Kini, pd usia 30 thn, ia menghadiri gereja evangelis Kristen di Barabbas
Road, San Diego, Calif. Ia murtad dari Islam, meninggalkan keluarganya di Ramallah dan sedang mencari suaka di AS.

Cerita hidupnya sungguh menakjubkan. Dibawah ini cuplikan wawancara eksklusif dgn FOX News dimana ia bercerita bgm seorang Muslim Tepi Barat menjadi Kristen West Coast (Pantai Barat AS).

JONATHAN HUNT: Mengapa, setelah 25 thn, anda berubah ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Saya percaya bahwa semua tembok yg didirikan Islam selama 1.400 thn terakhir ini tidak lagi eksis. Mereka (Muslim) tidak mengakui ini. Mereka mendirikan tembok2 ini dan membiarkan orang bodoh karena mereka takut. Mereka tidak ingin orang membahas apapun ttg realitas Islam, ttg pertanyaan2 penting ttg Islam dan mereka meminta kepada pengikut2 mereka, ‘Jangan tanya ttg hal2 tertentu itu.’

Tapi kini, orang memiliki media. Jika seorang ayah mengurung puterinya dirumah, puterinya akan duduk dibelakang komputernya dan melancong keseluruh pelosok dunia. Jadi, orang bisa mendapatkan informasi, pengetahun, searching engines, shg sangat sangat mudah bagi siapapun utk mempelajari Islam, dll agama. Tidak dari sudut pandang Islam, namun dari sudut pandang lain. Jadi dlm 25 thn nanti, ini jelas akan membawa perubahan besar dlm dunia Arab & Muslim.

JONATHAN HUNT: Anda berbicara dari sebuah perspektif unik, sbg lelaki yg tidak saja dibesarkan dlm keluarga Islam tetapi sbg bagian dari organisasi yg dianggap sbg kekuatan ekstrim dlm Islam: Hamas. Apakah realitas Islam? Kau mengatakan orang tidak melihat realitasnya; Apa realitas Islam?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Ada dua fakta yg tidak dimengerti Muslim … Saya perkirakan, lebih dari 95% Muslim tidak mengerti agama mereka sendiri. Islam muncul dlm bahasa yg jauh lebih keras daripada bahasa yg digunakan Muslim sekarang, shg mereka tidak mengerti (bahasa Islam yg sebenarnya) … mereka hanya menggantungkan diri kpd para ulama utk mendapatkan pengetahuan mereka ttg agama ini.

Kedua, mereka tidak mengerti apapun ttg agama2 lain. Masy2 Kristen yg hidup sbg minoritas dlm sebuah mayoritas Muslim lebih memilih utk tidak berbicara ttg Yesus Kristus karena itu terlalu BAHAYA bagi mereka.

Jadi, semua pandangan Muslim ttg agama2 lain dibumi ini hanya datang dari perspektif Islam. Nah, realitas ini yg tidak dimengerti kebanyakan orang.

JIka orang, jika Muslim, mulai mengerti agama mereka — terutama, agama mereka — dan melihat kandungannya yg mengerikan itu, mereka akan mulai mengerti bgm ini semua bisa terjadi …karena kebanyakan ulama hanya berfokus pada hal2 tertentu dari Islam. Ini karena mereka terlalu maluutk membahas hal2 diluar itu.

JONATHAN HUNT: Contohnya ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Spt istri2 Muhammad, misalnya. Kau tidak akan pernah mendengar kotbah di mesjid ttg istri2 Muhammad, yg kemungkinan lebih dari 50 — walau tidak ada satupun orang yg mengetahuinya, by the way. Tanyakan sendiri kpd mayoritas Muslim, dan mereka tidak tahu menahu ttg fakta ini.

Jadi, mereka MALU membahas ini, jadi mereka cuma berbicara ttg kejayaan Islam, kemenangan2 yg dicapai Muhammad. Tapi, begitu orang memandang diri sendiri, mereka akan melihat bahwa mereka sebenarnya
kalah. Mereka b o d o h, tidak dididik, tidak mampu memimpin dunia spt yg mereka harapkan. Oleh karena itu mereka ingin kembali kpd masa jaya itu dgn melakukan apa yg dilakukan Muhammad, tidak peduli bahwa hal itu terjadi 1.400 thn lalu dan tidak akan terulang lagi.

JONATHAN HUNT: Apakah mereka ingin menghancurkan agama Kristen ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Islam memang sudah menghancurkan agama Kristen dari permulaan dan Muslim tidak mengakui bahwa mereka menusuk hati Kristen dgn mengatakan bahwa Yesus tidak mati di salib. Muslim menganggap bahwa ini caranya menghormatinya (nabi Isa).

