Bassam, an ex-Muslim who lives in the Arabian Peninsula, faced severe persecution after leaving Islam and sharing his faith. He was rejected by his family, lost his home, was physically assaulted and imprisoned.
Despite these tragic situations, the ex-Muslim continues to share the gospel, and now his daughter has turned to Christ as well.
“For many years, I was spiritually asleep. I didn’t know the truth of who God is.
But once I found Christ, I could not stay silent,” Bassam said in a video that was posted byThe Voice of the Martyrs.
“I had to tell people about Jesus. When I told my wife, she kicked me out
of the apartment. She will not let me see my daughters very often. My brothers-
in-law beat me often, but I will not turn back to Islam. I gave a Bible to my
sister, and one of my daughters now walks with Christ. No matter what happens
to me, I will tell people about Jesus.”
As the world celebrated International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians
on November 1, The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian missions organization, highlighted Bassam’s story. International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians is an annual global day of prayer, sponsored and promoted by organizations like VOM. It is a day in which churches, small groups, and individual believers around the world unite in prayer for Christians who face danger, discrimination, imprisonment, or violence because of their faith.
While some congregations may centre their services around the day, other
believers use the time to be in prayer on behalf of their fellow Christians who
are forced to conceal their religious identity.
Todd Nettleton, vice president of message for VOM in the USA,
and host of The Voice of the Martyrs Radio, told The Christian Post that the
video with Bassam, is intended to enlighten Christians to the plight of many of their brothers and sisters in Christ.
“I think it’s easy for the average American Christian to say, ‘God bless
persecuted Christians,’ but in their mind they don’t have a clear picture of, you
know, what does that look like? What are they enduring? What is their life
like?” he said “And so the video is really an effort to just say, ‘Hey, these are
the kind of people we’re praying for.’”
“He has given up everything and yet says, I can’t stop talking about Jesus.”
He also stated, “Those are the kind of men and women that we’re praying for this
weekend and hopefully praying for throughout the year.”
To help churches commemorate the day, VOM offered free resources to assist
participating believers. It also hosted a 24-hour prayer event on social media in
which a new prior request from prosecuted Christians were shared each hour.
