Mosab Hassan Yousef

Mosab Hassan Yousef is an EMET Visiting Fellow and recipient of the EMET Rays of Light in the Darkness Speaker of Truth Award.

Born in Ramallah, in the West Bank in 1978, Mosab Hassan Yousef is the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a founding leader of Hamas — the internationally recognized terrorist organization responsible for countless suicide bombings and other deadly attacks against Israel. Yousef was an integral part of the movement, for which he was imprisoned multiple times by the Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence service. He withstood torture in prison only to discover that Hamas was torturing its own people, forcing him to question who his true enemies really were.

While imprisoned, Yousef was approached about becoming a spy for the Shin Bet. He initially agreed, intending to betray them while using the role to protect his father and family. But as he witnessed the hypocrisy within Hamas firsthand, his motivations shifted — he resolved to save lives on both sides of the conflict. For nearly ten years, Yousef worked as a double agent, becoming a vital intelligence asset for the Israeli government while serving side-by-side with his father in the upper ranks of Hamas.

He ultimately sought political asylum in the United States. His story was first revealed in the 2008 Fox News documentary Escape from Hamas.

Yousef is the author of Son of Hamas (co-written with Ron Brackin, SaltRiver, 2010), in which he reveals new details about the terrorist organization, his secret role within it, and his journey to a faith that called him to love his enemies. In 2024, he released a follow-up, From Hamas to America.

Yousef has spoken at universities across the country and at the United Nations. Mosab has also spoken at Oxford in Great Britain, and has appeared frequently on Piers Morgan, on CNN and Fox.