[...]

Ini yg dilakukan Muslim. Mereka tidak mengerti bahwa ini bagian yg paling penting dari agama Kristen : salib !

Jadi, mereka berpandangan sempit, mereka tidak tahu apa yg mereka lakukan, dan inilah asal usul segala ide jahat dibelakang agama yg bernama Islam ini.

JONATHAN HUNT: APa peristiwa khusus yg memulai merubah pendapat anda ttg Islam ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Sejak kecil saya sudah memiliki sejumlah pertanyaan sulit, bahkan keluarga saya sering mencela saya, ‘Kau memang anak keras kepala dan kami sulit menjawab pertanyaan2mu. Mengapa sih kau nanya2 melulu ?’ Jadi, inilah permulaannya.

Namun saya merasa bahwa semuanya — dan ayah saya adalah contoh bagus bagi saya karena ia memang orang jujur dan bersahaja, sangat baik terhdp ibu saya dan terhdp kami, dan membesarkan kami dgn prinsip2 pengampunan. Nah, oleh karena itu saya menyangka semua orang Islam spt ini.

Ketika saya berusia 18 thn, dan saya ditahan orang Israel dan mendekam di sebuah penjara Israel. Tapi disana Hamas memiliki kontrol atas anggota2 mereka didalamnya dan saya melihat Hamas menyiksa orang2 dgn sangat-sangat parah.

JONATHAN HUNT: Maksudmu, anggota Hamas saling menyiksa sesama anggota ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Pemimpin2 Hamas ! Pemimpin2 Hamas yg kita kini saksikan di TV now, dan pemimpin2 besar, bertanggung jawab atas penyiksaan terhdp anggota2 mereka sendir. Mereka tidak menyiksa saya, tapi ini tetap sebuah shock bagi saya, melihat mereka menyiksa sesama anggota mereka : menusuk kuku2 dgn jarum, membakar tubuh2 mereka, dan juga banyak yg dibunuh.

JONATHAN HUNT: Tapi mengapa mereka membunuh orang2 mereka sendiri ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Karena curiga bahwa mereka (korban2 mereka itu) telah bekerja sama dgn pihak Israel dan bekerjasama dgn penjajah2 Israel melawan Hamas … Jadi ratusan orang jadi korban. Saya menyaksikan penyiksaan ini selama
setahun. Nah, itulah titik perubahan paling besar dlm hidup saya. Saya mulai membuka mata saya. Tapi saya masih merasa bahwa ada Muslim baik dan ada Muslim jahat. Muslim2 baik, spt ayah saya, dan Muslim2 buruk spt orang2 Hamas ini yg menyiksa rekan2 mereka sendiri.

Nah, itulah permulaan mata saya terbuka lebar.

JONATHAN HUNT: Anda berbicara ttg Muslim2 baik, spt ayah anda, tetapi tetap saja anda meninggalkan agama ayah anda. Bukankah kau bisa saja menjadi Muslim baik spt ayah anda ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Nah, ini nih realitasnya : saya mendalami agama Kristen — yg tadinya saya salah mengerti total, karena saya mempelajarinya dari sudut Islam, padahal tidak ada satupun yg benar ttg Kristen kalau dipelajari dari sudut Islam.

Ketika saya mendalami Injil dng perlahan-lah, ayat demi ayat, saya memastikan dulu bahwa ini buku Tuhan, pernyataan Tuhan, shg saya mulai memandang Injil dgn cara berbeda. Tidak mudah bagi saya utk mengatakan bahwa Islam adalah salah.

Islam adalah ayah saya. Saya dibesarkan utk satu ayah — 22 thn utk ayah itu — dan seorang ayah lain datang kpd saya dan mengatakan, ‘Maaf, SAYAlah ayahmu.’ Dan saya tersentak, ‘Apa maksudmu ? Saya punya ayah saya sendiri, dan dia adalah Islam!’ Dan lalu ayah agama Kristen mengatakan kpd saya, ‘Tidak, sayalah ayahmu. Saya berada dlm penjara, dan ini (Islam) bukan ayahmu.’

Nah, itulah yg terjadi. Tidak mudah utk percaya bahwa (Islam) bukan ayahmu lagi. Jadi saya harus mendalami Islam sekali lagi dari sudut pandang lain utk menyadari kesemua kesalahan, kesalahan2 besar dan dampaknya, tidak hanya terhdp Muslim — yg nilai2nya saya benci … saya tidak suka tradisi manapun yg hanya menyulitkan kehidupan orang
— tapi juga dampaknya bagi umat manusia. Pada umat manusia ! Manusia saling membunuh dlm nama Tuhan.

