DAWN Fridayfax 2000 #2

Middle East

Ready to pay the price?

Ibrahim Yousef James (name changed) looked at his reflection in the mirror. "Perhaps there really is something wrong with my life," he thought to himself. He was a dedicated 24-year-old Muslim, with a religious hat and a long beard as signs of his faith. He was born in India, but his family moved to Kuwait when he was 6 years old. He and his brother founded a TV production company, and he was rich by the age of 20. His TV company became the largest in Kuwait. Ibrahim studied the Koran, learning long passages by heart, gave to the poor and made seven pilgrimages to Mecca. There was only one thing he could never do right: commit suicide. He had already tried four times. "Why can't I find peace?" he asked himself over and over.

The God who speaks

In 1985, he studied in Europe. During the last week of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, he could not sleep. Even sleeping pills had no effect. He cried out to Allah "God, why are you punishing me?". He found a Gideon bible in his hotel room. Opening it, he discovered the words "Where to find help in a time of need" and a number of other topics, including "If you need sleep, read Psalm 4". Ibrahim was astonished. He read, and prayed "I know that there are people who believe this book. If you are the God of this book, let me fall asleep." He lay down and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. However, he soon forgot his experience. During street evangelisation, he heard Christians saying "Jesus is the only way to God, he is the Prince of Peace." Ibrahim asked "How do you know that Christianity is the only way? Or that the Bible is God's Word, not the Koran?" "If you want to know the answers to those questions, ask God. He loves you and will show you the way," he was told. "I was completely astonished. I had never heard of anyone saying that God spoke to him!" he said. For all his life, he had served a judgemental God, not a loving one. Uncomfortable, Ibrahim prayed: "God, you must be able to speak to me. If you do not, I will reject you." The five following nights, he had a dream of a very bright light in the sky. As it approached, he recognised it as a cross, then heard a voice from heaven saying "This is my way. Jesus is my son. I give you my peace, and will leave my joy with you." Ibrahim woke up, almost unable to believe it: God had spoken to him!

Peace which no man can give

"The following day, I considered the cost, what it would mean for me to follow Jesus. I knew that I would be expelled from my family. My company was in the Arab world, and it was clear that I could lose everything, including my life." He visited some other Christians of whom he had heard, and decided to follow Jesus. "From that day, a Godly joy filled my heart," he says. "Joy and a great peace..."

"Whoever leaves father and mother for my sake..."

He immediately wanted to proclaim his new faith. He called his family, who had returned to India. "You must be joking!" exclaimed his father. "No, dad, it is no joke." "Recant!" his father demanded. As Ibrahim refused, his father told him "From this moment on, we have nothing more to do with you. We do not want to hear from you. Do not write, and do not call." His family confiscated all his wealth and his company. He had nothing left. A few months later, he received a letter from his parents, telling him that his mother was ill. "You are killing her. Give up your faith." He married in 1986, and in 1987, he recieved a telegram from India, inviting him to his sister's wedding. "Do not take your wife with you," he heard God telling him. Instead, he took his brother-in-law Jim with him. When he arrived, the reception was friendly, and everything looked good for 30 minutes. Then the atmosphere changed, and the whole family started hitting and kicking him, even his mother. "Recant Christ and convert to Islam!" demanded his father. As Ibrahim again refused, his father asked "Who then will rescue you from my hand?" Ibrahim replied "My God is great enough to protect me. But I would rather die with Jesus than live on without him!" His father fetched a gun, and was about to shoot when Ibrahim's uncle knocked his arm aside. "They kept me prisoner, with guards everywhere. They destroyed my Bible, my wedding photographs and all of my books, and chased Jim out of town." Desperate, he was only able to pray under the shower. After some time, his family started to take him out on visits. Suddenly, Jesus spoke to him, telling him that the day had come for him to leave his family. "Go now!" he heard, and the moment was opportune. He could jump into a taxi and flee back to his wife.

"Now I know that your God is real"

Some years later, he was able to speak with his mother on the telephone. His sister's child lay dying. The family had been to the mosque to pray, but in vain, and the doctors had also given up hope. "What should I do?" asked Ibrahim. His mother asked him to pray, "pray in the name of Jesus for the child yourself," he replied, "and Jesus will heal her. But don't let yourself be caught, because you know what would happen." His mother prayed, and the child was miraculously healed. Ibrahim recently spoke with his father, who told him "I now know that your God is real, and that you know him, because our plans to destroy you have failed for 10 years." "The price of following Jesus is high," says Ibrahim, "but Jesus paid it!"
Source: name and address withheld

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