Hafeez told Tazpit News Agency that he began to change his thinking when he read A Case for Israel, by Alan Dershowitz.
Hafeez explains that he read the book in order to learn how to further deconstruct Zionist propaganda. "But I began to see that I could no longer support my convictions because I had no answers to the arguments that were made for Israel," he explains.
"I found that the radical Islamic doctrine that I grew up with and my own belief in violent jihad could no longer support the truth I once believed in."
That realization prompted Hafeez to visit Israel. "I kind of hoped that the visit to Israel would be a negative experience, that it would enable me to go back to my former beliefs," he told Tazpit News Agency.
But the visit was eye-opening for Hafeez, who says he fell in love with Israel during his first trip. "It's hard not to support Israel," says the soft-spoken Hafeez, who recently participated in the Jerusalem Marathon. "I encountered Israelis who weren't anti-Arab, or anti-Islam and saw that this wasn't some apartheid state."...
Hafeez explains that he read the book in order to learn how to further deconstruct Zionist propaganda. "But I began to see that I could no longer support my convictions because I had no answers to the arguments that were made for Israel," he explains.
"I found that the radical Islamic doctrine that I grew up with and my own belief in violent jihad could no longer support the truth I once believed in."
That realization prompted Hafeez to visit Israel. "I kind of hoped that the visit to Israel would be a negative experience, that it would enable me to go back to my former beliefs," he told Tazpit News Agency.
But the visit was eye-opening for Hafeez, who says he fell in love with Israel during his first trip. "It's hard not to support Israel," says the soft-spoken Hafeez, who recently participated in the Jerusalem Marathon. "I encountered Israelis who weren't anti-Arab, or anti-Islam and saw that this wasn't some apartheid state."...