Nah, mulailah saya dgn pasti menyimpulkan bahwa problemnya adalah Islam, bukan Muslim — saya tidak dapat membenci Muslim karena Tuhan mencintai mereka dari permulaan. Dan Tuhan tidak menciptakan sampah. Tuhan menciptakan orang2 baik yg dicintaiNya, tapi Muslim adalah orang2 SAKIT (sick), mereka memiliki pemikiran berbeda. Saya tidak lagi membenci mereka tapi saya sangat sedih melihat mereka dam satu2nya cara bagi mereka adalah utk berubah adalah dgn mengenal siapa Tuhan dan mana jalan sebenarnya.

JONATHAN HUNT: Apakah kau tidak khawatir bahwa pernyataan2 macam ini — dan mengingat latar belakangmu, pernyataan2mu akan sangat diperhatikan — akan meningkatkan kesulitan, kebencian antara Kristen dan Muslim di dunia saat ini ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Ini bisa terjadi kalau seseorang Kristen datang kpd Muslim dan berbicara ttg realitas Islam. Tapi Kristen memang sudah ditempatkan dlm daftar musuh mereka anyway, bahkan sebelum mereka membuka mulut ttg Islam. Jadi, jika kau pergi ke mereka sbg Kristen, Muslim akan langsung merasa tersinggung dan membencimu dan ini jelas akan meningkatkan jurang antara kedua agama — tetapi apa yg membuat orang spt saya bisa berubah ?

Beberapa tahun lalu, ketika saya disana, Tuhan membuka mata dan juga otak saya dan saya menjadi orang yg berubah total. Jadi sekarang, saya bisa melakukan kewajiban ini, kalian sbg Kristen bisa membantu saya melakukannya, tapi kalian mungkin tidak sanggup. Muslim kini tidak lagi memiliki alasan, sekarang.

JONATHAN HUNT: Betapa sulitnya proses meninggalkan keluargamu dan rumahmu ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Ibarat mencabut kulit saya dari tulang2 saya, begitu kira2. Saya cinta keluarga saya, mereka cinta saya. Dan adik2 saya spt putera2 saya sendiri. Saya membesarkan mereka. Basically, ini keputusan terbesar dlm hidup saya.

Saya meninggalkan semuanya, tidak hanya keluarga saja. Jika kau memutuskan utk murtad dari Islam ke Kristen, tidak cukup utk mengatakan goodbye dan thank you. Tidak cukup. Kau juga membelakangi budaya, peradaban, tradisi, masyarakat, keluarga, agama, Tuhan — atau apa yg kusangka sbg tuhan selama bertahun2 ! Jadi, ini sangat complicated. Orang menyangka itu mudah, spt hal sepele. Kini di AS saya mendapatkan kebebasan saya and it’s great, tapi dilain pihak, tidak ada yg bisa mengganti famili … berat kehilangan family —

JONATHAN HUNT: Jadi, kau kehilangan keluargamua ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Keluarga saya terdidik dan ini juga sulit bagi mereka. Mereka meminta saya berkali2, khususnya selama dua hari pertama, utk menyembunyikan agama saya yg baru ini dan tidak mengumumkannya di media.

Tapi saya diwajibkan Tuhan utk mengumumkan namaNya dan memujaNya keseluruh dunia karena penghargaan bagi saya adalah bahwa IAakan melakukan hal yg sama bagi saya. Jadi, saya lakukan ini sbg sebuah kewajiban. Saya ingin tahu berapa orang yg bisa melakukan apa yg saya lakukan sekarang ini. Saya belum menemukan satu orangpun.

Saya harus kuatkan diri. Ini tantangan yg sangat besar. Ini keputusan yg sangat besar dlm hidup saya. Saya tidak main2. Saya tidak melakukan ini utk kebahagiaan dunia. Saya melakukannya utk satu alasan saya: saya percaya. Setiap hari orang menderita karena kepercayaan yg salah. Saya bisa membantu mengeluarkan mereka dari lingkaran tidak berkesudahan ini … lingkaran yg disediakan setan utk mereka.

JONATHAN HUNT: Kau masih sempat berbicara dgn ayahmu ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Tidak ada kesempatan utk berkomunikasi dgn ayah saya karena ia sekarang di penjara dan tidak ada telpon di penjara.

