Walid Shoebat’s unedited response to my appeal for reconciliation

Dear Mosab,

I would hope you publish our exchange on your blog as I will publish it on mine. Since many are confused, I think that we should post this dialogue.
Mosab, read carefully. I am not a man who bases my faith on emotion, but I am not immune from hurt either. And this issue pained me greatly. Let’s set the record straight. When some on your blog say to you that they are “glad that you reached out to Walid”, when the truth is—I first tried to reach out to you and our email you posted proves it.
Yet you rejected my call to you in which you expressed in your post insinuating that we wanted to recruit you for a financial agenda. My record proves beyond any doubt that I have always reached out with others who speak for the cause. I have spent over $70,000 on the Forthood massacre event, brought in speakers and paid them there due as required by our Lord, a servant is worthy of his hire. I simply wanted to open an avenue for you to speak at Universities. I have done the same for many others.
Now, your Shen Bet handler has stated I was a fraud, that he checked my records and found nothing. How could he have done this in the last few days, especially when he no longer is a Shen-Bet operative? Now I have to defend myself from his false accusations, which I must do to correct the record. For the first time in my life, you will see indeed that I am no fraud.
I understand quite well that you must also defend yourself . People asked as to why I have not written you privately. I did attempt to contact you through a brother in the past. I have sent Zachariah Izzat, an Egyptian believer and he had exchanges with you which reached nowhere. He was disappointed. In the end, I had concluded you wanted nothing to do with us.
Despite this, I never thought negative of you. I continued to defend you on radio and in churches all over the nation. There are many recording in which I am defending you. I have truly believed in you Mosab. I did not allow our lack of communication to change my views about you.
It was a day when my wife brought a video to view in which you were dressed in the Kaffieh, the very symbol of the Palestinian cause. I ignored it. Then hours later, I had thought to myself, perhaps I should pay attention. When I did, I was saddened of what I saw. Statements that were clearly intended to show that you wanted a Palestinian state.
Mosab, I am not Palestinian. I am not from Palestine. I am a Judean Arab and nothing more. I am not ashamed to say also that I am a true Zionist.
Sure, there are some Jewish extremists, but in no way can you compare the small factions to an onslaught by Arab-Muslim enemies that desires to kill every Jew alive.
I am also keen to the Palestinian-Christian ideology, which comes from the pit of hell. For Brackin to compare the Zionism of God with the Zionism of man, that tanks and armed strength of Israel is “Zionism of man” is a message from the pit of hell. Such are not your friends; such is the nature of the enemy that uses half-truths. God said that He would bring Israel back to be a great nation. This Mosab also means that God planed for a strong Israel.
While I will reach out to Arabs for the cause of Christ, I am also committed to defend the Zionist state and will fight and give my life to save the Jews. This does not mean that I follow every Jew who is an extremist, for I know well that there are extremists who have even harmed our brethren in Israel. I am not one of those.
Many always portray me as an extremist, yet they can never find a shred of evidence in which I expressed any extreme. They have falsely said things I never stated. I have never once said: “kill all Muslims”. In fact, I reprimanded one speaker once for saying such evil. I love Muslims and I hate Islam.
People are confused. They say that Mosab is still Muslim. Others say “how could he still be Muslim when he condemns Islam”. Others say “Walid is wrong, Mosab is a believer and loves Israel”.
Everyone is trying to figure out Mosab. The reason so many are confused is because they cannot add the missing link—Mosab was influenced by Al-Hayat, which is not Zionist.
Evangelicals in America are predominately Zionists. I don’t think you are Muslim. However, I do believe that you want a Palestinian state, and that you think Israel is an occupation. You have clearly stated this in Arabic. You have also stated much more which was disturbing. Yet you simply say that all this is misunderstood and that I mislead everyone for not “translating the culture”.
This Mosab is not accurate. There is no way that some of your statements in Arabic have been a “cultural mistranslation”. To only collaborate with the Palestinian Authority when Jewish children are to be killed? That there is no 911? That a Palestinian could “loose his life for reporting a terrorist attack” is an excuse?
What happened with love; to lay our lives in order to save the innocent? Instead we are to only save our own hide?
I could have understood it had you stated that you said what you said and that you repent from what you said.
Yet instead, you insinuated that I was in the financial benefit, and so did your handler. That I was collecting with my 800 number? That I did not care about Arabs who suffer?
You never denied that my translation was accurate. Yet I had to deal with a litany of accusations that I was the liar.
You might think I was targeting you. This is far from the truth. I am a man who translates doublespeak by all who express an evil intent. I was the first to translate the works of Feisal Abdel Rauf and exposed him throughout the nation. I was the first to translate Rashad Hussein’s intent to interfere with the Nuclear issues since he now works under the president of the United States. For Gonen to say that I have done nothing, sacrificed nothing—is slander to say the least.
I am now on record, and I have sent an email to Gonen to take on his issues of me being a fraud on TV. I doubt that he will take this issue on, for if he did, he would be embarrassed since I will prove my record and he will be ashamed since he has showed nothing—where is his due-diligence? It doesn’t exist. Shame on who Mosab? Yet he writes “Shame on you Walid Shoebat”.
I have never called you a fraud from the sense that I have denied your account and story working with the Shen-Bet. I did not deny your history. Yet Gonen is calling me a fraud and denying my history. One cannot compare what I did with what Gonen did. I have called you a fraud when you portrayed yourself as pro-Israel when in reality and it’s obvious, you are pro-Palestine. I hope I am wrong. In fact, I pray that I am wrong.
Trust me. Your friend and co-author will not want you associating with me. He is of the ilk of Bishara Awad and the Al-Bushra and Naeem Ateek. If you think this is the Christianity you want to follow then I must tell you that you are under the influence of evil Mosab, and it is us who truly love you. Yet you cannot see it. When the Lord comes and He judges, He will judge the nations for dividing up His land (Joel 3). Do not be on the side of evil, for Antichrist divides the land for gain (Daniel 11).
It is crucial Mosab that you understand this. For at first, before our Lord came, many taught that He comes riding on a horse, they wanted to please there pride, while others taught He comes on a donkey—a humble beast. While some might think that its no big issue on which beast He rides—the ones who thought it was the horse missed everything since He did come on a donkey and the ones who expected the horse rejected Him.
Interpreting the Bible accurately is no small issue.
Biblical text is crucial Mosab, and if the Bible says He comes again, to judge the ones that divide His land. This is clear, for the ones who think they are believers and do not care, they will suffer this error and follow Antichrist who brings a false peace and a false hope.
You need to choose Mosab—but I pray, you choose wisely.
I am reaching out in peace, but always remember, peace does not live in a vacuum; for it comes by truth, that is in the Bible.
Palestinian Christianity is no Christianity whatsoever. It is a cult from the pit of hell and I want to so much get you out of it. If one loves his blinded brother, then he must give him pain as to see he does not fall into a ditch. Love at times comes through applying hurt, tears and pain. I know that I have pained you when I wrote what I wrote. I believe what I wrote was true and indeed, I stayed sleepless nights in pain and agony—will Mosab see the errors of his ways? Palestine is of Satan.
No Mosab, your not in good hands and the ones who lead you are leading you astray. It is the ones whom you mistrust (us) that want to include you in the right path.
I have read your book diligently; may I suggest you read mine?
Indeed, you have been rejected. I have too—I lost all my property in Bethlehem, lost my family—all of them. How many times can I show you the rejection I got from Palestinian Christians. These were the so-called Christians that never shared the Gospel with us back home. Most of these are phony. Yet I believe that they have rubbed off their stench on you. The greatest pain is the rejection I get from so many Jews. Yet I never waiver—I am still a Zionist and a Christian—not a Palestinian and a Chrisian.
I was up at night when you were rejected by your father, Mosab. I was tracking everything including your court papers. I have obtained everything and watched everything regarding your case. I have made an effort to contact you through others, yet you turned them away.
Indeed Mosab, it was I that attempted to communicate with you, you never once attempted to communicate with me. If so, prove it, you can’t.
There is more to the Bible then “love your enemy”. Indeed, even if this was the only verse in the Bible, then how do I love the Jew?
I tell you how Mosab:
First, I will never pick on what he (the Jew) did to me. I will never pick on the spec in his eye, instead, I will look at the log in my Arab eye.
Second, I will give him his land—All of it. God does not give half a land Mosab. The ones who say so, are the type that gives half of everything—especially half truths.
Palestine is a psychoses and nothing more. If we call that land Palestine since the Romans gave it this name, then as might as we call the Temple in Jerusalem “Temple of Jupiter” since it was the Romans that gave it that name.
Some of your associates are feeding you half-truths Mosab. Why not come to the full truth—the whole truth—so help you God.

