The Fox Hunt

“A gripping account of terror and escape.” — New York Times Book Review

The Fox Hunt tells one young man’s unforgettable story of his harrowing escape from Yemen’s brutal civil war with the help of a daring plan engineered on social media by a small group of interfaith activists in the West.

WINNER: 2019 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS • A 2019 NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS FINALIST

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.

This gripping inspirational memoir explores:

• Interfaith Dialogue: How a devout Muslim, raised to see Jews and Christians as the enemy, secretly reads a Bible and dedicates his life to promoting understanding.
• A Harrowing Escape: The true account of being trapped in the city of Aden as Yemen’s civil war explodes, caught between Houthi rebels from the north and Al Qaeda from the south.
• An Unlikely Rescue Team: The astonishing story of four young activists across the globe who, with no military experience, use Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp to guide Mohammed to safety.
• Middle Eastern Conflict: A visceral, on-the-ground perspective of the proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the terrifying reality for civilians caught in the crossfire.
• An Unforgettable Memoir: A moving testament to the idea that goodness, courage, and a few determined friends can triumph even in the most desperate circumstances.