JONATHAN HUNT: Apakah anggota keluargamu tidak bercerita kpdmu ttg reaksi ayahmu ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Mereka memang mengunjunginya. Tapi sampai sekarang saya tidak tahu bgm reaksinya, tapi saya yakin ia sangat sedih ttg keputusan saya ini. Tapi ia juga akan mengerti, karena ia tahu saya dan ia tahu saya bukan tipe orang yg mengambil keputusan secara enteng, tanpa kepercayaan kuat.

JONATHAN HUNT: Apakah kau akan semakin menyulitkan posisinya diantara sesama anggota Hamas semakin sulit ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: JELAS ! Keluarga saya, termasuk ayah saya harus menanggung beban atas keputusan saya ini. Ini bukan keputusan mereka. Ini keputusan saya, tapi mereka tetap harus menanggung beban dan saya minta — saya berdoa bagi ayah, semua kakak dan adik2 saya digereja ini, selalu berdoa setiap kali bagi mereka — ‘Tuhan, bukalah mata mereka, pemikiran mereka, utk datang kpd Kristus. Dan berikan rahmatmu karena mereka juga harus menanggung salib ini dgn saya.’

JONATHAN HUNT: Ceritakan kami ttg Hamas dan cara kerjanya. Apakah Hamas sebuah organisasi Islam murni, shg dimatamu disitulah kesalahan mereka, ATAU ada hal2 lain dlm Hamas yg kau tidak sukai ? Atau kau menganggap Hamas sebuah organisasi baik ? Apa arti Hamas bagi dirimu ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Yah, dimanapun ada orang baik. Khan Tuhan memang menciptakan orang2 baik.

Saya kenal banyak orang yg mendukung Hamas tapi tidak pernah terlibat dlm serangan teroris, misalnya. Mereka hanya mengikuti Hamas karena cinta Tuhan dan mengira bahwa Hamas mewakili Tuhan. Mereka tidak tahu sama sekali, mereka tidak mengenal Tuhan yg sebenarnya dan mereka tidak pernah mendalami agama Kristen. Tapi Hamas, sbg wakil Islam, ini problema besar.

Problemnya bukan Hamas, bukan orangnya. Akar masalahnya adalah Islam itu sendiri sbg sebuah ide, sebuah ide. Hamas sbg sebuah organisasi, jelas, termasuk kepemimpinannya dan ayah saya, mereka bertanggung jawab atas semua kekerasan yg terjadi oleh organisasi itu. Saya tahu mereka menganggap diri sbg reaksi atas agresi Israel, tetapi tetap saja, mereka bagian darinya dan harus mengambil keputusan dlm operasi2 melawan Israel, termasuk membunuh banyak orang sipil.

JONATHAN HUNT: Kau percaya bahwa Israel tidak bersalah dlm konflik ini ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Okupasi memang buruk. Tapi kami disini berbicara ttg ide. Israel memiliki HAK utk membela diri, tidak ada yg bisa membantah ini. Kadang mereka menggunakan terlalu banyak agresi terhdp penduduk. Kadang banyak penduduk tewas karena tentara2 Israel kurang bertanggung jawab, ttg bgm mereka memperlakukan orang di checkpoint2.

Pesan saya kpd tentara Israel: setidaknya perlakukan orang dgn cara pantas di checkpoint2. Tapi ini bukan masalah antar bangsa, tapi ttg ide2 salah pada kedua pihak dan satu2nya cara utk keluar dari lingkaran setan ini adalah utk mengenal prinsip2 yg dibawa Yesus ke bumi ini :
grace, love, forgiveness. Tanpa ini, mereka tidak akan pernah maju ataupun mematahkan lingkaran tidka berkesudahan ini.

[...]

JONATHAN HUNT: Kau percaya bahwa Israel akan pernah mengadakan perjanjian damai dng Hamas?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Tidak mungkin. Ini spt api co-exist dgn air. Tidak mungkin. Hamas bisa main politik selama 10 thn, 15 thn; tapi tanya saja setiap pemimpin Hamas, ‘Okay, apa yg akan terjadi setelah itu ? Apakah kalian akan co-exist dgn Israel utk selama2nya ?’ Jawabannya sudah pasti TIDAK … KECUALI mereka melakukan sesuatu yg melanggar Quran. Tapi itu sudah ideologi mereka dan mereka tidak akan beranjak darinya. Jadi, tidak mungkin. Ini bukan soal Israel, bukan soal Hamas: ini menyangkut kedua ideologi. Tidak mungkin.

