Tea with Hezbollah

I'm learning more and more each day that the conflicts and emotions in the Middle East run deeper and more complex than rhetoric around a table at the United Nations can ever hope to resolve. Ted Dekker's "Tea With Hezbollah" may be this popular fiction writer's best work yet...and it's not a work of fiction...allegedly!

In case you're wondering, I've intentionally relegated the role of Carl Madearis--the apparent co-author--to one of insignificance, since his only really evident contribution to the book are a few questions he asks along the course of the journey. My feeling is that this exonerates him from taking any blame for the anti-climactic ending to the work, as well as from taking any credit for the brilliant script of Nicole's story.

Yeah. Nicole's story is really troublesome! You see, it forms the skeleton around which the meat of the book is built. Nicole's story introduces us to the seemingly elusive "Samaritan" in the person of Akram, the scorned and rejected Druze. It's a nail-biting tale, with more twists and turns than the switchbacks on Pikes Peak. The only trouble is; Nicole's story is completely ficticious!

Dekker informs us of this fact only in the last couple of pages, and it feels like a punch in the proverbial gut. He, apparently believes the blow is softened simply because he tells us that if we'd looked carefully we'd have found subtle hints attesting to this fact throughout the story, but that is at best a weak sell and at worst a willfull, albeit subtle deception.

I bought this book because it paraded itself as a journey of discovery in which he relates true stories of his rather eye opening Middle East adventure. Nicole's story is argably the strongest story in the book...yet it's a work of fiction. It's like going on a blind date set up by a trusted friend who tells you how gorgeous your date is, only for you to discover the exact opposite when you arrive.

Dekker would have done well to pen Nicole's story in a fiction book that could easily have rivaled the intrigue of "Blink." I would have wholeheartedly embraced that story, and indeed given out numerous copies of said book as Christmas gifts to some of my more...shall we say insular friends. As it stands, Nicole's story simply leaves a bitter taste in my mouth because of the context in which it's told.

On a somewhat more positive note, while many critical reviews accuse Dekker of providing a less than scholarly dissertation on the problems of the Middle East, it's important to note that from the outset he makes no pretenses to this. He tells us early on in his story that he's making no claims to having a handle on the problems of the region, and offering no opinions on the interviews but simply reporting them verbatim so that the reader can make up his own mind about the information. On this point, he delivers.

In the chapter, "living Among the Enemy" Dekker intoduces us to Sami Awad, a Palestinian Christian who is a strong proponent for non-violence and the Biblical mandate to, "love your enemies." Seized, handcuffed, and thrown down by the side of a dusty road for almost an entire day for peacefully protesting the destruction of Palestinian homes simply to build vacation condos for the wealthy, Sami Assad declare;

"The sun began to set behind Bethlehem and the beams were breaking through some white and gray clouds. There was a slight and beautiful chill from the autumn air. I gave thanks for that beautiful day and for the fact that the sun does not know Palestinian from Israeli, Christian from Muslim or Jew, and Asian from American or African, and I asked myself: if the sun shines on all of us as one, how much more does the sun's creator see and love us all as one?

This to me, is the perfect climax for Dekker's tale of his search for the elusive Samaritan. It may not be worthy of an "Oscar" winning story ending, but it's true, raw, and thought provoking. Next to Nicole's story Sami's story takes the prize in my opinion. I'd still recommend Tea With Hezbollah as a good read.

It is this kind of thinking we must embrace to move toward understanding of all in order to love well and see peace in our time.

This book helped me see the complexity of the people of
the people of this region.It is so easy for a Christian
American just to see the Israeli side.I'm still pro-Israeli,but
I now have more compassion for the Arab cultures of
the region.A very good book to broaden your mind.