AS MORE KOREANS BECOME MUSLIM, MORE MUSLIMS ARE BECOMING CHRISTIAN—AND PAYING THE PRICE
A reported 45,000 ethnic Koreans have now converted to Islam, but in the Arab Peninsula conversion is happening in the opposite direction. According to Voice of the Martyrs Korea, an estimated 2 million to 7 million Muslims worldwide have converted to Christianity in the past two decades. Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley says many of them are paying a steep price for their new faith. The ministry has released a new video on the persecution that these “Muslim Background Believers” are facing, and they’re calling for special prayers on their behalf on the first two Sundays in November. It’s all part of the annual worldwide International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) campaign in which an estimated 100,000 churches in 130 countries worldwide are expected to participate.
“One of the most frequently mentioned reasons Koreans give for converting to Islam is marriage,” says Representative Foley. “But in the Arabian Peninsula, when Muslims convert to Christianity they are often rejected by their spouses and forced to leave home.” She says the free IDOP video Voice of the Martyrs Korea is making available tells the true story of a man named Bassam, whose family disowned him and whose wife left him when he converted from Islam to Christianity.
“My wife hates me. My father disowned me,” says Bassam in the video. “When I told my wife [about Jesus], she kicked me out of our apartment. She will not let me see my daughters very often.” But Bassam goes on to share that his sister and one of his daughters have now become Christian as a result of his sharing the Bible with them. “Pray for those of us who leave Islam to follow Christ,” Bassam requests. “Pray that we know Christ is near when we are rejected and beaten.”
The video is available for free at www.vomkorea.com/en/idop. Visitors can also download a free PowerPoint presentation matching the video to help guide church congregations, small groups, families, and individuals in how to pray effectively for persecuted Christians.
Screenshot of the IDOP website page – www.vomkorea.com/en/idop
“In the Arabian Peninsula, when men and women leave Islam to follow Christ, the first opposition they face is often from family members, but the opposition doesn’t end there,” says Representative Foley. “Our Christian brothers and sisters are shamed and rejected by the society at large. Many churches are cautious about inviting former Muslims to join them because the churches themselves can then also become targets for persecution. As a result, Muslim Background Believers in the Arabian Peninsula are usually extremely isolated. But Christians like Bassam continue to serve as faithful witnesses to Christ and the gospel, even though they pay a high price. That’s why we want to encourage Korean Christians to join Christians in more than 130 countries around the world to pray for these Muslim Background Believers and other persecuted Christians on November 1 and 8, the International Days of Prayer for Persecuted Christians.”