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| The evangelistic newspaper of the modern Jesus Army | 2000 |
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Daniel and Saeeda suffered great persecution for their faith for almost forty years in Pakistan
During a powerful revival in Pakistan in the 1950s, Daniel and his wife Saeeda found real life in Jesus. But after their new experience of repentance they were excommunicated from the traditional church.
"We started gathering in our homes, and continued to meet and worship in house meetings," Daniel recalls. "Our children were not admitted to the Schools Nursery Training and we were restricted to jobs in the Christian missionary circles."
They changed the names of their children to reflect their new-found beliefs after they came to know Jesus. As a result, they were not trusted but rather humiliated, hated and even tortured, at home, at school, and at work. From 1958 to 1972, they lived under great pressure and never knew any peace.
The police watched their movements and came to meetings to obstruct them. They were not even safe at home. "Once in the rainy season," says Daniel, "our next door neighbour went on our roof and made holes in it. During the night the rain poured on us and our younger son got a fever as a result.
"In our neighbourhood we were always in danger. Whenever we held a prayer meeting in our open yard, 20 or 30 men would congregate on the other side of the wall, armed with axes and sticks ready to attack us.
"On one occasion in 1972, around 50 men invaded our yard and forced their way into the house. They demolished the walls and chopped down the hedges around the house. Saeeda was at home with the children at the time and although she bravely confronted the men, they attacked her and she was badly beaten. We reported the incident to the police station but they did nothing. we had to flee at night, leaving our belongings, empty-handed."
Worse was to follow. In 1972 the Christian educational institutions were taken over by the government. "We protested by means of a peaceful procession and appeal. The police attacked with long sticks and then opened fire on us. Two of our men were murdered. I was battered about the head and was bleeding severely. After being taken to hospital I was placed under house arrest, and later taken to the central jail and locked up for a month. All over Pakistan, Christians were jailed and false charges were brought against them. Women were abducted and raped, men were tortured and abused.
"In jail ten of us shared a cell 1.3m (4ft 4in) wide and 2.7m (9ft) long. We slept with our feet up against the wall. But we praised and sang morning and evening and many other prisoners were pleased to hear us. It was an amazing time!"
On yet another occasion, 15 men came ready to attack Daniel. When he went outside he seemed to them to be bathed in light. They could not harm him and he went away peacefully. "I felt like Daniel in the lion's den - their mouths were stopped!"
After living through such persecution for 36 years, Daniel and Saeeda came to visit their family in the UK in 1990. They met some Jesus Army members in Luton and soon fell in love with the Fellowship.
"We were loved, respected, taken care of, and we forgot all our rejection and the bad days," says Daniel. They became members of the Jesus Fellowship and then returned to Pakistan. Once more they faced persecution and decided to come back to Britain in 1994.
Now, as Daniel says, "We have known the blessing and protection of God over many years. Now we are grateful to be able to worship freely in spirit and truth."
This article has been extracted from Streetpaper, published by Jesus Fellowship
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