JONATHAN HUNT: Kau tidak takut dibunuh karena mengutarakan hal2
macam ini — yg bahkan akan diridhoi oleh beberapa bagian Quran?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Mereka harus membunuh pemikiran2 saya terlebih dahulu. Tapi pemikiran2 saya sudah beredar luas. Jadi, bgm mereka akan membunuh pemikiran saya ? Bgm mereka akan membunuh pendapat2 yg saya miliki ? … Mereka bisa bunuh tubuh saya, tapi tidak jiwa saya.

[...]

JONATHAN HUNT: Kau pernah diancam ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: No, not really. Jujur saja, banyak Muslim dan pemimpin Muslim di AS ini, di masy2 Eropa, mencoba mencari saya. Mereka menelpon keluarga saya, ibu saya utk mengetahui cara menghubungi saya. Mereka mengatakan kpd ibu saya, ‘Kami ingin membantunya.’

JONATHAN HUNT: Mereka percaya kau butuh bantuan ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Yeah, mereka pikir saya dimanipulasi oleh orang2 Kristen. Nah, disinilah mereka salah total. Saya sudah menjadi Kristen utk waktu lama dan tidak seorangpun tahu. Sudah selama beberapa tahun sekarang. Tapi sekarang saya baru mengumumkannya.

Mereka tahu saya berpendidikian dan mendalami Islam & Christianity. Ketika saya mengambil keputusan, ini bukan saya kena jampi2 atau mencoba meyakinkan saya. Ini 100% keputusan saya seorang diri.

[...]

JONATHAN HUNT: Apa pesanmu bagi Muslim2 yg mendengarmu saat ini ?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Pesan saya adalah, pertama2, bukalah pemikiran kalian. Mereka lahir dari keluarga2 Muslim — inilah bgm mereka masuk Islam … spt juga keluarga2 Kristen maupun Yahudi.

Jadi, saya ingin mereka membuka mata mereka, pemikiran mereka dan membayangkan diri mereka tidak lahir dlm keluarga Muslim. Utk apa Tuhan memberikan mereka otak ? Bukalah hati kalian. Baca Injil. Pelajarilah agamamu, Saya ingin membuka pintu gerbang bagi mereka. Saya ingin mereka bebas. Mereka pasti ingin hidup dgn baik di dunia dgn cara mengikuti Tuhan – dan mereka juga akan menemukan jaminan bagi hidup di akhirat.

By Jonathan Hunt

Mosab Hassan Yousef is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary story. He was born the son of one of the most influential leaders of the militant Hamas organization in the West Bank and grew up in a strict Islamic family.

Now, at 30 years old, he attends an evangelical Christian church, Barabbas Road in San Diego, Calif. He renounced his Muslim faith, left his family behind in Ramallah and is seeking asylum in the United States.<!–more–>

The story of how his life unfolded is truly amazing, whether you agree or disagree with his views. Below is a transcript on an exclusive FOX News interview with Hassan as he tells firsthand how a West Bank Muslim became a West Coast Christian.

• Click here to view video of Mosab Hassan Yousef speaking out.

• Click here to view video ‘Renouncing Islam.’

——————————————————————————–
JONATHAN HUNT: Why, after 25 years, did you change?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: I believe that all those walls that Islam built for the last 1,400 years are not existing (sic) anymore. They don’t recognize this. They built those walls and made people ignorant because they’re afraid. They didn’t want people to discuss anything about the reality of Islam, about the big questions of Islam and they asked their followers, the Muslims, ‘Don’t ask about those certain questions.’

But now, people have media. If the father closes the door for his daughter not to leave the house, she’s going to go behind her computer and travel the world. So people easily can get information, knowledge, searching (sic) engines, so it’s very, very available for everybody to study about Islam, about other religions. Not from the Islam point of view, but from other points of view.

So for the next 25 years this is for sure going to make huge change in the Muslim and the Arab world.

JONATHAN HUNT: You speak from a unique perspective, a man who grew up not just in an Islamic family but as part of an organization seen by many people around the world as an extreme force in Islam: Hamas. What is the reality of Islam? You say people don’t see the reality; What is the reality of Islam?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There are two facts that Muslims don’t understand … I’d say about more than 95 percent of Muslims don’t understand their own religion. It came with a much stronger language than the language that they speak so they don’t understand it … they rely only on religious people to get their knowledge about this religion.

Second, they don’t understand anything about other religions. Christian communities live between Muslims and they’re minority and they (would) rather not to go speak out and tell people about Jesus because it’s dangerous for them.

So, all their ideas about other religions on earth are from Islamic perspectives. So those two realities, most people don’t understand.

If people, if Muslims, start to understand their religion — first of all, their religion — and see how awful stuff is in there, they’ll start to figure out, this can’t (be) … because most religious people focus on certain points of Islam. They have many points that they are very embarrassed to talk about.

