Brigitte Gabriel grew up in an underground bomb shelter in Lebanon, hiding from radical Islamic terrorists because she was a Christian.

Last night, she spoke to a full auditorium in the Thomas Building about her views on Middle Eastern issues, drawing from personal experience growing up in war-torn Lebanon.

Gabriel, who is now a best-selling author and director of the American Congress for Truth, warned Penn State students that terrorists are their neighbors, too.

The problem began when Palestinians moved to her home, she said.

"Once they put their heads together with the Muslims, they declared war on the Christians," she said.

She said her family survived for years by eating the grass that grew outside their shelter and crawling beneath sniper fire to collect water from a spring.

"What used to be a five minute walk took five to six hours of crawling in a ditch," she said. "I lived in pitch darkness night and day, underground, from the age of 10 to 17."

Gabriel said she did not become truly aware of the political situation until she traveled to an Israeli hospital to seek treatment for her injured mother because Yassir Arafat controlled the Lebanese media.

She vowed to return to Israel and three years later, moved there to work as a journalist.

"As I reported world events, I realized the names of the perpetrators of terrorism were always Muslim," she said. "And the names of the victims were always Jews and Christians."

Gabriel said her childhood's regional problem has now become a world problem.

"Hamas is not Israel's problem," she said. "I have news for you - Hamas is America's problem."

Hamas, a terrorist organization and political party in the Middle East, has cells in over 40 American states, she claimed.

"We need to take political correctness and throw it in the garbage where it belongs," Gabriel said. "Hate education is being taught in American mosques today."

She said we need to challenge

moderate Muslims to stand up against radical violence.

"At this point, the silence is deafening," she said. "It is going to get worse until the Muslim community does something to show us they are on our side."

After speaking for about 30 minutes, Gabriel answered questions from the audience about Middle Eastern and terrorism issues.

She said that if the United States withdraws from Iraq, Iran will take it over and in a flash, there will be Islamic governments "from India to the Mediterranean."

Elliot Liberman (graduate-industrial engineering) said he came to hear a lesser-known side of the story.

"It is great to hear someone from Lebanon with a point of view different from the propaganda we get from the media," he said.

Daniel Michelson-Horowitz (senior-biochemistry) said Gabriel brings light to issues students need to discuss.

"You do not have to agree with everything she says, but you cannot argue with her experience," he said. "She suffered for years and now has the unique right to talk about these issues."

Tuvia Abramson is the executive director of Hillel: Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, one of several organizations that sponsored the event.

"One of the reasons we chose to have her speak was because of the timing with the conflict in Lebanon still going on," he said. "It is about dialogue, understanding each other, diversity and peace."