Walid Shoebat

Walid Shoebat

Walid Shoebat ( _ar. وليد شويبات) is an American citizen, born to a Palestinian father and American mother. Shoebat claims to be a former PLO terrorist, although these claims have been called into question. Shoebat came to public attention by becoming an ardent critic of Islam and supporter of Israel. Shoebat has been criticized for alleged falsehoods and inconsistencies in his self-representation.

hoebat's account of his life

According to the biography on his official website, Shoebat was born in Bethlehem, the grandson of the Mukhtar of Beit Sahour, whom Shoebat describes as an associate of Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammad Amin al-Husayni. Shoebat's great grandfather, Abdullah Ali Awad-Allah, was also a fighter and close associate of both Abdul Qader and Haj Amin Al-Husseini.Fact|date=June 2008 Shoebat claims to have joined the Palestine Liberation Organization in his youth and to have been involved in terrorist attacks against Israel.

In interviews, he claimed to have been involved in a bombing at Bank Leumi in Bethlehem.

Upon his release, Shoebat continued his anti-Israeli activism until he emigrated to the United States, where he became involved with the Arab Student Organization at Loop College in Chicago.Fact|date=June 2008 Shortly afterwards Walid worked as a software engineer and became a US citizen. In 1993, Walid converted to Christianity after studying the Jewish Bible for 6 months in response to a challenge from his wife, initially trying to persuade her into converting to Islam.Fact|date=June 2008

Activism

After the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, Shoebat became an active advocate against Islamism and a fervent supporter of the State of Israel. He has appeared on mainstream media around the world and has been portrayed as an expert witness on a number of documentaries on Islamism [http://www.shoebat.com/bio.php?PHPSESSID=61e4c5139507437e903da869d8a6a4cc Shoebat's autobiography] on Shoebat.com] .

Shoebat argues that parallels exist between radical Islam and Nazism. He says, "Secular dogma like Nazism is less dangerous than Islamofascism that we see today ... because Islamofascism has a religious twist to it; it says 'God the Almighty ordered you to do this'.... It is trying to grow itself in fifty-five Muslim states. So potentially, you could have a success rate of several Nazi Germanys, if these people get their way." [cite video| people = Wayne Kopping & Raphael Shore | year = 2005 | title = Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West | url = http://www.obsessionthemovie.com/12min.htm | medium = | location = | publisher =]

Shoebat believes that Jesus will descend from the heavens and lead a "defensive" battle to protect Israel from attacking enemies. [Marquette Warrior Blog, [http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2007/12/live-blogging-walid-shoebatmuslim.html Live Blogging Walid Shoebat] .]

He is the founder of the [http://www.shoebat.com/ Walid Shoebat Foundation] , an organization that claims to combat anti-semitism.

Inconsistencies and criticism

On February 8th, 2008 the New York Times published an article describing Muslim condemnation of the United States Air Force Academy for hosting a presentation of 3 individuals, including Shoebat, on the subject of Islamic terrorism. The three were paid a total of $13,000, some of it by private donors, for their participation in a week-long conference on Islamic terrorism. Critics claimed that these three were actually Evangelical Christians pretending to be Ex-Muslims and former terrorists. The Times also reported that academic professors who had heard the men speak said some of their stories "border on the fantastic". Also questioned was how a middle-aged man could have been recruited for Islamic terror as a teenager when such things didn't become common until the 1980s.cite news | last = MacFarquhar | first = Neil | coauthors = | title = Speakers at Academy Said to Make False Claims | work = | pages = | language = | publisher = New York Times | date = 2008-02-07 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/us/07muslim.html?_r=1&sq=Walid%20Shoebat&st=nyt&oref=slogin&scp=1&pagewanted=print | accessdate = 2008-07-10]

The Jerusalem Post also disputed the authenticity of Shoebat's account of his terrorist history. According to the article, Shoebat claimed to have bombed the Bank Leumi, but that claim has been rejected both by Bank Leumi, which stated no such attack took place, and by relatives of Shoebat. The Post also reported that Shoebat was unable to pinpoint the date on which he had committed the attack. The article repeatedly refers to Shoebat's financial benefit from his claim of being an former terrorist, of having been Muslim, and now having rejected Islam for Christianity. While Shoebat claimed to have been pressured by teachers to adopt an extreme Islamic philosophy, and he and his classmates had been "indoctrinated as children to believe that the fires of hell were an ever-present reality" and that his only salvation was to "die in a martyrdom operation - to die for Islam", the Jerusalem Post article reveals that his uncle, who still lives in Bethlehem, recalled he received an ideologically "mild" education in which religion played little part. The article also reports that Shoebat's relatives share the name "Shoebat" despite his claim that it is an assumed name, that Shoebat has contradicted himself (telling the Post that he didn't know whether the Bank Leumi bombing was reported in the media despite stating four years earlier that it had been), that the Walid Shobat Foundation is not registered as a charity in Pennsylvania, as Shobat claimed it was (Shobat countered that it "was registered under a different name, but that he was not aware of the details, which are handled by his manager"), etc.cite news | last = Luyken | first = Jorg | coauthors = | title = The Palestinian 'terrorist' turned Zionist | work = | pages = | language = | publisher = Jerusalem Post | date = 2008-03-30 | url = http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1206632362598&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull | accessdate = 2008-07-10]

