Son of Hamas

[Garland]

Has anyone heard of this book before? It's describes how Mosab Hassan Yousef (the son of one of the founders of Hamas) became a Christian.

I'm going to hear him speak soon, and I was wondering what people thought of him.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I'm ambivalent. I don't know too much about the man himself. But presently, Israel does far more injustices to Palestine then does Palestine to Israel. We should stop blindly favoring a country and instead be receptive to the cries and bloodshed of all of God's children. We should support peace instead of supporting militant Zionism.

Hamas is of course branded as a terrorist group by our media because of a vast number of reasons. Lobby groups (AIPAC), propaganda, media blackouts, etc. Like how America was branded as a bunch of terrorists during the 1700s. For some of them, they are the freedom fighters. But while Israel has the IDF, then fact is that Palestine is not allowed to have an official military due to Israel's oppression. So in response, you have some militant/paramilitary groups (labeled as terrorist groups in America) in Palestine such as Hamas and the PLO.

I must also add, most Palestinians support actively peaceful measures of reconciliation. Those that use violent means -- I believe -- are among the minority of Palestinians.

It's never about resolving and making peace. There's always some sort of political interest going on. Whether it's for American/Israel interests or Palestinian interests, it's all just for political gain using religion as a mask. This is why we should support neither and instead support the Kingdom of God. Peace on all sides without means of violence and evil.

[Nate]

Today, Israel does far more injustices to Palestine then does Palestine to Israel. We should stop blindly favoring a country and instead be receptive to the cries and bloodshed of all of God's children.

I agree with you completely.

Also,

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Quoted for emphasis.

[MomentOfInertia]

Does the rolling hep?

[Nate]

I was saying it because of YOU. XD

Remember that the whole Israel support thing is politics. The opening post wasn't necessarily political (though admittedly, I don't see anywhere it could have gone but politics, but oh well).

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I was saying it because of YOU. XD

Yeah... I know. But I think that being aware about this is far too important for Christians to be ignorant about.

[Nate]

I agree but I have a feeling that most Christians that are gung-ho supporters of Israel will probably say that the "liberal media" is exaggerating what Israel has done/is doing or that it's "justified" because of how mean those Palestinians are and besides even if Israel is wrong we have to support them no matter what because God.

Sadly you can't educate those who wish to remain ignorant. :\

EDIT:

Does the rolling hep?

Of course it helps, man. It's like...he never would have made it without that roll! Too bad his visor didn't fall off and he had to reach under the door to grab it right before it closed, that would have been even cooler.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I agree but I have a feeling that most Christians that are gung-ho supporters of Israel will probably say that the "liberal media" is exaggerating what Israel has done/is doing or that it's "justified" because of how mean those Palestinians are and besides even if Israel is wrong we have to support them no matter what because God.

Sadly you can't educate those who wish to remain ignorant. :\

Even the liberal media outlets in the states paints Israel in a good light. It's horrifying to me... (Side Note, Al-Jazeera is a very competent news source. Trufax).

People NEED to learn this history. The First and Second Intifada. The Invasion of Lebanon. All this stuff that I have never once been taught in school.

[Dante]

liberal media outlets

Ya know what - I'm not even going to elaborate on this here, but to avoid stepping on my pet peeve, you'd better be quoting someone like Air America. Cause if you're referring to something like Fox News, I'm going to slap you with a large trout. That's it - I'm not stepping one toe more into political territory.

[Nate]

I've never heard anyone even remotely suggest that Fox News is anything close to a liberal media outlet. Those people are so close to the Republican party that they're practically Siamese twins.

I mean seriously the most liberal person Fox News has on their channel is Bill O'Reilly. That's saying something.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I would say it's Colmes.

Anyway, "liberal media outlets" refer to networks like MSNBC, CNN, and NPR. UK's The Guardian too.

[Cognitive Gear]

I would say it's Colmes.

Anyway, "liberal media outlets" refer to networks like MSNBC, CNN, and NPR. UK's The Guardian too.

CNN is pretty middle of the road, but is mostly just a "make a big deal out of every little thing" news outlet.Anyone who thinks NPR is liberal probably doesn't listen to it very much. It has very equal airtime, and it's distribution of listeners is just about equal. Anyways, as much as I would love to talk about the nature, leanings, and current sad state of US journalism, CAA is not really the place.

