Ibrahim* was a Muslim man who lived in Algeria. One day he met a man who told him about Jesus. After meeting with a local pastor, Ibrahim decided to become a Christian.
Afraid of the consequences, Ibrahim didn’t tell his wife and children about his new faith. He knew they would be taken away from him if anyone found out he had become a Christian. “After being a believer for some time, I felt I had to be open about my faith,” Ibrahim said. He decided to tell his father first.
“My father just stared at me and kept silent for about 15 minutes… Then he rose from his chair and gathered all my brothers and sisters. They came to the house and my brothers started beating me. They shouted: ‘You will renounce your faith.’”
Ibrahim’s children begged him to deny Jesus.
“Daddy, daddy, please renounce your Christian faith, return to Islam, so you can always be our father,” they said.
Ibrahim turned to his children, bleeding and bruised. “It was so hard to hear them saying that… But I couldn’t renounce Jesus, I couldn’t renounce my faith. I said to my children: ‘I love you, I love you, but I love Jesus more.’”
Ibrahim’s family threw him out of the house.
For three months, Ibrahim lived with his pastor, studied the Bible and learnt what it looked like to live as a Christian.
Image: The streets of Algiers, the capital of Algeria.
To his surprise, Ibrahim’s father told him to return to his wife and children.
“I was able to rent a house somewhere else, and I found work,” Ibrahim said. “I am so happy that they live with me again.”
Ibrahim’s pastor explained to us what normally happens when Muslims discover Jesus.
“As soon as they have a Bible, they study the Bible,” he said. “There is a lot of suffering, especially for those who lose their family. I sometimes don’t find the words to comfort and encourage them. That is the burden we bear here in Algeria.”
Image: Studying the Bible in Algeria.
Providing the Algerian church with the Word of God allows pastors to encourage those suffering for their faith. A Bible can transform lives and strengthen Muslim background believers who have lost everything for following Jesus.