Tea With Hezbollah by Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis

by admin | Jan 27, 2010 | Books, Middle East, Nonfiction

MY REVIEW:

I was not paying proper attention when I accepted the offer of Tea With Hezbollah for review. I normally review fiction only and assumed this book was fiction when I saw Ted Dekker’s name. Imagine my surprise when I opened it. Fortunately for me, Ted’s nonfiction style is every bit as readable as his fiction and I found myself intrigued by the quest to find out if Islamic leaders believed it was possible to love their enemies.

As I read, there were times I wondered about the agenda behind this book. Were the authors trying to play down the dangers of radical Islam? Were they trying to place all the blame for problems in the Middle East on the U. S. and Israel? The more I read, the more I realized that their primary purpose was to try to understand these people and what makes them tick – particularly through the context of the parable of the good Samaritan.

Tea With Hezbollah takes the reader on a journey with Ted and Carl that most westerners will never experience. Woven through the narrative of their experiences are  historical details of the region and a modern parable that parallels the one of the good Samaritan.

Tea With Hezbollah does not offer a solution to the Middle East conflict. Indeed there may never be a solution as long as politicians are involved. What Tea With Hezbollah does offer is a real look at the human side of the story – people who love their families and would prefer to live their lives in peace. It should also make the reader ask himself the question “Do I truly love my neighbor as myself?”

I would recommend Tea With Hezbollah, especially to those who would like to look beyond the evening news.

SUMMARY:

Is it really possible to love one’s enemies?

That’s the question that sparked a fascinating and, at times, terrifying journey into the heart of the Middle East during the summer of 2008. It was a trip that began in Egypt, passed beneath the steel and glass high rises of Saudi Arabia, then wound through the bullet- pocked alleyways of Beirut and dusty streets of Damascus, before ending at the cradle of the world’s three major religions: Jerusalem.

Tea with Hezbollah combines nail-biting narrative with the texture of rich historical background, as readers join novelist Ted Dekker and his co-author and Middle East expert, Carl Medearis, on a hair-raising journey. They are with them in every rocky cab ride, late-night border crossing, and back-room conversation as they sit down one-on-one with some of the most notorious leaders of the Arab world. These candid discussions with leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, with muftis, sheikhs, and ayatollahs, with Osama bin Laden’s brothers, reveal these men to be real people with emotions, fears, and hopes of their own. Along the way, Dekker and Medearis discover surprising answers and even more surprising questions that they could not have anticipated—questions that lead straight to the heart of Middle Eastern conflict.

Through powerful narrative Tea With Hezbollah will draw the West into a completely fresh understanding of those we call our enemies and the teaching that dares us to love them. A must read for all who see the looming threat rising in the Middle East.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Learn more about or purchase Tea With Hezbollah at RandomHouse.com.