are going to take over politics, controlling Congress or Parliament, to gain more power in decision-making circles.
Q: A three-piece-suit jihad?
A: Yes, and especially when they are funded right now by Qatari money. I actually am not seeing an immediate threat of the magnitude of 9/11. I don’t see it in the interest of the Muslim Brotherhood, or any of its branches. 9/11 unified the West against terrorism, and October 7 divided the West, and this was the entire Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood strategy, basically, to demoralize the West, and they succeeded.
Q: What do you think allies of Israel and the Jewish people need to do?
A: Defend freedom; defend the West, counter the Islamist threat, that has an aspiration to conquer the world. Once people start to understand that this is a real and existential threat, and they understand their strategy, financial, social, and diplomatic jihad, then it becomes a different story.
If the West is not united, say Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, all types of people, then everybody is a target.
The Jihadists are going to be violent, and anyone who would oppose them or offends their religion or criticizes their religion, they are going to kill and kidnap and commit terrorism.
This is paving the way for a new generation. Right now it’s like a cancer; it’s a big problem that nobody actually knows how to deal with.
What we need is to bring the truth to the people. For example, all the allegations of occupation, of genocide, of colonization, of stealing the land from the Palestinians, these are baseless accusations. And they are very serious accusations. We need to shed light on how the Gaza tragedy was the outcome of Hamas weaponizing civilians.
This interview was edited for brevity.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.
Unpublished Newswire
Comments
Be the first to comment