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September 3, 2004/Elul 17 5763, Vol. 55, No. 50
Former terrorist speaks
MICHAEL MIKLOFSKY
Staff Writer
Walid Shoebat has been on both sides of the fence.
The former Palestinian terrorist says he is fed up with Islamic culture and education, which many of his family members taught and which he followed. He has since converted out of the religion and has established a foundation that raises funds to host pro-Israel lectures at American schools.
Shoebat will speak at a program hosted by the Phoenix Community Kollel on Wednesday, Sept. 8, at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas. Irving Shuman, the Arizona chairman of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), will provide opening remarks.
Shoebat was born in Bethlehem of Judea and raised in a family where his father, uncle, cousin and other relatives taught Islamic studies. His grandfather was the Muslim Mukhtar (onie ftan) of Beit Sahour-Beth-lehem, also known as The Shepherd's Fields, an area one mile outside Bethlehem where Shoebat was raised.
Shoebat's grandfather was a friend of Haj-Ameen Al-Husseni, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, and a friend of Adolf Hitler.
His great-grandfather, Abdullah Ali Awad-Allah was an associate of Abdul Qader and Haj Amin Al-Husseini, both were Palestinians who led their fellow citizens to fight Israel.
As a young child, he was initiated into a terrorist group for which he performed various acts of terrorism and later participated in anti-Israel riots. When he immigrated to America, he took his anti-Israel stance to the university scene and participated in Loop College's Arab Student Organization, which promoted activities against Israel.
Shoebat converted to Christianity in 1993.
"I became a Christian, you guys (Jewish people) don't proselytize," he says, "I went and bought a (Jewish) Bible and I read the whole thing.
"The most inspiring thing I learned about Judaism itself is ... they really mean it when they say, 'Whoever preserves a life, saves a life, saves the whole world.' They will save the lives of terrorists, they will save the lives of anyone and they carry out what they believe.
"Although in Islam, we were taught whoever kills a life without just cause or for doing 'mischief in the land,' then it is as if he has killed the whole world," Shoebat added. "If you look at the context, if you look one verse after that, talking about the punishment of the people who do 'mischief in the land,' then cut their hands and their feet from opposite ends and crucify them."
Unfortunately, Shoebat says, Muslims have paid more attention to the destruction of other faiths in order to boost Islam as the supreme faith.
"The peace that has been offered in my Islamic studies was peace for Muslims only and for anyone who critiques the religion, or critiques the system is regarded as doing 'mischief in the land' and then they suffer," he says.
In June, Shoebat founded the Walid Shoebat Foundation, which "cries out for the Justice of Israel and the Jewish people," the organization's Web site says.
Along with Shoebat, several other speakers also tour the country, speaking mostly at universities against terrorism and promoting Zionism.
Keith Davies, executive director of the foundation, is responsible for promoting those speakers and is in awe of Shoebat's strong-handed approach to answering anti-Israeli propaganda.
"The problem with we Jews is that we will not stand up and fight, we will compromise. We will compromise everything that is holy to us, we will compromise our own particular rights for the sake of peace, for the sake of being left alone," he says. "And unfortunately, that's the wrong tactic to take. The more you compromise, the more you bury your head in the sand, the worse it gets for you, not the better, and everything in history proves that. When Jews stand strong, they win."
Shoebat says that there are simple steps Jews can take to protect themselves from the threat of terrorism, whether in America, or abroad.
"Every Jewish person I speak with seems to have this feeling, this game of the measuring yardstick of other people. They think that everybody thinks like Jews and that's the biggest problem," he says. "Every Jewish group I speak with, they say, 'If we give them jobs, maybe things will be better.' It's not an issue."
"Well excuse me, Osama bin Laden was very rich, so were my family, they were well off in Israel, so it's not an issue of jobs." Shoebat adds. "The Jewish people need to understand first (that) understanding the root cause of terrorism is the beginning of a solution to solving terrorism. The root cause of terrorism is religious hatred, period."
Contact the writer here
Details
- What: "From Terrorist to Zionist"
- Who: Walid Shoebat
- Where: Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas, 6333 N. Scottsdale Road
- When: 6:30 p.m. cash bar, 7:30 p.m. public lecture Wednesday, Sept. 8
- Cost: $10 in advance, $15 at the door
- Call: (800) 742-2228
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