Originally published in The Gospel Herald
A Christian man who was once brutalised by Muslims now devotes his life to sharing the gospel with his persecutors, bringing thousands to Christ.
According to a report from Christian Aid Mission, the man, known as Brother Rachid, became a Christian at the age of 12 after hearing the gospel through a radio ministry, followed by four years of correspondence courses. Furious at their son for turning his back on the Muslim faith, Rachid’s devout parents kicked him out of his home, leaving him homeless for two years.
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Eventually, Rachid was taken in by a missionary family. However, his troubles weren’t over: the young man was forced to flee Morocco just a few years later after a radical Islamist infiltrated his house church, threatening his life.
While he and his wife, who was pregnant with their first child, were safe once they settled in their adopted country, Rachid nevertheless felt Lord calling him to go back and minister to Muslims.
Book of Acts
One day, he opened the Book of Acts, and asked, ‘Didn’t these people preaching Christ also have families? If we don’t do it, who’s going to do it?'”
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Despite opposition from his family, who feared for his life, Rachid began a programme on satellite TV in which Muslims and others call in to ask questions about Islam and Christianity. Through the broadcast, now aired for over a decade, thousands of Muslims came to Christ.
“Every Thursday at 9pm, people will call us up, some to curse us, some to give their lives to Christ — we’re fishing for all kinds of fish,” he said.
Because of his personal experiences, Rachid is all too familiar with the opposition that converts face and is able to empathise with their plight. He told the outlet that relatives of those who leave Islam in the Middle East and North Africa, first try to bargain with them, offering or withdrawing things to persuade them to return to the fold.
However, if such attempts do not work, ejection follows, sometimes violently. He recalled how, in one country in the region, the father-in-law of a Muslim woman who recently came to faith in Christ stabbed her to death after discovering her conversion through a text message she had sent. The father-in-law was convicted but sentenced to only a few months in prison because it was an “honor killing,” Rachid said.
In addition, “infidels” lose all status in Muslim culture, and cannot marry or claim inheritance, for example. Christians who are persecuted by Muslims do not have legal protection, because authorities believe that any crime befalling converts came about because “they brought it upon themselves.”
Disenchanted Muslims
When exposed to the reality of Islam, a large number of Muslims abandon the religion and become atheists, Rachid said: “As people find out what Islam really is, there are lots of people in Egypt and Saudi Arabia becoming atheists,” he said. Islam is not just a religion — it’s an ideology that encompasses every aspect of life, including political and social structures, Rachid told the outlet.
“Islam preaches violence and hatred. Besides, no one calls critics of Christianity a Christianophobe,” he added.
In an earlier report from Christian Aid Mission, a Christian ministry leader in the Kurdish Region of Iraq revealed that his ministry has been swamped with Iraqi Muslims seeking to know more about Christ and the Bible.
“As terrifying and horrifying as ISIS is, they did us a great favor because they came and have shown them all the killing, saying that it’s all in the Quran verses. So now we don’t have to say much, we just say the truth,” the director.
He said there has been a great Christian “awakening” among the Muslims in the region, adding that he has personally witnessed many such conversions.
“They’re just sick of Islam,” he said. “People are very hungry to know about Christ, especially when they hear about miracles, healing, mercy and love.”