Walid Shoebat

Let’s get to know each other, let’s talk . . .

Dear brother Walid,

I would have liked to have sent you a letter in private, but since I don’t have your personal address and since your first message to me was public, I must reply publicly.

Walid, I want you to know that I love you in our Lord Jesus Christ with an unconditional love.

I don’t understand why you attacked me publicly, since you don’t know me or the work the Lord has given me. I am easy to reach through many channels—agents, publisher, even through my co-writer or through a comment on my blog—and I was deeply hurt that you did not try, because no one has any record of any kind of message from you. Nevertheless, I want you also to know that I forgive you with all my heart, and I hope that you will not suffer too much hurt in any backlash for what you have done.

We are both Palestinians from a Muslim background, and we are both followers of the Prince of peace and love. I propose that we take this opportunity to turn to good what the devil meant for evil. That we show our brothers and sisters and the rest of the world how brothers in Christ resolve their differences. What you and I share in Christ is much stronger than any personal, political, or national agenda. When we surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ, our new identity became one of unconditional love, forgiveness, and sacrifice.

Let me share a little of my heart with you, my brother.

As you know, if you read my book, I come from a deep Islamic heritage, from a family that practices, teaches, and spreads Islam. I am a Palestinian who spent several years in Israeli jails, who was tortured and beaten almost to death by angry Israeli soldiers. Yet, Christ pursued me until I “found him” and accepted his challenge to forgive and love my enemies. This was very hard for me to do and took a long time. For nearly ten years, I worked for Israeli intelligence, dealing with cool guys and really bad guys, moderate soldiers and fanatics, humanitarians, and racists. Are there racist Israelis? Yes, there are, just as there are Hamas racists.

During that time, I decided to become a follower of Jesus Christ. As you know, my home of Ramallah is a Christian town. My best friends were Christians, and my dad had a very good relationship with them. But most were cultural Christians who never showed me the love of Christ. Instead, their hypocritical lifestyles were a stumbling block to me.

