Once an Arafat Man

Former Voodoo Follower Turns to Christ

Unbelievable how God uses us in ways we cannot imagine. We all have a story as followers of Christ...never doubt the power of your story has to impact the lives of others. God bless. Enjoy this wonderful video.

Tyndale House Update

We received word from Tyndale House who published Once an Arafat Man, that the soft cover is to be released this coming January.  This is great news!  My hope is that the book will be able to reach even more people around the world.

Along with the soft cover announcement, we also learned from Tyndale House that Once an Arafat Man has sold 15,633 copies since it was released in September 2008.  Thank you friends for helping share the story of redemption! 

Special thank you to our friends at Tyndale House for embracing the opportunity to share the story.

"Once" on Fox 4 news in Kansas City

'Once An Arafat Man' not only in the news ... it's in The GOODNews.

The latest edition of 'The GOODNews Paper' published by Challenge Newsline, featured an article highlighting Tass and the book.

Let There Be Peace

     As the innocent suffer in the Middle East, Tass Saada’s story proves that love can triumph over hatred.  The division of the former British mandate of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel in the years after World War II have been at the heart of Middle Eastern conflicts for the past half century.

     Tass Saada is a former Palestinian Fatah terrorist turned Christian peace envoy.  His is a story of triumph of love over hatred, reconciliation over persistent division.

     Born in the Gaza Strip in 1951, Tass grew up a Palestinian refugee in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.  He learnt to hate Israel for its attitude to the Palestinian people.

     At the age of 17, Tass ran away from home to become a PLO sniper and chauffeur to his hero Yasser Arafat.  In Tass’ autobiography ‘Once An Arafat Man’, he graphically describes the depth to which his hatred took him.  He was a trained killer.  His nickname was as brutal as his life – Jazzar, ‘butcher.’

     Reconciliation with his family was his escape route from the violence.  He returned to Qatar and then moved to the US to complete his academic education.  America for Tass was indeed a land of opportunity.  He went to college, married Karen and started a family, found work and prospered. But anger still ruled his life.

     The turning point came when Tass was confronted by his valued Christian friend and mentor.  ‘…So the thing is this, Tass. If you want to have the peace I have, you must love a Jew.’

     ‘I froze in my tracks,’ writes Tass.  ‘Charlie knew me very well.  He knew about my past with Fatah.  He knew I hated Jews with a passion.’  He then asked me what I knew about Jesus Christ.’

     ‘He was a prophet,’ Tass said.

     ‘Actually, he’s more than a prophet,’ Charlie said.  ‘He is God’s son.  He’s the only God.’  To Tass this was blasphemy.

     Tass couldn’t wait to end the conversation but out of respect for his friend, he stayed to listen when Charlie got out a Bible.

     ‘I must not touch that book!’ Tass said. ‘It’s God’s Word!’

     ‘The truth was,’ admits Tass, ‘I couldn’t figure out the words coming out of my mouth.’

     Charlie began to read.  ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’  (From John’s Gospel)

     ‘The instant he said, “Word”, I began to shake.’  This reminded Tass of his holy book.  ‘Hearing the Bible say essentially the same thing, that Jesus was the Word of God, struck deep to the core of my being.’

      Before he knew it, Tass was on his knees.  A light came into his field of vision and he heard “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  ‘I didn’t know that these words were a repetition of what Jesus said during the Last Supper.  As far as I was concerned, they were a message from Jesus to me.

     ‘I knew this God loved me.  “Oh, Jesus, come into my life!  Forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour!”  A sense of peace and joy rushed into my heart.

     Charlie led Tass in a prayer of salvation.

     ‘I felt as if I were starting my life all over again.’

     That wasn’t the end of his story.  God had many things to teach Tass and his family, not the least the love he put into Tass’ heart of the Jewish people.  Tass and Karen set up a ministry amongst children and young people in Gaza.

Last year they were forced to relocate to Jericho.  Today Tass heads up an organization dedicated to reconcile Arabs and Jews – Hope for Ishmael.             

Once Story at Hillsong

We are back safely in the United States and have already had a whirlwind weekend.  I had the opportunity to share God's loving grace with a group of wonderful people in Kansas City on Saturday.  On Sunday we were with our good friends at Word of Life Church.  Many thanks to our dear friend Pastor Brian Zahnd and his gracious wife Peri.  I was forwarded a video by someone who saw Pastor Brian share our story at Hillsong Church that you can watch below.  Thank you pastor for your love to my family!

A Recent Interview with Janet Parshall

I recently had the privilege of joining Janet Parshall for a radio interview.  You can listen to the interview here.

"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...