ARAFAT WAS MIJN HELD

by Tass Saada

At age 17, Palestinian Tass Saada ran away to become a PLO sniper, onetime chauffeur for Yasser Arafat, and a Muslim immersed in anti-Israeli activity. As a man he moved to America, started a family, and eventually became a Christian. Then he risked retribution as he returned home to share his faith with his family and former boss. Once an Arafat Man is a story of the ultimate triumph of love over hatred, of reconciliation over divisions. It’s a story that can inspire us all to overcome the conflicts in our own lives.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Christian, Memoir, Faith, Biography Memoir, Autobiography

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2008

About the author

Tass Saada is a former Muslim and the founder of Hope for Ishmael, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reconcile Arabs and Jews. Born in 1951 in the Gaza Strip, Saada grew up in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He worked under Yasser Arafat as a Fatah fighter and sniper. Years after immigrating to America, he became a Christian.

Reviews

[Mary Herceg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful true story by a former Muslim terrorist who became a Christian, about his life and his self-described journey from hate to love.

The author's heart for reconciliation between Muslims, Jews, and Christians in and beyond the Middle East is very evident, and his wisdom, insight, and unique perspective are informative and enlightening. The author has a very gripping and engaging life story - both his exploits as a young Palestinian Fatah fighter who was close to Yasser Arafat, and the miraculous events of his conversion and reconciliation with his family. Themes of grace, redemption, forgiveness, and reconciliation are greatly displayed throughout, and the book made me cry at least once, which is rare for me in books.

I definitely recommend this book along with several other amazing autobiographies I've read about similar conversions. 4.5 stars.

Content warning: This book contains violence, blood, and descriptions of battle and killing. It's not gratuitous or overly detailed, but it's realistic, vivid, and recounts real events, and it may bother some readers.

[Marja Verschoor-Meijers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, okay... I admit, I am fascinated by these testimonies of former terrorists who finally kneel before Jesus and are totally transformed. It gives me hope that ANYTHING can happen in the Middle East. It starts with peace in the heart of men...

This book is an absolute wonderful testimony of what happens when God touches a man's heart... it is a good read, with lots of interesting information about the moslim faith and Middle East culture. Great read, highly recommended!

[cloudyskye · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story. I wish I had read it before I met Tass Saada in person at a conference earlier this year! It did take a miracle for one who hated and killed Israelis to learn to love and pray for them. He tells his story with great openness and honesty. (And again, just like Son of Hamas Mosab Hassan Yousef, it struck me how Tass loves and respects his parents and siblings.)

By the way, the most wonderful moment of that blessed conference was seeing Tass, former sniper and hater, and Shilo Ben Hod, Messianic Jewish worship leader, hugging on stage, as brothers in Yeshua. I still have a lump in my throat remembering it.

[Leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel quite ambivalent about this book. The story of the author's life before his conversion is very interesting, and it is remarkable how he was able to change so much after leading a violent, selfish, and dissipated life for so long. However, the extremely evangelical descriptions of Tass's conversion experiences made me squirm. I am uncomfortable with his mention of "the prayer of salvation" - I consider such prayers rather shamanistic - and with his frequent references to God's will, as if God's will is really that easy to determine. For those of us who haven't had any experience of God's presence whatsoever, much less life-shattering supernatural experiences, this kind of talk is hard to stomach and hard to believe.

While I agree that violence is not an answer to the Middle East crisis, I don't agree that God commanded the Jews to occupy Palestine. It's awfully convenient for the ancient Jews to claim in scripture that God wanted them to massacre the inhabitants of Canaan and take the land for their own! It certainly makes it easier to dodge guilt if the Almighty is on your side! It bothers me that Tass actually believes that Jews have a divine mandate to keep control of the Promised Land, as if God requires territory in order to be God. I think both sides in the conflict need to realize that God does not "respect persons". Somehow we all have to make room for each other in this small world. Integrity demands that we continue to fight for justice for all, even though we know that it will never happen in this lifetime.

[Aaron Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an awesome story of how amazing God is. Crazy how far Tass came from killing Jews to boldly proclaiming Jesus as Lord in Gaza, and witnessing to Arafat after killing for him. Wow

[Preacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book wish it had talked about his time with fatah more and I disagree with his stance on Israel etc

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Once an Arafat Man" is a well-written memoir about a man who was born a Muslim in Palestine in 1951, who grew up hating Jews, killed both Jews and Christians, but then later became a Christian and worked to bring reconciliation between Arabs and Jews. It's a fast-paced story that kept my interest from beginning to end.

