Autorentext

Mosab Hassan Yousef was born in the West Bank and was part of a strict Muslim family where his father was a leading political figure and a founder of Hamas. Never able to reconcile himself with the killings he witnessed, Hassan rebelled against Hamas, became a double agent, and risked his life to fight terrorism. Eventually, he found his way to the United States and has spent the last several years assimilating to American culture.

Hassan is a sought-after lecturer on the Middle East and a frequent contributor to news networks such as Fox News and CNN. He now devotes himself to writing as well as designing and building houses; he also enjoys yoga, deep-sea diving, and running.

James Becket had always aspired to be a writer, yet his life took him on a varied course, from ski racer to human rights lawyer to political activist to journalist and author to screenwriter and award-winning movie director and producer. Becket’s journalistic achievements include numerous articles, with credits ranging from the New York Times to Christianity Today. He has also authored numerous books, but for him, his most rewarding experience has been working with cowriter Mosab Hassan on material they both feel to be important contributions in troubled times.

Klappentext

The Last Prophet is a novel based on the extraordinary life of the prophet Muhammad, one-time shepherd and outcast revolutionary. This desert master’s discipline and principles would later become the basis for Islam, which today claims two billion followers.

Death comes easily in the seventh-century Arabian desert—from hunger and thirst to the relentless sun to war and raiding tribes who take by force the scarce resources needed to survive. In this harsh land, the powerful city of Mecca is a beacon, famous for its well, which provides abundant life-giving water, and its great temple, where pilgrims come to worship the totems of hundreds of gods. It is here that the prophet Muhammad is born.

As an orphan, he is disparaged by society. Brought up by an uncle, he was put to work on the caravan trade, traveling throughout Arabia, and soaking in an array of knowledge and religious views. He is a man of wisdom and faith who is troubled by the world around him. When God speaks to him, he sets out to preach what he has been told. Though every tribe has their own deity, he speaks of just one God. He shuns arrogance and the pursuit of luxury over truth and seeks to abolish slavery. In this patriarchal culture, he insists that smothering infant girls in the sand is murder, a custom to be abolished.

As the prophet starts to develop a following, the leaders of the city recognize the threat his radical views have to their lifestyle—one of wealth built in part upon the backs of slaves. The nobles try to turn the people and even his own family against him. They ban him and his tribe, and they torture and kill those who follow him. But no matter what they do to him, his influence continues to grow. The two sides eventually call upon allies throughout Arabia, rallying warriors for an epic battle that will forever change the course of history.