The Fox Hunt: An Evening with Mohammed Al Samawi - Vail Symposium

Mohammed Al Samawi’s improbable story of survival is captured in the 2019 book “The Fox Hunt,” which earned that year’s Nautilus Book Award and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards. Raised a devout Muslim to fear and despise Christians and Jews, a secret opportunity to read the Bible rattled his faith. Curiosity led him to interfaith communities and open dialogue with Christians and Jews which inspired his mission to catalyze cooperation in Yemen.

The civil war in 2015 exacerbated the factional divides and placed Al Samawi in the crosshairs of militants. Death threats forced him to leave his hometown and escalation forced him to seek a life outside of his home country. An interfaith group of strangers coordinated his escape and opened the door to his future.

In 2019, he founded Abrahamic House on the belief that nothing replaces human-to-human connection and that it is possible to change an individual’s harmful prejudices which leads to a restorative and empowering shift in their community. His interfaith activism transforms communities around solidarity and service.