He described how his family became refugees, why they were moved to Saudi Arabia, what life was like there for Palestinan refugees, how he learned to hate Jews, how he met Yasser Arafa and later came to join the PLO, what he did in the PLO, how his parents tricked him to get him out of the PLO, why he went to America and what he did there, how and why he converted to Christianity, how his family reacted to his conversion, and how he made peace with his family as well as with Jews. Having read quite a bit on the conflict in the Middle East, I thought he did a good job showing both sides of the issue, though he didn't go in-depth.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this interesting and well-written book to those who are interested in the Jew-Arab conflict in the Middle East or to those interested in what it's like for a Muslim to convert to another religion.

[Hardeep · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit that I misjudged this book from its cover. I am not one who enjoys stories of "born-again" whateveritis. As a result, had to plod through the latter section of the book which had the author kneeling/crying/praying virtually every page... Not my cup of tea...

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fascinating personal history of someone who has experienced just about every side of the middle east conflicts and was hard to put down. After growing up being indoctrinated to hate the Jews, he became a sniper and took a number of lives which he later regretted. Because of the Arab/Israeli wars his family was displaced from their successful business, in partnership with a Jew, because the surrounding Muslim countries told Arab residents to move out of harms way while they attacked Israel with the goal to destroy it. When that didn't go as planned, repeatedly, a permanent refugee class of Palestinians was created. After moving around to several Arab countries and being a sniper for Arafat, the author eventually moved to America. There he began to see a world he had never known to exist and he married an American girl (initially to get a green card), became successful in the restaurant business, experienced a vision that led to his conversion to Christianity. I liked particularly his observation that America is not so much a melting pot as it is a tossed salad as immigrants become fully American but still proud of their roots. Eventually he and his wife and daughter started missions in Gaza and other hotspots to bring some sanity to children and other residents there. Sorry to give away so much of the story, but even knowing this much, there is so much more to it and it is well worth your time to read it. It may even give you hope for the Arab and Israeli relationship.

[SueSue · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is so complex, I find it odd that personal stories help me to understand it far better than historical accounts.
This book falls into that category, with the added bonus of a very positive Christian message. Christian!! Of all things, in that part of the world. Who would've guessed.
Fascinating stuff.

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book, free of charge, from Tyndale Publishing as part of the Tyndale Blog Network. Unless otherwise stated, the opinions given here are 100% my own.

Let me start off by saying that this is not a book I would normally pick up and read for pleasure. It's not even a book I would normally pick up for any reason. However, once I received this book from Tyndale, I couldn't put it down. Author information from the book describes Tass Saada in the following way:

Tass Saada is a former Muslim and is co founder of Hope for Ishmael, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reconcile Arabs and Jews to God 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.

Before reading this book I knew some general facts about the Middle East. The Palestinians and the Jews are in constant conflict over land. Yasser Arafat was the leader of the PLO and had something to do with Middle Eastern politics. As a Christian, I also knew that Arab peoples are descended from Ishmael and that Jewish peoples are descended from Isaac. I had a mild understanding of Islam.

This book gave me a great lesson in some history of the Middle East in a way that was easy to read and understand. It is Tass' story and he tells it well. The book is divided into thirds.

The first third, titled, How I Learned to Hate, tells the story of Tass' birth in the Gaza Strip in a refugee camp, his family's relocation to Saudi Arabia, and final settlement in Qatar. This section details how the author grew up hating everyone that was not Muslim and his desire to reclaim what he thought was the rightful ownership of land for the Palestinian people. There are some disturbing sections here, such as when Saada describes what is was like to claim his first victim as a sniper when he was still a teenager. This section was also very informative, as it gave me a better understanding of Middle Eastern relations and some history of the area.

The second section, titled, How I Learned to Love, begins with Saada's desire to find out what the mysterious "connection" is that his friend Charlie keeps talking about. As I read the story of his conversion to Christianity and how Jesus became more than just a prophet to this former Muslim, tears streamed down my face. I appreciated the use of biblical scriptures to emphasize the points the author was making. This section also details how Saada told his family, still in Qatar, about his conversion. There were passages where the author used the Qu' ran to reinforce what the Bible says and I found that interesting.

The final section, titled, Road Map to Reconciliation, explains in very easy steps why Christians must understand the Muslim/Jewish situation and how it can be resolved. There are no quick fixes here, no diplomatic posturings. Simply put, we need to share the love of Jesus with all. Jesus is not the messiah for only the Christians. He came to be the messiah for the Muslims, the Jews, the Buddhists, the atheists, for everyone. Loving and praying for our enemies does not only mean those far away in the Holy Land. It means our neighbor, our co-worker, our family.

