A young man’s moving story of war, friendship, and hope in which he recounts his harrowing escape from a brutal civil war in Yemen with the help of a daring plan engineered on social media by a small group of interfaith activists in the West.

Born in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen, to a pair of middle-class doctors, Mohammed Al Samawi was a devout Muslim raised to think of Christians and Jews as his enemy. But when Mohammed was twenty-three, he secretly received a copy of the Bible, and what he read cast doubt on everything he’d previously believed. After connecting with Jews and Christians on social media, and at various international interfaith conferences, Mohammed became an activist, making it his mission to promote dialogue and cooperation in Yemen.

Then came the death threats: first on Facebook, then through terrifying anonymous phone calls. To protect himself and his family, Mohammed fled to the southern port city of Aden. He had no way of knowing that Aden was about to become the heart of a north-south civil war, and the battleground for a well-funded proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. As gunfire and grenades exploded throughout the city, Mohammed hid in the bathroom of his apartment and desperately appealed to his contacts on Facebook.

Miraculously, a handful of people he barely knew responded. Over thirteen days, four ordinary young people with zero experience in diplomacy or military exfiltration worked across six technology platforms and ten time zones to save this innocent young man trapped between deadly forces— rebel fighters from the north and Al Qaeda operatives from the south.

The story of an improbable escape as riveting as the best page-turning thrillers, The Fox Hunt reminds us that goodness and decency can triumph in the darkest circumstances.

People are not born inherently evil. “The most merciful shows mercy to those who have mercy on others. Show mercy  to those on Earth, and the One above the heaven will show mercy to you.” [21:107, Quran] (page 25)

In between and prior to Mohammed finding himself right in the center of the Civil War out break between the North [The Houthis]  and the South [the AQAP generally] in Yemen–that started in 2015 and is still ongoing. He talked about his days growing up, disabled from an illness left untreated as a child, the bullying he received in school and at home by his older brother and neighborhood kids.

He talked about the shock he felt by the welcoming of others in his first Interfaith conference with YaLa Leaders  from strangers from all over the world. About the nearly immediate and consistent chain of understanding, help, friendship and aide from some of the very same people (and others he did not know) that helped to save his life on the nearly month-long journey to get out of Arden and eventually out of Yemen and to the United States.

This book depicts his life in Yemen and the dangers of the war and the terribly inhabitable conditions the millions of innocent and trapped Yemenis currently face. But it also emulates Mohammed’s bravery in his pursuit and effort he tries to achieve even though he is now in the United States. As well as the deadly risks he brought into his life when he took up activism.

Even after learning the extent to which his country was cut off from the rest of the world and knowing the dangers he faced with his own people and his own family just by talking/befriending Jewish people and Americans and advocating for interfaith/interconnected peace; Mohammed continue[d]s his work because something within him compels him to do so.

Never mind the ever present north-south/Zaidi Shi’a-led militia vs Al Qaeda push/shove power struggle and resentment that has been so deeply rooted in the hearts and sands of Yemen for decades. Honestly, I have to admit that I felt for Mohammed’s cause and desperation to help his people, but it was and is a bigger challenge for any one to attempt alone.

I enjoyed the insight and perspective this book afforded me and I enjoyed reading about Mohammed’s story as well.  It is definitely a book I would recommend to others to read as well.

Mohammed Al Samawi was born in 1986 in Yemen. In his midtwenties, he became involved in interfaith groups promoting dialogue between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In 2015, during the Yemeni Civil War, he fled from Aden to the United States. Since his entry to the United States, he has worked for several NGOs that promote peace and religious tolerance.

Follow him on Twitter.