But when I encountered the love of Jesus and heard his unbelievable philosophy of life, my heart was touched. Unlike you, Walid, I was exposed to the worst examples of Christians, both at home and here in the United States. Men and women who profess to follow Jesus but have no idea of what it means to be free in him, living by God’s grace through his beloved Son.

When I was isolated, alone, poor, broken, disowned by my own family, instead of being embraced by the Church, I was oppressed by my Christian brother’s and sisters, who doubted me and questioned my faith—both in Ramallah and in California. So you can understand that I did not see a promising future with Christians of any denomination.

Despite the rejection and my disappointment and discouragement, I have held onto my faith in Christ alone. He has been the only motivation for everything I have done in my life—in the Shin Bet, in my decision to leave the Shin Bet and come to America, and in everything I have done since I arrived.

Can you imagine what it was like for me, a very young man, in the intense environment of which I described only a tiny fraction in my book? Can you think what it was like for a man in his twenties, going through every kind of mental and spiritual change you can think of, to put away the worst bad guys in Israel and save countless Jewish, Palestinian, and American lives?

And I had no one to share the victories, miracles, and heartbreaks with except my Jesus. Alone with Jesus behind closed doors.

I also learned a lot during those years. I didn’t have a father to teach me things I needed to know about life. My father loves me, and I love him. But he has spent most of his life in prison for his beliefs. So I raised myself, as well as my brothers and sisters.

I learned on my own, the very hard way, that extremist Israelis were no less dangerous than extremist Palestinians. Israelis are not the problem, and Palestinians are not the problem. Extremism is the problem. A racist Palestinian is no different than a racist Israeli. Racism is the problem. Greed and corruption are the problems, not greedy or corrupt Israelis or Palestinians. Gonen and I used to talk with other Shin Bet agents, what if we swap Palestinian leaders and Israeli leaders? Will there be peace? And we all agreed that there would be no difference, because they would still fight for their selfish goals, because they were selfish and corrupt, not because they were Jews or Arabs.

We are all human. We all have the same enemies. And we all suffer from the same problems.

My experiences caused me to question my religion, to question everything about it. And I discovered that religions are dangerous. Religion steels freedom, kills creativity, turns us into slaves and against one another. Yes, I am talking about Christianity as well as Islam. Most Christians I have seen seem to have missed the point that Jesus redeemed us from religion. Religion is nothing but man’s attempts to get back to God. Whether it is Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, animism, any ism. Religion can’t save mankind. Only Jesus could save mankind through his death and resurrection. And Jesus is the only way to God.

A week after I told Haaretz journalist Avi Issacharoff my story, he called and said I forgot to ask you about your denomination. And he was surprised when I told him I don’t have any denomination, only my identity in Christ.

This is why I don’t accept financial support from anyone, even when I was hungry and homeless. Yes, people sent me checks. And I forwarded every penny to churches and charities, so that no religious group or political party could impose their agendas on the bridge-building work God has given me to do.

You and I both escaped the bondage of a scary, dark captivity, brother Walid. Let’s be grateful for it. We have no reason to fight one another. I personally have nothing left to lose. I have already lost the most important things on earth. And my reputation is torn apart everyday by one side that hates me because they think I am a Zionist and the other side that hates me because they think I am a Palestinian extremist.

I am neither. I try to love all people without expecting anything from anyone, the way the Lord Jesus Christ loves me.

We live in a world that is full of deception, doubt, fear, and hopelessness. People have enough bad news. They need hope and love. And our duty to our people in Israel, the Palestinian territories, and the rest of the world is to show them Christ’s love and give them his hope.

Part of my message to the world is in the love between me and Sarah Stern—founder of the Endowment for Middle East Truth, former national policy coordinator for the Zionist Organization of America, and director of the Office of Legislative and Governmental Affairs of the National Jewish Congress—who calls me her son … a Jewish mother and a Palestinian son! It is the love between me and Gonen ben Itzhak—once Jewish intelligence agent/handler and Palestinian prisoner, now brothers who lay down our lives for one another.

What could bring us together? Only the love of God. And I pray that the love of God will bring you and me together, brother Walid.

l love you in Christ,

Mosab Hassan Yousef

Shame on you, Walid Shoebat

by former Israeli Shin-Bet agent,

Gonen ben Itzhak

Mosab Hassan Yousef worked as an Israeli agent for about ten years. When I met him, he was a young and wild Palestinian. Over the years, I watched him become one of the most important players in the bloody intelligence game in the West Bank.

Mosab was never a yes-man. He had strong beliefs and character, and he never made any attempt to flatter anyone.

Last week, I read an article by one, Walid Shoebat, who claims to have been a PLO terrorist who bombed Bank Leumi in Bethlehem. Yet, I never heard his name before, never saw his name in any Israeli intelligence files, and there is no record of any such attack.

I found it strange that, while his brothers and sisters are being slaughtered in Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen, Mr. Shoebat’s biggest concern seems to be a year-old television interview. He claims to be a great supporter of Israel, but where was he and what was he doing during the Second Intifada? While Mosab was risking his life day and night, Mr. Shoebat was busy collecting donations with his 800 number.

Mosab Hassan Yousef does not need to prove anything. He has proved it a thousand times over by fighting terror and paying an unreasonably high personal price for his convictions.