JONATHAN HUNT: Such as?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Such as Muhammad’s wives. You will never go to a mosque and hear about anyone talking about Muhammad’s wives, which is like more than 50 wives — and nobody knows (this), by the way. If you ask the majority of Muslims, they will not know this fact.

So they’re embarrassed to talk about this, but they talk about the glory of Islam, they talk about the victory, the victories that Muhammad made. So, when people just like look at themselves and see they’re defeated, they have ignorance, they’re not educated, they’re not leading the world as they’re expected to do. They’re think they want to get back to that victory by doing the same, what Muhammad did, but disregarding (sic) the timing. They forget that this happened 1,400 years ago and it’s not going to happen again.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do they want to destroy Christianity?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Islam destroyed Christianity from the beginning and Muslims don’t recognize that they stabbed Christianity (in) its heart when they said that Jesus wasn’t killed on the cross. They think that they honor him in this way.

Basically, any Christians understand that this way, (but Muslims) tell Jesus, okay, we don’t care, you didn’t die for us. Someone sacrificed his life for you, (but) you tell him, okay, you didn’t do it!

This is what Muslims are doing basically. But they don’t understand that this is the most important part of Christianity: the cross!

So, they are ignorant, they don’t know what they are doing and it explains what an evil idea it is behind this Islam.

JONATHAN HUNT: What specific event or events began to change your mind about Islam?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Since I was a child I started to ask very difficult questions, even my family was telling me all the time, ‘You’re a very difficult person and we were having trouble answering your questions. Why are you asking so many questions?’ This was from the beginning, to be honest with you.

But I felt that everybody — and my father was a good example for me because he was a very honest, humble person, very nice to my mother, to us, and raised us on the principle of forgiveness, okay? I thought that everybody in Islam was like this.

When I was 18 years old, and I was arrested by the Israelis and was in an Israeli jail under the Israeli administration, Hamas had control of its members inside the jail and I saw their torture; (they were) torturing people in a very, very bad way.

JONATHAN HUNT: Hamas members torturing other Hamas members?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Hamas leaders! Hamas leaders that we see on TV now, and big leaders, responsible for torturing their own members. They didn’t torture me, but that was a shock for me, to see them torturing people: putting needles under their nails, burning their bodies. And they killed lots of them.

JONATHAN HUNT: Why were they torturing people?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Because they suspected that they had relations with the Israelis and (were) co-operating with the Israeli occupation against Hamas … So hundreds of people were victims for this, and I was a witness for about a year for this torture. So that was a huge change in my life. I started to open my (eyes), but, the point (is) that I got that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims. Good Muslims, such as my father, and bad Muslims, like those Hamas members in the jail torturing people.

So that was the beginning of opening my eyes wide.

JONATHAN HUNT: You talk about the good Muslims, like your father, yet you still now renounce the faith of your father. Could you have not been a good Muslim?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Now, here’s the reality: after I studied Christianity — which I had a big misunderstanding about, because I studied about Christianity from Islam, which is, there is nothing true about Christianity when you study it from Islam, and that was the only source.

When I studied the Bible carefully verse by verse, I made sure that that was the book of God, the word of God for sure, so I started to see things in a different way, which was difficult for me, to say Islam is wrong.

Islam is my father. I grew up for (one) father — 22 years for that father — and another father came to me and told me, ‘I’m sorry, I’m your father.’ And I was like, ‘What are you talking about? Like, I have my own father, and it’s Islam!’ And the father of Christianity told me, ‘No, I’m your father. I was in jail, and this (Islam) is not your father.’

So basically this is what happened. It’s not easy to believe this (Islam) is not your father anymore. So I had to study Islam again from a different point of view to figure out all the mistakes, the huge mistakes and its effects, not only on Muslims — (of) which I hated the values … I didn’t like all those traditions that make people’s lives more difficult — but its effects also on humanity. On humanity! People killing each other (in) the name of God.

So definitely I started to figure out the problem is Islam, not the Muslims and those people — I can’t hate them because God loved them from the beginning. And God doesn’t create junk. God created good people that he loved, but they’re sick, they have the wrong idea. I don’t hate those people anymore but I feel very sorry for them and the only way for them to be changed (is) by knowing the word of God and the real way to him.

JONATHAN HUNT: Does it worry you that in saying these things — and given your background and your words carrying extra weight — there is a danger that you will increase the difficulties, the hatred between Christians and Muslims in the world right now?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: This could happen if a Christian person will go talk to them about the reality of Islam. They put Christians on the enemy list anyway, before you talk to them about Islam. So if you go to them and tell them, as a Christian, they will be offended immediately and they will hate you and this will definitely increase the vacuum between both religions — but what made someone like me change?

