Some books are just confrontational. You know how some books make you realize that assumptions you have had are not correct or that they are wounding to people? Some books confront ideas that you have long had or make you see the other side of the issue.
Once An Arafat Man has been one of those books for me. It is subtitled the True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life – yep, not exactly light reading.
However it is a fascinating book. Because of Tass Saada, I no longer see things the way I did before. I mentioned Tea With Hezbollah before and how it changed my view of things in the Middle East, I have to say though that Once An Arafat Man left me feeling more hopeful at the end. Tea with Hezbollah showed me what confusing mess it is, and Once an Arafat Man did that as well but it also showed me that God is working in that mess.
Born in the Gaza Strip, Tass's family was forced to move and as a result he gre up a very angry young man. In his youth, he found a way to channel that rage by directing it at Jews. He was a member of Fatah and worked as a sniper as well as training other recruits. Decades later he met a Jew named Jesus and what followed is inspirational.
God worked a miracle in Tass Saada’s heart and now God is using Tass to do more work.
About the Authors:
Tass Saada is a former Muslim and is cofounder of Hope For Ishmael, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reconcile Arabs and Jews to Got and each other through the gospel of Christ. Saada was born in 1951 in the Gaza Strip, and he grew up in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He was a PLO sniper and militant fighter. He worked directly for Arafat. In America, he became a Christian.Dean Merrill has been published in over 40 magazine articles and has coauthored more than 26 books. Some well-known titles are To Fly Again and In the Presence of My Enemies, both with Philippine missionary survivor Gracia Burnham. In the Presence of My Enemies was a New York Times best seller.
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