As part of my job as an Israeli Shin-Bet agent, I visited many times the Masqubiyeh Prison. Reading Mr. Shoebat’s description of the place, I can only say, Mr. Shoebat, you know nothing of the Masqubiyeh!

Mr. Shoebat is playing a dirty game. As a native Arab speaker, he knows that Arabic is much more than spoken words. In order to understand the meaning of a statement, one must also understand the Arab mentality and culture and the social and political realities.

Mosab’s goal was never to recruit people for the Israeli Shin-Bet. His goal is to build bridges, to help his Palestinian brothers see the truth and understand the meaninglessness and futility of violence. I know this, because we talk about it together almost every single day. How many times have you spoken with Mosab, Mr. Shoebat? Or do you think you know a man’s thoughts and the motives of his heart by listening to a television interview?

Mosab helped Israel more than anyone can believe. This is why the Israeli Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee wrote him a letter of gratitude, perhaps the first of its kind in Israeli history. But somehow Walid Shoebat knows something Israeli officials missed? He knows something members of the U.S. Congress missed? He is smarter than the former director of the CIA, smarter than Jewish leaders in the United States?

I am a trained intelligence officer, with degrees in business, law, and psychology and have extensive experience in the world of lies and deception. I can smell a fraud and recognize a fake hero on the spot. During his service, Mosab never lied to us, and believe me, we had all the tools and the means to find out. Unlike Walid Shoebat, Mosab did not commit fictitious crimes against Israel. And unlike Mr. Shoebat, Mosab served hard time in prison and paid for what he did.

Yes, sometimes he criticizes Israel, like any Israeli, like me. He is no blind follower. He is an intelligent, thoughtful man of conviction and integrity. Mosab Hassan Yousef was a member of a team that risked their lives for Israel, and as such, he earned the right to think independently, criticize the things he believes to be wrong, and support what he believes to right. That is what it means to love Israel, not making speeches and soliciting donations.

Mosab loves the USA but dreams about going back to Israel. I look forward to the moment he will return. My house will also be his, because he is part of our proud family, part of Israel.

The Walid Shoebat article

Dear friends,

I am so sorry that many of you have been put in a position to have to defend me as a result of the article posted by Walid Shoebat on Pajamas Media. For your sakes, I will explain as best I can, so that you will have an answer for those who ask you.

1. The quotes in the article were taken from an Arabic-language interview on Al Hayat Satellite TV, which I believe to be the biggest and most effective ministry to Muslims in the Middle East. I had appeared the first time in 2008, after it was reported that I had become a follower of Jesus Christ. My appearance was a celebration and encouragement to tens of thousands new believers in Jesus Christ who watch Al Hayat.

2. A year later, following the release of Son of Hamas, many people were shocked to learn that I had worked for Israeli intelligence. They suddenly believed me to be just a greedy Israeli collaborator who betrayed his people and used Christianity as a cover. This was very hurtful for the ministry of Al Hayat and caused many to wonder whether Al Hayat too was what it claimed to be. Believers began to ask if the ministry was actually a recruiter for the Israeli agenda. Al Hayat was accused of being a Zionist organization. The truth is that, while it is not a Zionist organization, it has no problem with those who identify themselves as Zionists or are affiliated with any political party. Al Hayat is about Jesus Christ and nothing else. And they were concerned that the accusations might damage the future of the ministry.

3. Since the release of my book, Hamas has denounced it as a piece of Israeli propaganda and psychological warfare. And the Arab media has told the Arabic-speaking world that my story hides under the cover of religion and promotes collaboration with the Israelis, who they see as the enemy.

4. I am not ashamed of my work with the Israeli Shin Bet, but my purpose has never been to promote Israeli’s political agendas. I love Israel as a nation and I love the Israeli people, but I also have problems with state policies. While I was a Shin Bet agent, I often disagreed with what they did and how they did it. It’s all in the book for anyone to read. It is very important that everyone understands that I am not political or ideological. I am neither pro-Israel nor pro-Palestinian. I love both. I loved my enemy and risked my life for them, but I do not and cannot hate my own people.

5. When I appeared on Al Hayat TV a week after the release of my book, I had just been disowned by my family. I was hurt, alone, and broken. The only thing on my mind was to protect Al Hayat. My main message to its viewers was that I am not ashamed of my work with Israel, but I am not here to encourage people to work for Israel. I am here to encourage you to recognize your real enemies—hatred, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, jealousy, greed, lust, and every other spirit that works to divide us and separate us from the love of God. And I made statements to stimulate their thinking and lead them into areas they had never allowed themselves to enter before.

One caller was a new believer in Christ from my hometown of Ramallah. Rashid, the host of the show, asked this young brother an innocent question, which Walid Shoebat translated in his article as: “If you were in Mosab’s position and have two choices: either someone from Hamas will be killed, or school children in a bus will be killed, will you report it?” In the Palestinian territories, you cannot just make an anonymous call to 911. If you give information to Israel, even if it saves lives, you are dead. Any Palestinian has the right to kill you.

Palestinian Christians are under no obligation to work or die for Israel. I risked my life in the most dark and dangerous places to save lives. That was my choice. I did it for my own reasons. As Christians, we are all obligated to die for Christ, if necessary, but not for any political regime.

