Yusef Almohana was born in Kuwait and has lived most of his life in the Gulf State as a devout Muslim. Today, he calls himself Naftali Ben-Yehuda, defines himself as a Jew, and would like to live in Israel. 

In a recent interview, which he gave in fluent Hebrew on the Israeli television station Kan, Ben-Yehuda spoke about his aspirations to one day officially convert to Judaism and even make aliya. He talked about his childhood and how he was taught to hate Jews and Israel. Most Muslims in the Middle East are brainwashed from an early age to believe that the Jewish people are their worst enemies.

The day after the interview was broadcast, Kuwaiti’s Ministry of Interior revoked Ben-Yehuda’s citizenship. They offered no explanation or legal argument for so doing.

For the past five years, Ben-Yehuda has been leading a secret life as a Jew right under the noses of his family, and even his parents. After having his citizenship taken away, he fled to the UK, where he contacted the Jewish community to begin his conversion to Judaism.

Many Muslims in the Arab world claim that they have no problem with the Jewish religion, insisting that the real culprit and cause of all their troubles is Zionism and the Zionist State of Israel. There is no doubt, however, that revoking Ben-Yehuda’s citizenship simply because he expressed a desire to learn about the Jewish faith reveals how most Muslim really feel about Jews, and their religion. There is no evidence at all to support the Arab assertion that Ben-Yehuda’s connections with Israel are the problem. Rather, this incident exposes the true face of the antisemitism that permeates all Muslim states.

That a Muslim who wants to become a Jew has no place in these countries or societies speaks volumes.

Is it good for a Muslim to become a Jew? I guess it depends on where you live.