Martyrs
Prayer
Warriors
Welcome
From Islam to Christ
A testimony of love and dedication bound to inspire you by Timothy
Abraham
I have to admit, first and foremost, that I am grateful to God's saints in
the WMU for their labor of love to get the Gospel proclaimed to Muslims,In
fact, I am indebted to each member of the WMU, exactly as the apostle Paul
felt when he said in Romans 1:14, "I am a debtor both to Greeks and to
barbarians, both to wise and to unwise."
It was a young man from Pennsylvania who shared Christ with me while I tried
to convert him into Islam. Right after my conversion I was baptized secretly
in Cairo. Filled with the joy of salvation I could not hide or deny Christ
anymore. Therefore, when my childhood friend asked me if Christ was
crucified, I answered, "Yes!" and explained why. He prayed with me, for the
first time, to receive Christ. He was shaking vehemently and perspiring
profusely every time he prayed with me. He could see how mighty the name of
our Lord Jesus was.
My former leaders in the Islamic fanatical group, desiring to know who
the spearhead was, threatened to kill him if he would not tell them
everything about my evangelism. Sadly, he betrayed me and I was beaten up in
front of the mosque where I had formerly preached Islam zealously. In their
sight I was a blasphemous infidel who deserved to be killed unless I would
recant. They regarded my conversion as the most horrendous form of
desecrating Islam and the Quran.
Since my secret conversion was now made to the public and Muslims plotted to
kill me, I had to flee. I was hunted by Muslims from my village in the
Delta, to Ismalia until I arrived in Cairo where my Christian friends lived.
Yet Christians were not willing to shelter me and I had to go back to the
village, seeking refuge in His protective hands. I came back from Cairo and
found an angry mob of Muslims filling up our house. My mother was wearing
the garment of mourning, dressed in black as is the custom in Egypt. Muslim
women yelled at me, "Your mother doesn't deserve all this from you. Why
cause her all this grief" Another woman lamented, "Poor mother! Her son left
her for the Christian infidels. If I were her, I would kill my son for
running after the infidels like a dog." I received a letter from a friend in
Jordan who reported that my father was walking down the streets in Jordan
weeping bitterly as Muslim laborers there reproached him severely. He stayed
sick in bed for a month because of this until he and I talked on the phone.
It is absolutely unforgettable that outraged Muslims broke into our house
barbarically. My mother knelt down at the feet of our neighbor "Sayed"
begging him to spare my life and kill her instead. In such indescribable
agony, my mother disowned and disinherited me before all people in my
village. I love my mother more dearly than any person in this world, but no
human power, regardless of how gigantic it is, can separate me from the love
of Christ. I will always live for Jesus.
For the first time in my life, my Bible, all my Christian books, and music
tapes were confiscated and burnt. I decided to flee from the Delta region to
Cairo. Even though the police were tracking me down, the Lord blinded their
eyes and protected me. In Cairo, I was hiding at Mounir's, an Egyptian
Baptist friend who was comforting me all the time. I broke down when he
read, "So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Acts 5:41).
I am grateful to God for providing this Baptist friend who discipled me,
teaching me to live a victorious life affluent in worship and thanksgiving.
He gave me a pocket Arabic New Testament and told me frankly that his parent
s were afraid that if they continued to hide me they would be in jail
forever. I had nowhere to go. So, upon the advice of my secret pastor, I
went back to the village, hiding the Arabic New Testament in my socks,
praying that it would not fall. I was eventually arrested and released
repeatedly. I learned what it means to have God as my only Hiding Place. In
prison, my Savior knows I have come to experience true peace. I was not
shaken because I saw Christ in prison, not myself. I sang songs of joy in
the midst of tears, anticipating the shining Morning Star to come and
deliver me. I decided to hide the Bible in a place where the police cannot
confiscate it---in my heart by memorizing it.
I have since made it a habit to sleep with my Bible by my side. Five
years later, I managed to flee Muslims' attempt to kill me just to find that
there are some professing Christians in America who attack the inerrancy of
the Bible for which I was willing to die. What a scandalous thing!
When I went to give my mother a Mother's Day gift, she asked me
rhetorically, "Mother's Day gift?" I answered, "Yes" every time she
repeated the question. She looked at me with such crushing grief and
said, "My son, whom I waited 15 years to have and finally was born is now
dead. I disown you till the day of judgment, Ibrahim."
I cried but Christ touched my heart and said, "I am your family now! I am
your father, brother, mother, sister, friend, and everything to you,
Timothy, now."
I cannot forget those days when my mother would call the police to arrest
me. She even went to a witch to put a curse on me and bring me back to the
fold of Islam. The witch said, "Your son is following a path which he will
never forsake and he will be victorious all his life as long as he walks in
it."
These words, from the mouth of a witch, brought my younger brother to know
Christ. The testimony of demons about our victorious Lord renders skepticism
and unbelief absurd.
I decided to move to Cairo which was not any safer. The last time the
police had arrested me they said, "According to us, you are an infidel who
has committed high treason. Next time we arrest you, it will be capital
punishment." To make it worse, the "Christian" landlord told me he could not
shelter a fugitive criminal anymore. I was not welcome in my own country
anymore. Nevertheless, the Lord intervened, and a Palestinian evangelist,
Anis Sharrosh, introduced me to Dr. Paige Patterson. At first, I was denied
the visa, but Dr. Patterson did not give up. Finally, I was granted an entry
visa, and I was supernaturally able to leave Egypt.
If it had not been for Dr. Patterson, I would have been history today. I
was scheduled to be executed, and God saw that He had more work for me to
do. So, he used Dr. Patterson in supernaturally rescuing my life. I was
scared of coming to the seminary when I was in Egypt because I did not want
to begin in the Spirit and be made perfect by the flesh. My heart was
finally reassured when I saw the burning embers of revival being kindled. My
own family disowned me, but Dr. Patterson has become my father and Dr.Mrs.
Patterson my mother. I am grateful to God for my new family. Please pray for
our seminary, my home now.
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