Once an Arafat Man

"Once" in the News: Worldnet Daily Article

Posted: September 28, 2008
12:00 am Eastern

By Joseph Farah
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

WASHINGTON – When Taysir Saada served as a trained assassin for Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization in the late 1960s, he admits he hated Christians.

If he found a home belonging to followers of Jesus, he would sometimes throw a grenade inside and shoot it up with bursts of machine-gun fire.

He has no idea how many people were killed and wounded in such attacks.

Today a non-uniformed Saada, now known as Tass, patrols the dangerous Hamas-dominated streets of the Gaza Strip – no longer hunting down Christians or bearing arms; the Palestinian-American has traded in his automatic weapons and grenades for the Bible, humanitarian service and apologies to Arab Christians he once persecuted.

His transition from Islamic terrorist to Christian missionary is recounted in a new book, "Once An Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life."

Read the full story...

No More Tears

A sister in Christ has gone home to be with the Lord.

In August, a Muslim cleric and member of Saudi Arabia’s Commission of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, killed his sister 26-year-old Fatima Al-Mutairi, after she proclaimed her faith to her family, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The Voice of the Martyrs contacts report Fatima’s fellowship with other believers was mainly limited to Internet forums and phone correspondence. "As part of her testimony to the family, she proclaimed that the way of Christ is the most pure and most holy way of all. After sharing with her family, she found her brother in her room with her laptop open before him," VOM contacts said. "Her laptop contained notes about her spiritual journey, which he was searching in order to find more evidence against her. Her brother locked her in the room for four hours, during which time she wrote a final letter on the Internet. Fatima was killed soon thereafter," VOM contacts added.

Read the full story...

"Once" First Print GONE

I made it back to the USA this week to find two boxes of "Once an Arafat Man" waiting to be opened. It's finally here!  There is something surreal about opening a box of books with your name on the cover.  Unbelievable to say the least.

The book is being released on shelves the first week of October...but...I just received word from Tyndale House that the first print is OUT.  Not out on the shelves...but OUT...sold out!  Thanks to your online pre-orders and book stores ordering beyond the expected amount...the first printing of the book is already gone...before it's even on the shelves!

Thank you for shocking me!  I am so blessed today!

Another 9/11 Come and Gone

As I sit here at Zurich airport getting ready to return to the greatest country on earth,AMERICA, I found myself really needing to say something about 9/11. I know so many people have written about this catastrophy, but i find myself drawn to write about it even though a few days have past by. Yes, i did not forget about it, how could I.

Each year the entire world is reminded of the cold hard truth that there is a religion that wishes nothing but harm on people who do not embrace their ideas.  On September 11, 2001, I watched in disbelief as my fellow American citizens and I witnessed one of the most tragic events in world history.  Each year I am reminded of the need for the "scales" to be removed from the eyes of my fellow Arab countrymen.

As time has gone by between that day and now, it seems to have become a distant memory for many.  The desire for people to live a peaceable life with no war sometimes overtakes us. Many times our desire to forget that tragic day when some 3,000 people lost their lives becomes our false reality...it happened...and we cannot ever forget. As a former Muslim and ex-PLO member, I will always remember. 

To America, I feel a great desire to apologize on behalf of the many people who have succumbed to the influences of this world.  As the Bible states, we are all of two families...God's or the Devil's (John 8:44). And it is with this understanding that makes the urgency for me to request forgiveness for the actions of Muslim radicals.  I was once like them...as a man in the army of Arafat.  Without the love and forgiveness shown to me by an American Christian, I would still be a man living for a cause with no eternal significance.  Thank you to all who have shown me the grace, mercy, forgiveness and love that helped me down a road of redemption with Jesus Christ.

During this month, I ask for you to consider this...pray for the Islamic  leaders. Pray that God would reach their hearts, that God would stir up within them a desire to pursue Him, that God would use the church to reach these people with the same love and understanding that helped change my heart some 15 years ago.

God bless you all,
Tass

Hello Swiss!

It's been some time since I last posted here on the blog.  So many great things have been happening as we draw closer to the release date of the book.  We've traveled through Florida to visit with many of our friends there.  Today I find myself in the beautiful country of Switzerland meeting with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

As the release date comes, I want to ask for your prayers.  We are anticipating a great opportunity to open up dialogue within the local church and the world.  Please pray that God will use this book to reach the hearts of the the Muslim community and for hardened hearts to be softened to the loving grace of God.  Thank you!

Don't forget, you can pre-order the book on Amazon.com here.

As for our Gaza ministry...no updates as of yet.  We are still exploring our options within the international justice system regarding Hamas.  We covet your prayers in this area as well.

Thank you so much...and God bless!

-Tass