That’s the report from persecution ministry Voice of the Martyrs Korea, who says that event is just one of the amazing stories of faith and forgiveness in the life of Halima (name changed for security reasons).  

“Halima’s extended Muslim family includes well-known Somali political and Islamic leaders,” says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. “One was a member of Parliament and another was a leader of the clan to which the country’s president belonged.” 

But Representative Foley says that Halima’s connections to power were not always an advantage. 

“When Halima was a young girl, her family was forced to flee the country after civil war erupted in Somalia in the 1980s,” says Representative Foley.  

“There was a big target on us because we belonged to the clan of the leader,” Halima told Voice of the Martyrs.  

Halima says that for years, armed rebel groups engaged in combat with government forces, eventually overthrowing the ruling military junta. Representative Foley says that fighting between clans as well as attacks by the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab continue in Somalia. But Representative Foley says the Lord used even that fighting to bring Halima to faith in Christ. 

“Halima grew up as a refugee in a neighboring country, and her family was assisted by numerous aid groups over the years,” says Representative Foley. “So, when a pastor who had been sharing the gospel with her husband picked them up one Sunday morning and took them to a building with a fluorescent cross on it, she thought they were going to a Red Cross center.” 

But once she was inside the church, Halima said the pastor’s message touched her heart.  

“He was talking about the fight between Jacob and Esau,” she told Voice of the Martyrs. “I thought he was talking about my life. The fight in Somalia was also between family members. He was talking about the journey and how Jacob went into the desert and was sleeping on the stones. I was weeping because I identified myself in this.” 

Though Halima had a limited understanding of the local language, she said that God helped her understand everything the pastor said. “I never heard such a story in the Quran or anywhere,” Halima told Voice of the Martyrs. “I was weeping, and my husband was surprised that I was crying. I thought that everybody who came to that congregation was a displaced person like me.” 

After responding to the pastor’s message, Halima and Bekele remained at the church for several days to receive instruction in basics of the Christian faith.  

Before long, Halima was telling others about Christ. “I just started sharing the gospel with other people, even before being baptized,” she told Voice of the Martyrs.  

According to Representative Foley, Halima’s extended family was shocked by her conversion and how it had changed her.  

“When Halima visited her ailing father at the family home, her brother attacked her for sharing her Christian faith with his daughter,” says Representative Foley. “He even fired a handgun at Halima, and she had to escape through a window.”  

In the year 2000, Halima and her husband were invited to attend a training course for Christian leaders in Nigeria. When they arrived at the airport for their flight in January 2000, however, Halima was denied permission to travel. Despite their protests, Bekele had to go without her. 

“Two days later, she received the news that her husband’s plane had crashed into the ocean, killing him and everyone else onboard,” says Representative Foley.  

Halima traveled to Ivory Coast to identify her husband’s body. “It was a very difficult time,” she told Voice of the Martyrs, “but because I clung to God, I survived.” 

Halima’s heartbreak continued after she returned home, when her family members refused to join her in observing a customary three days of mourning. “Not even a single person from my family came to comfort me when my husband died,” she told Voice of the Martyrs. “Because I rejected Allah, Allah killed my husband; that is what they said.” 

Halima’s Muslim family expected her to abandon the Christian faith after such an agonizing loss. But the loss drew Halima closer to Christ. 

“When Halima’s husband was alive, she often sang while he played guitar, and afterward he would preach,” says Representative Foley. “Following his death, she began to write and record worship music.”  

Eventually, she compiled her Somali worship songs into an album, something unique in a culture where only 1% are Christians. 

“When her family heard her music, they considered it blasphemous,” says Representative Foley. “One of her brothers was so outraged that he arranged for some Muslim friends to assault her. As she was leaving a church one day, two men attacked her and began to beat her. Fortunately, a nearby police officer saw the attack and intervened.” 

As the officer took the attackers to jail, Halima went home to recover. But when she got there, she sensed God speaking to her. “I knelt down and was praying,” she told Voice of the Martyrs. “God told me, ‘Go back to the place and help them be released.’” 

In the morning, she made breakfast and took it to the station, where a senior officer told her the attackers would spend at least six years in prison. “I fell down at his feet and asked him to release them,” she said. Eventually, the officer agreed and had her sign a document consenting to their release. After signing the paper, she gave the breakfast to the two attackers and left. 

Nine months later, while visiting the same church near where she had been attacked, Halima heard someone call her name. When she turned around, she was startled to see one of her attackers facing her. 

“Halima,” he said, “I don’t want to beat you. Today I came for a different reason.” He then told her that he had struggled to sleep for six weeks following his release from jail, until he finally became a Christian. 

“I, myself, accepted Christ,” he told her, “and now my village is saved!” 

Today Halima proclaims the gospel among the thousands of displaced Somalis in East Africa, often entering small shops to speak with Somali women who work there.  

“Because she is also displaced, they share many of the same struggles and sorrows,” says Representative Foley. “Many of the women suffer from anxiety and trouble sleeping. After listening, she offers to pray for them, and to keep returning to her and letting her know if they are sleeping better. When they return, she shares the gospel with them.” 

“I think clinging to the Lord is the best thing to survive,” Halima told Voice of the Martyrs. “I don’t consider myself a widow now; I believe that Jesus is with me.”  

More information about persecuted Christians in Somalia is available at https://vomkorea.com/en/country-profile/SOMALIA/