On April 9 2008, Shoebat responded to the Jerusalem Post's skepticism on that paper's op-ed page. He wrote that the Jerusalem Post had been duped and that the sources they interviewed who disputed his own account of his upbringing, including his relatives, were themselves involved in terrorism, and want to see him discredited. He also claims that reporter did not interview reputable witnesses offered to him who would confirm the bombing operation of Bank Leumi.cite news | last = Shoebat | first = Walid | coauthors = | title = Right of Reply: I "was" a terrorist | work = | pages = | language = | publisher = Jerusalem Post | date = 2008-04-09 | url = http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207649974071&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull | accessdate = 2008-07-10]

His story is not without its supporters, however. Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, when questioned as to the veracity of Shoebat's claims, wrote, "Walid Shoebat took the time ... to show me proofs that his life story is a true one. I accept that it is." [ [http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/comments/27999 Daniel Pipes' response] to reader comments on Pipes, Daniel, [http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2003/06/walid-shoebat-palestinian-turns-from-radical.html "Walid Shoebat: 'Palestinian turns from radical Muslim to true Zionist'"] on danielpipes.org. 2003-06-05. Retrieved 2008-07-10.]

Bibliography

* Shoebat has written several online books including "Dear Muslim, Let Me Tell You Why I Believed" and "Israel, And The World's Mock Trial”," where he exposes anti-Semitism and the hatred of Jews in both the Islamic Countries and the secular western countries. [ [http://www.shoebat.com/books.php Books by Walid Shoebat] ]
* ""
* "The Culture of Death": Coverage of testimony given by Shoebat.
* "From Hate to Love": Discusses the anti-semitic indoctrination of Palestinian children.
* "Walid Shoebat: A Testimony of Faith to Redemption"
* "Why we want to kill you"
* "In Satan’s Footsteps"
* "The Forgotten Ally"
* "Arabs Speak Frankly"

See also

*Criticism of Islam
*List of former Muslims

Documentaries

*
*

References

External links

* [http://www.shoebat.com Shoebat.com] The home page of Walid Shoebat
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3430077.stm BBC News Palestinian militant turned peacemaker]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/06/20/wpalmer20.xml The Telegraph: I only wanted to kill Jews]
* [http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36743 World Net Daily Editorial: The Unmaking Of A Terrorist by Joseph Farah]
* [http://www.newvoices.org/cgi-bin/articlepage.cgi?id=238 New Voices Magazine: The Changeling by Josh Nathan-Kazis]
* [http://mu-warrior.blogspot.com/2007/12/live-blogging-walid-shoebatmuslim.html Live Blogging Walid Shoebat in Milwaukee]
*" [http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=14159 A Terrorist Who Turned To Love] " by Jamie Glazov at FrontPage Magazine
* [http://www.salafimanhaj.com/pdf/SalafiManhaj_Shoebat.pdf Critique of Claims of Walid Shoebat]
* [http://www.thedailyaztec.com/media/paper741/news/2005/05/11/City/Former.Terrorist.Fuels.Controversy-950745.shtml Former terrorist fuels controversy]
* [http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/bc.cgi?bc/bccn/0704/04israel Pro-Israel ex-terrorist denied entry into Canada]
* [http://www.jewishpostandnews.com/walidshoebat.html Walid Shoebat tells his story to hundreds in Winnipeg]
* [http://www.redandblack.com/vnews/display.v/ART/41919d3d81965 Former terrorist speaks against violence]
* [http://www.milforddailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=64656 Former terrorist has changed his ways]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8MEn8W8h1U&mode=related&search= YouTube link to the Fox News interview]
* [http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2005/02/09/walid-shoebat-f/ Shoebat: From Palestinian Terrorist to Lover of Zion?]
* [http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hostpage.aspx?show_id=38956 Walid Shoebat interviewed on Dr. Blogstein's Radio Happy Hour]

Videos

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez4ehd2d2c0 Walid Shoebat - A Palestinian's Journey]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=mOjFcaW0Fiw Critical Study of 'Walid Shoebat']
* [http://www.shoebat.com/media/fox_news_2005_07.wmv Walid Shoebat on FOX News]
* [http://www.godslearningchannel.com/tapes/walid.htm Interview on God's Learning Channel]
* [http://www.shoebat.com/news.php?PHPSESSID=6b3b5ae752bebf729befdde80d59c512 List of Walid Shoebat online media]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGJYT4t83CQ&search=shoebat%20CN8%20Islam%20Jihad%20Terrorism Walid Shoebat, Zak Anani and Ibrahim Abdullah on CN8, subtitled in French]
* [http://www.shoebat.com/media/fox_2005_12_mindterrorist.wmv The Mind of a terrorist]
* [http://canadiancoalition.com/audiovideo/200601_ShoebatAbdullahAnani.asx Interview of 3 ex-terrorists]
* Making of a Martyr Bonus Features - Walid Shoebat: [http://video.aol.com/video/making-of-a-martyr-bonus-features-whalid-shoebat-part-1/1812728 Part 1] , [http://video.aol.com/video/making-of-a-martyr-bonus-features-whalid-shoebat-part-2/1812730 Part 2] .


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