Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBecause I could not put it down until I'd finished it, I've awarded it five stars.
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2017
Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America
Ms. Gabriel was born a Christian in Lebanon to a mom in her 50s. The mom and her husband had been trying for decades to conceive. Although she was not a boy, the preferred gender in her community, her parents adored her.
Her dad was a well-off, retired government employee, and the three of them enjoyed a truly blissful, idyllic life together in their little village.
"Marjayoun was a small, peaceful town ... with about three thousand citizens. There were Catholic and Protestant churches and a cemetery. The church bells rang for services, prayers, weddings, and funerals. We had a town center where we did most of our shopping, and one movie theater, which doubled as a place for community activities and school stage productions. There was a Catholic school, a private school, and public elementary and high schools. Some people were farmers who worked the fields down in the valley. Some were businessmen who had hardware stores, grocery stores, clothing stores, beauty parlors, and restaurants. We had an elected city council and mayor. It was a close-knit country town that you might drive through in five minutes."
Each and every day, when Brigitte would return to her home, both parents would be waiting for her, with open arms, on the balcony of their beautiful home--even during a blizzard.
In the evenings, the three of them would sleep together in the one room that had the kerosene heater--her perfumed mother hugging and kissing her on the one side, and her dad with the rough whiskers dong the same on the other.
"They sang me a lullaby. I could smell Mama’s perfume on her neck as I snuggled and gave her little kisses that made her hold me tighter. Her hair tickled my face as she moved, and I could hear the smile in her voice. I could feel Papa’s big fingers running through my hair and the stubble on his cheek as he gently kissed me. Our nightly ritual closed with their telling me, 'We love you higher than the skies, deeper than the oceans, and bigger than the whole wide world.'"
Lebanon was the richest country in the Middle East. Christians and Muslims lived together in harmony. However, as time passed, Brigitte became aware of the dark side of multiculturalism.
"We were so deluded with our multiculturalism that we did not realize the risk of losing the very culture we prided ourselves on having. We did not realize that the intolerant Islamic side of our culture was gaining strength on the back of our Western openness and pride in diversity. With our open-border policy, we unwittingly allowed what would turn out to be our enemy to infiltrate our society to plot and fight with radicals within to gain control of our government. .... The problems started in 1968, shortly after Lebanon accepted its second wave of Palestinian refugees."
At the age of ten, when the first barrage of rockets was launched by the Muslims, one exploded on their balcony. Another landed in Brigitte's bedroom, severely wounding her. “I woke up from the dream of a perfect childhood and found myself in a hellish nightmare."
The remainder of the book is mostly devoted to describing the terror of she, her parents and their longtime friends all living together in a 10-foot x 12-foot bomb shelter.
Toward the end of this time, when her mother becomes severely wounded and is dying from severe blood loss, a neighbor volunteers to drive Brigitte and her mom to an Israeli hospital across the southern border of Lebanon. As a result of what turns out to be a three week stay, Brigitte learns that Israelis--the first she had ever met--are nothing like she had been told in Lebanon. Instead, they are the kindest and most generous people she had ever known.
Because of her experiences with professional women in the hospital, Brigitte becomes aware that, despite being a woman, she too has the potential to become a professional--and does so. I'll stop here so as not to ruin the story for others.
As is obvious from the cover of her book, Ms. Gabriel is very concerned not to say terrified that Americans are going to become aware of the dangers of large-scale Islamic immigration to the US only when it is too late for them to avoid the fate that she experienced in Lebanon. 