Based on this reality, therefore, I said (again, addressing Walid Shoebat’s translation from Arabic): “If I was in your shoes, you should not report it to Israel. If anyone hears me right now and they are in relation to Israeli security, I advise them to work for the interest of their own people—number one—and do not work with the [Israeli] enemy against the interest of our people. They should collaborate with the Palestinian Authority only.” By this, the caller understood me to mean, “Then don’t report to Israel. I am not here to encourage you to work for your enemies or giving them any information. Report to the Palestinian Authority.” If God does not require a Palestinian Christian to do as I did, who am I to put a burden on thousands of brothers and sisters by asking them to risk their lives for a political regime?

6. During a separate interview on Al Arabiya TV, I said that I am playing a big role in the Church in the West to represent my people and build bridges of understanding. Since my people believe that Christians are plotting day and night to destroy the future of Muslims, and since many Western Christians view all Muslims as evil, an important part of my mission is to help people in the West and the Middle East understand and experience one another—not to travel to churches as a sideshow freak, the bad boy who came to Christ. I have never promoted the Palestinian agenda or any other agenda in a church.

7. The Pajamas Media article quotes me as saying: “With regret, our great leaders and mighty heroes and glorious defenders over there did not realize that instead of spending their wealth and monies on silly issues, they needed to enlist in their ranks writers and educated individuals in order to reverse the image of the Palestinian struggle.” Anyone who listens to the interview will hear clearly that I was being sarcastic. And anyone who understands Arabic would know that I meant the exact opposite.

8. Again, I was quoted as saying: “It appeared at first that my desire was to seek revenge against Hamas.… How could I do such a thing … revenge [against] my own father? He is one of the leaders of Hamas.”

Rashid had asked me if my motivation for working with the Shin Bet was revenge, based on what Hamas did in prison. My answer was no. I worked against the agendas of Hamas, exposed their plans and cells, yes, but revenge was never my motivation. To me, the men and women in Hamas were victims who needed to be stopped, then helped. The Shin Bet knew this. I used to cry when a Hamas leader was assassinated, especially one I knew personally, whose wife and children I knew and loved. I did not even want to kill the most dangerous terrorists, like Ibrahim Hamid, who would not have hesitated to kill me if he had discovered that I was Shin Bet. I had many personal problems with Hamas leaders, and I could easily have hurt them if I was out for revenge, because the Shin Bet was trying to assassinate them. But before I told the Shin Bet where to find a terrorist, I made them agree not to kill him. If Walid had not gone to the United States, he would have been one of them. In fact, I don’t see that Walid is any different than they are, if even part of what he claims to have done is true.

9. Arabs process information very differently from Westerners. Their culture, mentality, expressions, and environment are as different as their language. So I talk to them differently—not just in a different language but in all these ways as well. And when it is translated literally, not only outside the context of the entire interview but apart from the understanding of that culture, mentality, expression and environment, it sounds very different. You may have experienced something similar yourself, when you try to understand someone during a telephone conversation. You lose a lot when you cannot see facial expressions and body language, and there is always danger of misunderstandings and even offenses when none are intended.

Walid knew that I was broken, in a weak position, bombarded by calls from brothers and sisters in Christ who accused me out of their lack of understanding. He knew that Al Hayat TV had to defend itself and separate its mission from politics, which would make it appear to be anti-Israel in the eyes of people who do not understand the realities and complexities of life in the Palestinian territories. He knew that anyone could translate the interview from Arabic, but that only an expert on the Middle East could translate the culture and the context. He knew that this would destroy my reputation and that it would be almost impossible for me to defend myself. And he was right.

But Walid Shoebat forgot that God sees everything and knows the heart of the man.

*  *  *  *

FYI, the Walid Shoebat Foundation tried to recruit me to use my story to raise money. I did not respond to this email.

Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:50:10 -0400

From: Walid Shoebat Foundation walid@shoebat.com>

Reply-To: Walid Shoebat Foundation walid@shoebat.com>

Subject: Message from the Walid Shoebat Foundation

To: Joseph@whoisbarabbas.com

Hi Joseph:

I have been trying to reach you for several months after seeing you on Fox News.

Congratulations on breaking out from the darkness to the light and embracing the Lord.

I spoke to Pastor Matt who gave me your email address so we could write to you.  Please visit our website www.shoebat.com <http://www.shoebat.com/> if you do not know Walid Shoebat. Like you Walid left Islam in 1993 after he was challenged by his wife to show her the corruptions in the Bible after which he discovered the opposite. Walid is the author of three books and I would be happy to send you a copy of each.

For five years I have worked with Walid and other former terrorists who speak about the threat of Islam to the world. It has always been a challenge but we have succeeded in speaking at many major Universities, on media all over the world as well as churches and dozens of synagogues, educating people about the threat as well as speaking about Israel and its right to have its country safe and secure. Walid has also spoken to many branches of the armed services as well as law enforcement.

I would like to reach out to you about the possibility of using your services to join us on speaking engagements and programs we run on Universities and churches.  We will also compensate you financially as we respect that we all have bills to pay although all of us work for the glory of G-d.

Walid is Christian like you however I am Jewish and director of the Walid Shoebat Foundation carrying out all the professional and business duties while Walid travels and lectures nationwide.

I look forward to speaking to you and exited that people like you have the courage to speak the truth so the world can be a better place. Walid sends his best regards and looks forward to meeting you one day.