I completely and totally recommend this book to anyone who wants to see how God can change even the most hardened murderer. It is a quick read, is great for learning about the Middle Eastern situation that has been going on since Abraham and Sarah decided to help God's promise along, and it will cause you to think about the relationships in your own life.

As stated above, I was provided a copy of "Once An Arafat Man" for free from Tyndale Publishing. I received no other compensation and the review and opinions written here are 100% mine.


To find out more about Tass Saada's nonprofit organizations, visit seedsofhope.org and hopeforishmael.org

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful testimony

What a blessing to see even the hardest hearts transformed when the real Jesus is encountered. Beautiful testimony, especially in these days we are living in.

[Steve Cran]

Taysir Saada was born to refugee parents in a Refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. According to the author his parents were asked by the Arab Governments at the time to move from their house aand orange orchards in Jaffo and come back when the Arab armies were victorious. They ended up loosing.His father had bee in the orange business with a Jewish Partner who offered to shelter him when the war started. The father chose Gaza strip. Life in the refugee camp was horrible Tass was born in a tent with inadequate medical supplies, food and water. He later on moved with his family to Jidda in Saudi Arabia. Life for a Palestinian refugee was very difficult. Palestinians were taunted by the Saudis often because they poor, not as fanatical and because they had no honor. If a man looses his land then he looses his honor. In Jidda his father and brothers opened up an auto repair business. One time when working on a car for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, who wanted thee car back in a hurry, his father had decide to work on Friday afternoon. Soon the religious police came by whipped his father and forced him to pray in the Mosque. Tasss was a wild and angry kid often time getting into fights when provoked by other kids and he always hated attending classes. He got into trouble on several occasion which often required his father to use his connections to bail him out. His father’s reputation for quality work traveled far and wide when he fixed the prince of Quatar’s car he was then shifted off to Quatar. It was while he was in Quatar that he heard thee broadcast by Egypt and Jordan that they were defeating thee Israeli Army. Later it turned out to be a pack of lies. It was at this point that Tass decided to join the ranks of Fatah.



In Fatah he learned how to be a sniper and killed many people. In his memoir he describes the training process, his advancements through thee ranks all the way to training kids in refugee camps. Fatah though caused many problems for the Jordanians. Often times he would harass Christians, one time he even tried to assassinate the Crown Prince of Jordan. This caused the Jordanian tpo attack Fataah and send them to Lebanon what was known as Black September. Tass left Jordan just in time



His father tricked had his passport confiscated and he tried to force his son to get an education. It did not work. Finally his father allowed to go to America. While in America Tass ha many adventures. He gets involved with hotel management and restaurant management. He married a woman named Karen who is a single mother, a child fathered by an Iranian father. Tass lives a fast life until a friend named Charlie exposes him to Christiansity. Tass discovers Jesus changes his life and learns to love Jewish people. His dedication to Christ causes him to travel and preach the word of God. He ends up running a ministry in Gaza

[Bob Hayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life is a fascinating read. As the title indicates, this is a true story of a former Fatah fighter. Tass Saada was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza strip. His parents left their land in Israel at the encouragement of the neighboring Muslim countries. After the failure of the 1948 war, they (with many others) were displaced. He grew up in Saudi Arabia and later Qatar.

Saada, like many young frustrated Palestinians, grew to respect Yasir Arafat and his rhetoric about Palestinians standing up for their rights. He fled from his home and joined the movement in its infancy. As a teenager he became a sniper and fought in many terrorist skirmishes.

Eventually his father’s influence brought him back out of the Fatah, just before Black September’s chaos, and he wound up ultimately in America. There for many years he succeeded in business and lived the American dream, with its money, prestige and also its sinful vices. Then he met Jesus, and the rest is history!

His story of conversion is amazing, and the transformation in his life and family is dramatic. God had his hand on this man and eventually he became the founder of Hope for Ishmael a non-profit organization that aims to reconcile Jews and Muslims, and that also aids the many Palestinians caught in the crossfire of the Middle-East conflict. God took Tass from being a one-time chauffeur to Arafat, and allowed him to share the Gospel with the Muslim leader in the final years of his life.