EDIT: In the hopes that this thread will move forward on topic, I am editing this message and adding the following:

I think it was very brave of him to give information to help prevent anyone from dying, even those that were committing the crimes he was appalled by. In fact, I'd say that the bravest thing he did was to only supply intelligence on the condition that the targets would be arrested, not killed. It's not common for someone to be able to extend mercy to the people they are appalled at.

[Midori]

Well guys, I'm sure you know why this thread was locked. However, I am unlocking it because the original topic of this thread was not political or controversial, but those things were brought into the thread by others.

Just because you think a thread is going to be locked doesn't mean it's acceptable to derail it yourself with politics. That is considered trolling, and we will issue strikes if it keeps happening.

In summary: This thread is still open. Don't talk about politics and don't post things if you think they'll stir up unnecessary controversy. This applies to all threads, not just this one. If you can't say something that's not political then say nothing at all and let the thread die of natural causes.

[Jingo Jaden]

Yup, I've seen a few interviews of the guy. Pretty interesting person, on a side note VERY hostile towards any form of Islam. Wanted to become a double agent for some time, but converted to Christianity and uncovered some rather upsetting truths about the conflict. It is quite hard to comment too much on his actions or opinions without getting too political.

[Midori]

For the sake of clarity, I'd like to point out where I think this topic turned bad (which I kinda failed to do in my last post :p). It was not MSP's first post that was the problem, it was during the later posts discussing media outlets, which was not only political, it was almost completely off-topic.

Yeah, in the future as well as now, please put up with my clumsiness in writing out my thoughts. If you disagree with something I say, please PM me about it; it may actually be because I totally failed to express what I meant properly.

[Cognitive Gear]

I think it is great that he came to know Christ.

I'm not sure what else to say that won't go against the rules here, since unfortunately anything pertaining to Islam or the Middle East is highly politicized these days.

[Fish and Chips]

I don't read the rules but here's what I think you should think about everything.

[Yuki-Anne]

Since this gif made me laugh, I figured I'd quote it so I can be in before the second lock.

[Peanut]

I'm ambivalent. I don't know too much about the man himself. But presently, Israel does far more injustices to Palestine then does Palestine to Israel. We should stop blindly favoring a country and instead be receptive to the cries and bloodshed of all of God's children. We should support peace instead of supporting militant Zionism.

Hamas is of course branded as a terrorist group by our media because of a vast number of reasons. Lobby groups (AIPAC), propaganda, media blackouts, etc. Like how America was branded as a bunch of terrorists during the 1700s. For some of them, they are the freedom fighters. But while Israel has the IDF, then fact is that Palestine is not allowed to have an official military due to Israel's oppression. So in response, you have some militant/paramilitary groups (labeled as terrorist groups in America) in Palestine such as Hamas and the PLO.

I must also add, most Palestinians support actively peaceful measures of reconciliation. Those that use violent means -- I believe -- are among the minority of Palestinians.

It's never about resolving and making peace. There's always some sort of political interest going on. Whether it's for American/Israel interests or Palestinian interests, it's all just for political gain using religion as a mask. This is why we should support neither and instead support the Kingdom of God. Peace on all sides without means of violence and evil.

You know, its impossible for me to not respond to this. While I do agree that we need awareness about what's happening with Palestinians, I think we also need to realize that Israel is way more mixed then just a militant zionist country. Heck, there are Hasidic Jews (that's the really conservative branch of Judaism. You know, the ones in the black suits and awesome hats) who want the state of Israel to be dismantled because it wasn't brought about by a Messiah. The Secular Jews over there are actually very pro-peace and don't hate the Palestinians at all. Really, everything I heard while I was in Israel from a Jew from America whose lived (and fought) there for years, it seems like the problems with Israel are caused by a minority group that's gotten loads of power within the Knessat. But now I'm straying way to far into politics but when I read a post like this that's, for lack of a better word, ignorant I feel like I have to say something. When its by a friend I've known for years then I have no choice. Ryan, try to do more research that isn't just conforming to your point of view on these things.

[Radical Dreamer]

Nope. We're not doing this. The political nature of this thread was already addressed, and it is absolutely unacceptable for both of you to ignore a moderator warning and continue posting anyways. Thread locked.