It is always a great miracle when a Muslim hears the gospel and believes it. The probability that Daniel* would ever hear the gospel was close to zero. But God opened the way for him to light and truth. When this led to shunning by the community, loneliness and near death, Daniel got help from his local church and Open Doors. Returning to Islam is not an option for him.
Daniel has just arrived from a job interview and is visibly relieved. He graduated from nursing school some time ago and now he has good news: the hospital had called and offered him a job. “It’s very rare,” he says. Nurses who graduate from school usually wait a long time before finding work in their field. For Daniel, work is an answer to prayer and an opportunity to practice what he has learned.
The search for truth led to conversion
Daniel had always been a staunch Muslim. His journey to becoming a follower of Christ began when one of his fellow students had received a New Testament and accidentally brought it to the mosque. The leaders tried to burn it, but Daniel managed to change their minds and asked for it to be given to him to read. They gave him four days to read, but Daniel kept the book for four years.
Daniel’s goal was to read the Bible to prove that the koran was completely true. The plan failed completely. Instead, his life changed completely. “When I read the Bible, it turned out to be the opposite of what the koran taught. We were taught that the Father (Jesus) was a prophet and that he was a man. But the Bible says He is God, the Son of God and the Savior.
“At my request, a commission was formed in the mosque. Four meetings were held where twenty sheikhs and Islamic scholars discussed these issues. Finally, they concluded that I was possessed by an evil spirit and said: “You are destroying our religion. Don’t you ever show your face here again.”
Daniel ran to the nearest church and demanded a “big book with a cross” that would contain the Old Testament. “I was determined to find the truth, partly because I was hurt and angry at being scorned in such a humiliating way. That night I asked God in prayer: “Would you show me the right path? Why should I be confused and live despised?””
Daniel decided to go to the countryside for a while to pray and read the Bible. There, his blood pressure rose. Although he went to the hospital and was given medicine, it did not help.
In the Bible, Daniel read about Jesus healing the sick. “I wanted to know if it was true and went to church. People were praying for me there. When I went to the hospital again, it was found that the blood pressure had returned to normal. The headache also disappeared. The moment I was prayed for, I felt healed. Then I knew that everything I read in the Bible was definitely true.”
Conversion brought loneliness, persecution and pain
Word of Daniel’s conversion spread like wildfire in the small community. Daniel had a friend at the mosque who told him about the community plan. “In the mosque, they discussed how to separate and isolate me. After the meeting, I was immediately separated from my family and friends, a community that had respected and loved me.”
However, this was not enough for the community and it was agreed with Daniel’s father and brothers that Daniel would be killed because he had dishonored his family. When Daniel heard about this decision, he felt very alone. He had no Christian friends yet, so he fled to the forest.
“There were hyenas and other wild animals in the forest. It was very difficult. I still have a hard time talking about it. I lived there for a week. Then I gave in and said to myself: “If they kill me, let them kill me.” I decided to return to the city.”
In the city, Daniel found refuge in a church, but walking on the street he was in danger of death. “People gathered around me. Someone said, “This person has insulted prophet muhammad. Kill him!” But I managed to run away.”
When Daniel ran away, he didn’t have time to say goodbye to his mother or talk to her. Missing his mother, Daniel decided to visit her home one day, but the visit was cut short by another assassination attempt. “My father had decided to burn down the house while I was inside. My brothers went along with the plan and gathered people to make it happen.”
An old friend called Daniel and warned him. In the middle of the night, he sneaked out of the house and thus avoided a third assassination attempt. Daniel knew that his father and brothers wanted him dead, but knowing that his mother was fully aware of what was going on was a surprise. “I decided that if their cruelty can reach this far, then I have to leave the area and move elsewhere. I gave up the idea of ever living with them or seeing them again. I started planning a different life.”
The comprehensive help of the church helped to move forward
Daniel ran away again to a local church to ask for help and the church put him in touch with Open Doors. The young man wanted to start a new life and study to become a nurse. After four years, he graduated from medical school. “Your organization paid off school costs for four years. Even my rent was paid, I was also able to buy food and clothes. The coordinator of the organization treated me like his own son. He was like a father to me.”
It is a miracle that Daniel is still alive and following Jesus. Like many other young people who converted from Islam to Christianity, he too had to go through a difficult period of isolation and loneliness. Young people are most vulnerable precisely in the transition phase, when they have not yet settled into the new congregation. Without the full support of the congregation, they risk dying or reverting to Islam.
“I finished nursing school with good grades and got a job in three months. It doesn’t happen often. It’s not just about my success, it’s about your success, and I want to thank you.”
We pray that God will continue to protect Daniel. He has had to move again and start his life over. We pray that he finds a good church and friends to share his love for Jesus with.
Source and photo: Daniel: “My success is your success” | Open Doors Finland
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will .....
If you lived in his neighborhood, it would be hard not to be at least a little jealous. .....
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. .....
Our Lord Jesus said to us in very solemn words, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a .....
“I don’t need success,” Gary Wilkerson recently told a group ministers. That is an astounding statement coming from .....
“Turn away from evil, and do good, and you will live forever: for the Lord loves righteousness and .....
At KEMO's spring prayer, we talked with Rabbi Alexander Golota of the Messianic Jewish community in Uzhhorod. We .....
Every morning the Almighty awakens us to life and gives us the strength to walk the path of .....
Open Doors UK & Ireland named five countries where it is most dangerous or difficult to be a .....
Over the past month, the so-called anti-Zionist protests around the world quickly turned antisemitic. That is why we .....