Saada’s story is a celebration of God’s grace. Along the way, Saada has some wise Gospel words to speak about the Middle-East conflict. He finds the Bible’s honorable treatment of Hagar and Ishmael to have special significance in our understanding of this conflict. He also stresses God’s promise in Ez. 47: 21-23 that “the aliens [foreigners:] who have settled among you and who have children… along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.” (NIV)

His story will also challenge you to see God’s hand at work in your own life. This book will open your heart to the suffering of the Middle-East and give hope! I highly recommend this quick read. May Jesus be exalted in the Middle East!

My thanks go out to Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with this review copy as part of the Tyndale Blog Network.

[Susan Lerner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story of a former PLO sniper who worked directly with Arafat at one point, and then came to the US, became a restaurant entrepreneur, and ultimately underwent conversion to Christianity. It isn't often you hear first hand from a former terrorist about life in the trenches, and the book is worth reading for that alone.
His acclimation to America was also interesting, kind of a self-made man story repeated by thousands of immigrants and always impressive.
Towards the middle-latter part of the book he converts to Christianity and through it he is able to understand and repent his violent, hate-filled youth. He has devoted his life, since then, to doing missionary work in Gaza and trying to spread the word.
While not everyone will agree that Christianity is the answer for the world, it is hard to argue with his message of mutual acceptance and peace. His guts in confronting even Arafat, himself, with this message, is impressive.
He has a unique perspective from which to offer insights into the workings of the Arab mind, considering how fully immersed he was in terrorism in his youth, and how great his transformation. Towards the end of the book, he explains the duplicity of Arab politics as consistent with a Muslim precept that it is honorable to lie to an enemy. Promises and assurances, for example, that were initially made in the 1993 Oslo talks, that anti-Semitic language would be taken out of the PLO charter, were never fulfilled, although diplomatic exchanges obscured that fact over and over.
He gives many other examples of the kind of intra-Arab rivalries and politics (as well as corruption and greed among the leaders) that he believes are primarily responsible for the suffering of the Palestinians.

[Lisa Poust · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that makes you contemplate how you live your faith....

After hearing Mr Saada on Focus on the Family I wanted to know more about his life & how he came to Christ. I had heard of Muslims coming to Christ through dreams and Mr. Saada confirmed this and even gave his own rationale as to why God speaks to them this way. His complete about face upon becoming a follower of Jesus Christ with a complete change of heart toward the Jewish people is something that can only be possible with the change of heart that Jesus can give us. This book also gives a very good lesson on the history of the children of Ishmael & Isaac, how both groups are children of Abraham & how God promised to bless both sons of Abraham. The work that Mr. Saada continues is truly a blessing to the people that he helps. His complete love for Jesus & his total surrender to His will for his life is wonderful to read about and makes one contemplate how an how they themselves can make a difference.

[Anneke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Während meines Israel-Austauschs in der Schule haben wir den Autor besucht. Er war Fatah-Kämpfer und hat im Laufe seines Lebens einen starken Wandel durchgemacht. Mittlerweile ist er Christ und leitet eine Hilfsorganisation in Gaza. Ich fand es super interessant zu lesen wie eng sein Leben mit dem Nahost-Konflikt verwoben ist. So habe ich zeitgleich etwas über die Geschichte des Konfliktes gelernt und sein Einzelschicksal verfolgen können. Es hat mir wirklich Spaß gemacht das Buch zu lesen. Der Schreibstil ist jetzt nichts besonderes, ist aber bei einem so persönlichen Buch in meinen Augen auch nicht notwendig.
Das Ende war mir bereits bekannt, da er uns einen Teil seiner Geschichte bei einem Besuch vor Ort bereits erzählt hatte. Trotzdem ist es interessant wie sich sein Blick auf die Welt mit dem Christentum verändert hat.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the writing is simple, the story is fascinating. This is the true story of Tass Saada, a former PLO sniper who came to faith in Christ. This book is full of amazing, even miraculous, stories (which I won't spoil for you by telling about them.)

Tass now works for a humanitarian organization whose mission it is reconcile the sons of Isaac and the sons of Ishmael.

An interesting and fun read. But the best part for me was the 18th chapter which offered a refreshing biblical look at the current situation in the Middle East, as well as God's perspective about the relationship between Isaac and Ishmael - and how that should shape our thinking about the Arab/Israeli conflict.

Read this one. It's good.