The next time we are in Southern California we would love to break bread with you and your Pastor. Please also feel free to call me any time at 720 935 2826.

Shalom and Blessings

Keith Davies

Director of the Walid Shoebat Founation

In the footsteps of their father

Huweida Arraf, one of the leaders of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) called the hanging of ISF activist Vitorrio Arrigone (36) a “senseless killing.”

And it was, absolutely. But not for the reason Ms. Arraf cited.

“Vittorio was really loved in Gaza,” she told reporters. “I didn’t think there was even a 1 percent chance they would kill him. It was a complete shock.”

Yes, he was loved. Ever since his 2008 arrival in Gaza, Arrigone had identified himself with the plight of the Palestinian people. He shared our pain, wept for our children, and opposed Israel, convinced that Zionists are responsible for all of our troubles. On April 5, thousands of Palestinians turned out to a Hamas rally to honor the Italian militant.

And now he’s dead—a “barbaric murder” and a “vile and irrational gesture of violence on the part of extremists indifferent to the value of a human life,” said the Italian Foreign Ministry. Killed by an al-Qaeda-inspired Salafi group that sees Hamas as too tame and too slow.

Mr. Arrigone is dead, not in spite of the fact that he loved and was loved, but because he did not understand.

ISM activist Rachel Corrie was crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer in southern Gaza in 2003 because she did not understand. That same year, a British ISM activist was shot to death by an Israeli soldier because he did not understand.

Senseless killings all.

These compassionate Westerners, along with the pro-Palestinian activists aboard the Mavi Marmara a year ago and a thousand more in the 15-ship Freedom Flotilla that plans to test the Israeli blockade next month, rush into the Palestinian territories like bulls—backs arched, heads down, committed, determined, righteous, and ignorant.

They pour into Gaza to condemn and ease a non-existent humanitarian crisis. They come to bully Israel and shame the international community. They wrap black and white kefiyehs around their necks, drink strong coffee, march, and shout through bullhorns. And they die. Victims of the movement they don’t understand. Of the very religion they defend. Of the politics that manipulates them like pawns and shrugs when they are sacrificed.

Their hearts are too big for their heads. They stop their ears when we warn of the complexities of the Middle East conflicts. They get a little sand in their shoes and lamb in their bellies and think they understand. But they know nothing of the oceans of blood soaked into Middle Eastern sands over fourteen centuries, shed by Muslim swords.

They cannot or will not see that the Salafis follow in their father Muhammad’s footsteps, killing infidels wherever they find them. A caption on the YouTube video that showed a bruised and blindfolded Arrigoni called Italy “the infidel state.” To them, Mr. Arrigoni was an infidel, no matter how much he was loved by the Palestinian people.

They cannot or will not see that Hamas follows in its father Muhammad’s footsteps, playing politics when it suits them, building schools when they need to, blowing up school buses when they have the opportunity.

The good, bad, and indifferent are all Islam. And Islam, more than a religion or a cultural or political system, is an excuse. Anything and everything is justified in the name of Allah, reflecting the countless contradictions and errors in the Qur’an itself.

Unless Westerners open their eyes and ears (see www.thequran.com), and begin to act with their heads as well as their hearts, Islam will devour more victims like Vitorrio Arrigone.

More flotillas will challenge the Israeli blockade, some bringing food and activists from Western nations, others bringing long-range rockets, surface-to-air missiles, and sophisticated anti-tank weapons and explosives from Iran, Syria, Russia, and China.

And Islam will advance unopposed to fill the leadership vacuums in Egypt and throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

What’s the media afraid of?

People who heard me say that Islam will cease to exist before 2019 always ask me, what can we do to help make that happen?

As I’ve said again and again, truth is Islam’s worst enemy. My people have been in the Dark Ages for fourteen centuries. They desperately need an Islamic Reformation like the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther, William Tyndale, and other church fathers.

The key now, as then, is truth.

What the printing press was to the ignorance of the 15^th century, the Internet, smart phones, and the social network are to ignorance in the new millennium.

But by far, the most revolutionary development to take place since Muhammad is thequran.com. Yet, virtually no one has heard of it.

The media appears to be terrified and won’t let me or anybody else connected with the project on the air to talk about it.

Why? Even FOX News, that followed my story—including Homeland Security’s attempt to deport me—when it was politically incorrect to do so, won’t put me on to talk about thequran.com. Policy-shaping men and women who know the truth about Islam are afraid to show the Islamic world where it can go to learn that same truth.

It breaks my heart, because everyone connected with the project has sacrificed everything, even risking their lives, to expose the countless lies and errors in the Qur’an and liberate 1.5 billion people who have been taught that Islam’s holiest book is from the mouth of God who cannot lie or be wrong.

For years, thequran.com project has been painstakingly developed by scores of former Muslims and passionate Islamic scholars representing a variety of Arabic and Middle-Eastern cultural backgrounds, as well as educational specialties in the field of Islamic studies. They include Islamic researchers, academic teachers, scholars, writers, editors, and translators and span several continents.

This project is not a bunch of Western Christians dissing Islam’s holy book. It’s former Muslims, just like me, who have the courage to challenge the system. Who said, okay, if our Qur’an is the word of God, it should easily stand up to scrutiny. If God said it, there will be no mistakes in it. So they examined it, and they discovered the truth.

