Jihadi Who Turned To Jesus

(The following is a condensation of an article from the New York Times, March 24, 2017.)

Today, 22 Christian refugees, many with Islamic names, gather in an apartment basement in Istanbul. They refer to their 25-year-old host as a terrorist because he once was one.

Not only have his beliefs changed, but also his temperament. Nadia, his wife, confirms that he is “much better to be around.”

Less than four years ago he fought on the front lines of the Syrian civil war for the Nusra Front, an offshoot of Al Qaeda. He is, he says, a jihadi who turned to Isa.

Becoming a Jihadi

Anas grew up in a Muslim family in northern Syria. A cousin took him to hear extreme jihadist teachers when he was 15. He joined the Kurdish forces in 2011.

The brutality he witnessed on the front line re-energized his interest in the extremist version of Islam.  “When I saw all those dead bodies,” he said, “it made me believe all those things they said in the lectures.” 

In 2012, he defected to the Nusra Front, where he continued to witness extreme brutality. His colleagues executed several captives by crushing them with a bulldozer. “. . . I looked on these executions positively.”

Killing and the Nusra Front

One day he saw Syrian government soldiers executing a line of prisoners with a bulldozer.  He concluded there was little difference between their behavior and that of his colleagues.

Disenchanted, he deserted Nusra. “I went to Nusra in search of my God, but after I saw Muslims killing Muslims. I realized there was something wrong.” Please send us an email with your opinion of killing in Islamic teaching.

A Miracle Leads to a Conversion

In 2015, Anas’s wife fell seriously ill. He described her condition in a phone call with his cousin—the same cousin who had taken him to jihadist lectures as a teenager. The cousin had become a Christian.

His cousin asked Anas to place his telephone close to his wife so that his prayer group could pray for her health. Anas initially refused. But he was also desperate and eventually gave in.

When his wife improved within a few days, Anas ascribed it to his cousin’s intervention. He asked his cousin to recommend a follower of Isa Al-Masih to help him. He soon became a follower of Isa.

Dreams about Jesus

As they began to consider leaving Islam, his wife dreamed of a person who used heavenly powers to divide the waters of the sea. Anas interpreted this as a sign of encouragement from Isa Al-Masih.

Then, Anas himself dreamed Isa had given him some chickpeas. The pair felt loved. Isa wants to change your life too. Please email us if you have ever had a dream about Jesus.

[We invite you to visit us at https://www.isaandislam.com/way-of-salvation to learn more about God’s gift of Salvation. God loves you and waits to hear from you. Isa clearly said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Injil, John 14:6). For a deeper understanding of Isa, we suggest you subscribe to “Isa, Islam, and Al-Fatiha” at this link.]

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SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW

We encourage our readers to comment on the article above. Comments that don’t directly relate to the topic will be removed. Please start a dialogue with us by focusing on one of the following questions:

1. What do you feel was the main reason Anas became a follower of Isa Al-Masih?
2. What do you feel when you hear about religious people killing other religious people?
3. Have you ever prayed to Isa Al-Masih for help in any life situation? Tell us about it.

If you have a question regarding this article, please contact us by clicking this link.