[Jhammond_25 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an easy read. I found myself very intrigue from the start of the book. Tass depicts his life as a PLO sniper. By keeping an open mind to his lifestyle of killing Israelis, Jews, and even Christians, I was taken back by the magnitude of his life. As a sinner myself, I couldn't help but be disgusted by his wrongdoings. By the Grace of God, Tass found Jesus. He realized that Jesus in the "the way, the Truth, and the life." He was not only forgiven, but God used Tass to change the lives of other Muslims. I fully recommend this book to any reader, not just those that practice Islam or Christianity. This book a definite read as it helps to prove that God has a purpose for us all, and that his Son truly the "only way."

[Cody Kerekffy]

This is a very amazing and truly inspiring, I highly recommend it. It shows this idea of that we all can change with a little faith. As a christian I understand this. I believe the reason that people aren't open to God is because people are scare and afraid that they are not good enough, not perfect enough, or worthy or something like that. There is one part in the book that I personally love and respect is when Tass is so dedicated in telling his story of christ with others that he slept and traveled for months in a van. This book is really good. Whether you are Christian or not, it is a book worth reading. There is another scene when Tass is in the church full of people in tears asking all of them to forgive me for what I have done to all of you

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tass Saada's story was one I am going to remember for a long time. I will talk about it with my friends, and I will recommend it to all I talk to. This book was powerful!
You have to read this with an open heart and mind. I'm not going to say it's easy to swallow always, because it's not, but if it were easy, it wouldn't be real.
To see where the author came from, the world of complete hatred. To be blessed to have found the love of God, and is now Christian. His own family went from wanting to kill him, to respecting him.
An amazing story, one that I can't get enough of. You REALLY need to check it out, and read it yourself. Don't give up on it either.

[Brian John Karcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tass has devoted his life to perhaps the biggest, ugliest and deadliest conflict of our time: the Arab-Jew conflict. Tass writes: “I believe that if there were a political answer for this awful deadlock, some bright statesman or scholar would have thought of it by now.” (chapter 18)

Here is the “peace plan like no other” that Tass proposes. I find it based solidly on the gospel of Jesus Christ and deeply moving. I see his Arab-Jew struggle for peace as a model for anyone dealing with division between two groups.

http://www.ubfriends.org/2012/07/20/a...

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author, once a sniper and driver for Arafat and radical Palestinian muslim, came to know Christ as Lord and along with his wife established Hope for Ishmael which endeavors to bring reconciliation between Jews and Arabs. He has a heart for Palestinians. When he first read the Bible he was surprised to learn some history about Arabs. The change in this man's life could have only been accomplished by God. In the beginning of the book he hates and shoots Jews but after his conversion he comes to love the Jew.

[Luckngrace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped me better understand the Palestinian situation and how Arabs in general think. The author admits that Muslims are so stubborn that it takes a Saul-of-Tarsus-type vision to convert a Muslim to Christianity. Tass is born in a refugee camp in Saudi Arabia 3 months after his family is driven from their home in Palestine. From there he bounced from Saudia Arabia to Syria to Jordan to Qatar as a terrorist for Arafat's Fatah organization. Only Jesus could save Tass from destruction.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides great insight into the root of the struggles and the ongoing hostilities between the Palestinians and Israel. The best aspect of the book is the author's reminder that Jews, Christians and Muslims are spiritual cousins. God loves them all. There is hope for peace in the solution. He models his belief by turning from terrorism, seeking forgiveness for his past acts and truly loving others.

[Duane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did Yasser Arafat repent and turn to Jesus before his end? Yes, according to this author. Though that is not at all a main theme of the book, it is an exciting reminder of the power of God and His Gospel to penetrate hearts and hard places.
The author's story helped me understand more about the roots of the Palestinian dilemma. It is easy to see how young men can become radicalized and angry.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly one of the most amazing books I have read to date. Here was a man filled with a seething hate for Jews. Years after immigrating to the U.S., he finds himself on his knees begging the God of Ishmael and Isaac for mercy. Thank you Chris Brady for the recommendation, and thank you Lord, for using this amazing book to soften my heart towards Muslims.

[Trish Boese · Rating 4 out of 5]

4* This book was enlightening. It's written by a Palestinian Muslim who was a sniper (against Israel), but became a born-again Christian. He is now a strong voice for peace and reconciliation through Jesus Christ. It was interesting reading even though I don't understand all the conflicts in the Middle East.

[Rushay Booysen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the read,the book gave me a better reflection on the war from "within" the Palestine camp.His approach to Love is what amazed me even after hating for so long.The book made me question my love towards others

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing story of transformation.
There aren't ( not that i remember!) any amazing spiritual revelations but as a story of one man's journey with God its pretty amazing. I would consider it up there with Run baby Run.