Years ago, years ago, when I was there, God opened my eyes, my mind also, and I became a completely different person. So now, I can do this duty, while you as Christians can help me do it, but maybe you wouldn’t be able to. (Muslims) have no excuse now.

JONATHAN HUNT: How difficult a process has this been for you to effectively walk away from your family, leave your home behind? How difficult is that?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Taking your skin off your bones, that’s what happened. I love my family, they love me. And my little brothers, they’re like my sons. I raised them. Basically, it was the biggest decision in my life.

I left everything behind me, not only family. When you decide to convert to Christianity or any other religion from Islam, it’s not (enough) to just say goodbye and leave, you know? It’s not like that. You’re saying goodbye to culture, civilization, traditions, society, family, religion, God — what you thought was God for so many years! So it’s not easy. It’s very complicated. People think it’s that easy, like it doesn’t matter. Now I’m here in the U.S. and I got my freedom and it’s great, but at the same time, nothing is like family, you know. To lose your family —

JONATHAN HUNT: Have you lost your family?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: My family is educated and it was very difficult for them. They asked me many times, especially for the first two days, to keep my faith to myself and not go to the media and announce it.

But for me it was a duty from God to announce his name and praise him (around) the world because my reward is going to be that he’s going to do the same for me. So I did it, basically, as a duty. I (wonder) how many people can do what I can do today? I didn’t find any.

So, I had to be strong about that. That was very challenging. That was the most difficult decision in my life and I didn’t do it for fun. I didn’t do it for anything from this world. I did it only for one reason: I believed in it. People are suffering every day because of wrong ideas. I can help them get out of this endless circle … the track the devil (laid) for them.

JONATHAN HUNT: Have you spoken to your father recently?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance to communicate with my father because he’s in jail now and there is (sic) no phones in the jail to communicate with him.

JONATHAN HUNT: Have other members of your family told you how he’s reacted?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They’ve visited him from time to time. Till this moment, I don’t know his reaction exactly but I’m sure he’s very sad (over) a decision like this. But at the same time, he’s going to understand, because he knows me and he knows that I don’t make any decisions without (believing strongly in them).

JONATHAN HUNT: Is it making his life more difficult among fellow Hamas members?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. My family, including my father, had to carry this cross with me. It wasn’t their choice. It was my choice, but they had to carry this cross with me and I ask God — I pray for (my father), all my brothers and my sisters here in this church, praying all the time for them — ‘God, open their eyes, their minds, to come to Christ. And bless them because they had to carry this cross with me.’

JONATHAN HUNT: Tell me about Hamas and the way it works. Is Hamas a purely Islamic religious organization as you see it, and that’s where, in your eyes, its faults lie, or are there other parts of it which are a problem for you? Or is Hamas a good organization? What is Hamas to you?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: If we talk about people, there are good people everywhere. Everywhere. I mean, good people that God created.

Do they do their own things? Yes, they do their own things. I know people who support Hamas but they never got involved in terrorist attacks, for example … They follow Hamas because they love God and they think that Hamas represents God. They don’t have knowledge, they don’t know the real God and they never studied Christianity. But Hamas, as representative for Islam, it’s a big problem.

The problem is not Hamas, the problem is not people. The root of the problem is Islam itself as an idea, as an idea. And about Hamas as an organization, of course, the Hamas leadership, including my father, they’re responsible; they’re responsible for all the violence that happened from the organization. I know they describe it as reaction to Israeli aggression, but still, they are part of it and they had to make decisions in those operations against Israel, (for) which there was the killing of many civilians.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe Israel blameless in the conflict?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Occupation is bad. I can’t say Israel — I’m not against any nation. We can’t say Israelis, we can’t say Palestinians, we’re talking about ideas. Israel has the right to defend itself, nobody can (argue) against this. But sometimes they use (too much) aggression against civilians. Sometimes many civilians were killed because those soldiers weren’t responsible enough, how they treat people at the checkpoints.

My message even to the Israeli soldiers: at least treat people in a good way at the checkpoints. You don’t have to look really bad and it’s not about nations, it’s about just wrong ideas on both sides and the only way for two nations really to get out of the endless circle is to know the principles that Jesus brought to this earth: grace, love, forgiveness. Without this, they will never be able to move on, or break this endless circle.