No one has ever analyzed the Qur’an like this. Only 25 percent of the world’s Muslims speak, read or write Arabic, So they can’t even understand it, much less criticize it.

As for the rest, they chant the Qur’an five times a day with no idea what they are saying, what it means, or how it fits in the context of the rest of the book. Because it is chanted, it takes on a mystical aura of holiness that captures their emotions and their hearts. They are indoctrinated from birth that their religious leaders are not to be questioned, and those who dare are scolded, ridiculed, even beaten.

Can you begin to see why thequran.com is so important?

Any Muslim on the planet can click on the site in complete privacy and examine the Qur’an, word by word, line by line, sura by sura. Every scientific error is noted. Every historical error. Every grammatical error. Every geographical error. Every contradiction. The site also includes scholarly articles and analyses.

And now, The Qur’an Dilemma, Volume One (the first nine suras, or chapters) is available in a beautiful, fully-annotated hardcover book!

The research text was translated from Arabic to give English-speaking readers the opportunity to see the Qur’an through lenses that are not fogged by propaganda or missionary zeal.

The Qur’an Dilemma presents the text of the Qur’an with parallel commentary, addressing important issues that Muslim scholars have wrestled with for centuries, shedding light on their attempts to resolve them, and giving an overview of the various schools of thought.

This book is for non-Muslims who want to unravel the mysteries of Islam and for Muslims, who want to decide for themselves their intellectual and spiritual paths. And even though Volume One covers only the first nine suras,* it is more than enough to prove that the Qur’an is not God’s words, is not infallible, is not inerrant—and to cast serious doubt on the validity of Islam itself.

So, you want to know what you can do to hasten the Islamic Reformation?

Buy the book. Buy multiple copies, and give them to your friends (you would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful and informative gift).

Do you have Muslim friends, neighbors or coworkers who have talked to you about Islam? Present them with a copy of the book. In Arab culture, gifts are received with great appreciation, and they are likely to read it if only to honor you.

Please visit thequran.com, where you can purchase copies of The Quran Dilemma. Or, if you wish, you can purchase both the English-language and Arabic-language edition at on Amazon.

 

*The second volume of The Qur’an Dilemma (suras 11-114, is in production and will be available both in English and Arabic in 2012

Up the revolution!

“In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.”

Alexis de Tocqueville

Go to the BBC. Go to Al Jazeera. Go to Facebook, Twitter or any of thousands of blogs. What do you see?

The beginning of the end of Islam.

The violence and deaths are terrible. The Libyan massacre is criminal. The transitions are dangerous. Yet, the revolution is good news.

Two years ago, FOX produced a six-part documentary called “Escape from Hamas.” At the end of the first part, I told Jonathan Hunt that “I believe Islam is collapsing already. It looks from the outside like it’s growing. But from the inside, it’s completely collapsing. It’s not giving answers to the people. It’s not improving their lives. It’s not helping them at all. Within ten years, that’s it, Islam’s going to be over.”

I didn’t have inside information. I just knew the transformational influence that Al Hayat TV’s Arabic-language programming had on my life in Ramallah. Today, Al Hayat reaches 95 percent of the Arabic-speaking world. At any given time, between 20 and 50 million Arabs watch its informative and motivational satellite programs. They hear indisputable facts about Islam and the Prophet that no one in their communities would dare even to whisper, truth that is toppling the pillars of Islam.

I also knew two years ago that everybody today is plugged in. Information that has been hidden from Muslims for 1,400 years is suddenly at their fingertips with the click of a mouse. And anyone can pull a phone/mini-computer the size of a cigarette pack out of their pocket or purse and talk to one another across the street, across town, at the other end of the country, on the other side of the world.

With every news update from North Africa and the Middle East, the region emerges a little more from the Dark Ages.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Christian Church collapsed into a socio-political theocracy like Islam. Only priests had bibles, and few could even read them. For Christians, like Muslims, life became mindless obedience to man-made dogma and superstition. When Martin Luther nailed those ninety-five theses to the door of All Saints Church, his hammer echoed beyond Wittenberg to the remote corners of Europe. The Reformation would have dawned much sooner if he could have posted a few bullet points on Facebook.

Islamic political regimes cannot survive exposure. They cannot suppress informed people. They can’t fight social networks.

For 14 centuries, Islam crouched inside towering walls of isolation and ignorance. But the information and technology revolutions are shattering them like trumpet blasts before Jericho’s gates.

And the lies come tumbling down.

One of the biggest lies that has kept Islam alive is the belief that there is a difference between radical and moderate Islam. Islam is one, no matter where someone stands on the ladder between culture and jihad.

Another is the nature of Muhammad. Today, 1.5 billion Muslims follow a man they don’t know. Modern Muhammad is the creation of their imaginations. He bears no resemblance to the vile man who built a self-serving dynasty by oppressing his people and killing, in God’s name, everyone who opposed him.

On the other hand, today’s despots bear a striking likeness to the true Muhammad. Mubarak, Gaddafi, Ahmadinejad are Islamic leaders who get their strength from Islam and maintain their iron grip by Islam. They are the same stripe as caliphs from Muhammad and Abu Bakr to Al-Mustansir Billah and Abdul Majid.