JONATHAN HUNT: You’ve seen your father jailed, you’ve been in prison yourself. You’ve seen Hamas carry out acts of terror against Israelis, and yet you say everybody needs to rise above that?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. This is the only choice. Nobody has magic power to do something for the Middle East. No one. You can ask any politician here in the U.S., you can ask any Palestinian politician or Arab politician, Israeli leaders; no one, no one can do anything. Even if they believe in peace now: they’re part of the game.

They’re part of the trick. They can’t, even if you find a brave person, like Rabin, who was called by an Israeli to make peace with the Palestinians and give them a state, no one, even if you find a strong leader, they can’t do this. You can’t force an independent country to give another country independence. (Especially when) the other country wants to destroy it.

Everybody is hurt. Israeli soldiers, they lost their friends. Palestinians, they lost their children, their fathers. (There are) many people in prison still, and many people were killed. Thousands. So everybody will never forget this. If they want to keep looking to the past, they will never get out of this circle. The only way to start (is just by) moving on. They were born under the occupation as Palestinians.

The last two generations, it’s not their choice. The new generations from Israel — if we say disregarding the existence of Israel is right or wrong, what’s the guilt of those people who were born in Israel and they have no other country to go to? It’s their country now, that’s how they see it. And they are going to keep their resistance and defense against whomever. (They will) say, ‘Get out of this land!’ So the only way is for both nations to start to understand the grace, love and forgiveness of God, to be able to get out of this.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe that Israel can ever strike a peace deal with Hamas?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance. Is there any chance for fire to co-exist with the water? There is no chance. Hamas can play politics for 10 years, 15 years; but ask any one of Hamas’ leaders, ‘Okay, what’s going to happen after that? Are you just going to live and co-exist with Israel forever?’ The answer is going to be no … unless they want to do something against the Koran. But it’s their ideology and they can’t just say ‘We’re not going to do it.’ So there is no chance. It’s not about Israel, it’s not about Hamas: it’s about both ideologies. There is no chance.

JONATHAN HUNT: Aren’t you terrified that somebody is going to try to kill you for saying these things — which would be approved of according to parts of the Koran?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They got to kill my ideas first, (and) that’s it, they’re already out. So how are they going to kill my idea? How are they going to kill the opinions that I have? … They can kill my body, but they can’t kill my soul.

JONATHAN HUNT: You’re not afraid?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: As a human, you know, I can be very brave now, I’m not thinking about it at this moment and I feel that God is on my side. But if this will be the challenge, I ask God to give me enough strength.

JONATHAN HUNT: Have you been threatened?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: No, not really. Honestly, most Muslims and Muslim leaders here in the U.S. community, European communities, they are trying to get ahold of me. They are calling my famiily, my mother, and asking for my contacts. They are telling her, ‘We want to help him.’

JONATHAN HUNT: They think you need help?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Yeah, they think that Christians took advantage of me, and this is completely wrong. I’ve been a Christian for a long time before they knew, or anyone knew. I love Jesus, I followed him for many years now. It wasn’t a secret for most of the time, and this time I just did it to glorify the name of God and praise him.

They’re not dealing with a regular Muslim. They know that I’m educated, they know that I studied, they know that I studied Islam and Christianity. When I made my decision, I didn’t make it because someone did magic on me or convinced me. It was completely my decision.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you miss Ramallah?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. You’ve been there and you know how a wonderful country (it is). Very, very beautiful. It’s a very small spot and it has everything — this is why people are fighting for that piece of land. I definitely miss Ramallah. Jereusalem. The Old City.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe you will ever be able to go back?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: I think I belong to that land, and sooner or later I’m going to go back, no matter what. If they want to kill me, they (will) do whatever they want to do. I have a family there, they love me, they completely support me now with my decisions. Maybe they don’t want me to talk to the media but they believe that I made a decision that I completely believe in. So they support me, so I love my family. I’m going to go back there again one day. I love my town.

JONATHAN HUNT: Do you think you’ll ever go back to a Middle East living in peace?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There will be a 100-person peace when Jesus comes back, when he judges everybody. His kingdom’s going to be 1,000 years and it’s going to be completely peaceful and it’s going to be the kingdom of God.

JONATHAN HUNT: What is your basic message to any Muslim listening to this right now?

MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: My message to them is, first of all, to open their minds. They were born to Muslim families — this is how they got Islam and this is just like … any other religion, like growing up (in) a Christian family, or growing up (in) a Jewish family.

So my point is that I want those people to open their eyes, their minds, to start to understand and imagine that they weren’t born for a Muslim famiily. And use their minds.

Why did God give them minds? Open their hearts. Read the Bible. Study their religion. I want to open the gate for them, I want them to be free. They will find a good life on earth just by following God — and they’re also going to guarantee the other life.