But most Muslims do not understand this. They think, like Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, that the solution to all their problems is to return to Islam. They are like my father, who wants change but does not understand that the strength of the system he hates comes from Islam itself.

So what can we do to hasten Islam’s destruction?

We need another revolution. A second revolution against Muhammad and the Qur’an itself.

Al Hayat TV is systematically undermining the foundations of Islam. At the same time, on websites like www.thequran.com, Islamic scholars—not Western theologians—disassemble the Qur’an and its variant readings, word by word, verse by verse, sura by sura and expose every historical, grammatical, social, political and scientific error and contradiction in what its followers are taught is a flawless, inerrant holy book.

Al-Hayat

The young men now in the Middle East, this confused generation, are angry and hungry and trying to bring down their political systems. They need to understand that their real fight is not against systems but against the ideology that spawned the systems. Only when Muhammad and the Qur’an are exposed will the people of North Africa and the Middle East have freedom. If we fail to reach them with the truth, they will rebuild far worse regimes than those they tore down.

When Christians understand the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, they become different people. And when Muslims understand the fraud that has oppressed them for centuries, they will look for a different way. They too will have the opportunity to become different people, free people. And the leaders that emerge from a free people will promote and protect their freedoms.

After we expose the true nature of Islam to the Muslim world, we must open the eyes of the rest of the world that tolerates and accommodates Islam.

If we join the information revolution alongside our Middle Eastern brothers and sisters, it will not take ten years to destroy Islam. Islam will not survive even two more years.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad prophesied that “the wave of the Islamic revolution will soon reach the entire world.” I believe him. But the global revolution will be against Islam, not of Islam.

Middle East up for grabs

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Reuters

The current administration may not believe in American exceptionalism, but it has been handed a golden opportunity to make America exceptional.

A good first step was putting Egypt’s $1.5 billion U.S. aid package on the table, insisting that, if Hosni Mubarak expects to cash that check, “there must be reform—political, social and economic reforms that meet the aspirations of the Egyptian people,” adding that the Egyptian president “has a responsibility to give meaning to” his recently promised reforms.

The same thing, however, holds true for the Washington ultimatum.

Actually, the government is only saying what every administration since Eisenhower should have been saying and acting upon.

Unlike any other country, America was founded on a Constitution that ensures basic human rights. Yet, for more than half a century, America and the West have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to flagrant human rights abuses in Egypt and other countries they support. Tyrants loot and torture their own people, yet we maintain an uninterrupted flow of aid dollars to ensure low gas prices and protect favorable trade agreements.

Even today, as clouds of black smoke choke much of the Middle East, Western eyes are glued to pump prices, when our hearts should be broken over decades of needless human suffering. And what did we get by compromising our principles? Next week, we will still pay $4 a gallon. And the Middle East is unraveling.

Whether Mubarak stays or follows his family to London, the Muslim Brotherhood has gained ground in Cairo. And Cairo controls the border with Israel, which determines the flow of Iranian weapons to Hamas, the daughter of the Brotherhood. Cairo controls the Suez Canal, the global passageway for oil distribution, which  affects the economy of every oil-producer in the Middle East, as well as the schizophrenic world economy.

Hezbollah has taken Lebanon. If no one intervenes, Jordan will follow Egypt. And Pakistan will not be far down the line with its prize of nuclear weapons.

The Middle East has become a jungle. Rage and revenge are the driving forces. No one can guess what will happen next. Politicians and pundits are turning themselves inside out trying to get their heads around every new, unforeseen development. Trying to connect dots, construct scenarios, predict direction and momentum, prepare for an endgame that no one can envision . . . or dares to imagine.

Oppressed people have discovered that the Tunisia Effect is exportable.

But Mubarak is not the only object of Egyptian wrath. The United States is viewed as his co-conspirator, the muscle that enabled him to hold onto his dictatorship for 30 years.

The mobs hate him. They hate us.

They Tweet anger and revenge and fan the flames on Facebook, forgetting that it was the United States that gave them the social network that overthrew Ben Ali and has Mubarak on the defensive. Forgetting that the $1.5 billion is for them, that we are the givers, not the thieves. They want change, jobs, education. They want to be able to afford food for their families—all of which we want for them. They need to remember, as they struggle to throw off their oppressors, that we are their friends, not their enemies. They enjoy the benefits of inventions and discoveries in medicine, housing, education, energy, transportation and agriculture that came from the West.

Yes, our governments have made wrong choices. But they don’t imprison and torture us. The streets of our cities are not clogged with tanks and troops. Our newspapers print whatever they want. We worship any way we want, read what we want, say what we want, come and go freely, provide for our families. And we are the first to show up with help at the scene of any disaster, anywhere in the world.

Nevertheless, Western governments need to stop compromising their values for the bottom line. We must stop supporting regimes that are guilty of systemic human rights abuses.

Diplomacy is unlikely to turn the tide in the Middle East. One of the most effective things we can do now is go to our keyboards and engage the Egyptian people. Assure them, one on one, that we are with them. If the social network can help bring down governments, it can help to rebuild them. If it can spread hatred, it can spread hope.

Radical? Absolutely!

Crazy?

Crazy is to let evil triumph while good men do nothing. Because the truth is that America is filled with good men and women. America is exceptional.

And despite the self-serving decisions and failed policies of the past five decades, it is not yet too late for the West to serve as an architect of a stable and perhaps even democratic Middle East.