{"id":55315,"date":"2025-08-26T14:00:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T05:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=55315"},"modified":"2025-08-26T14:01:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T05:01:18","slug":"vomk-report-362","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2025\/08\/26\/vomk-report-362\/","title":{"rendered":"NORTH AFRICA: \u201cI WOULD RATHER THAT MY DAUGHTER BECOME A PROSTITUTE THAN A CHRISTIAN\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55310″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”The North Africa region has one of the highest concentration of Muslims in the world, with some countries\u2019 Muslim population exceeding 99%. But according to Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley, God is not silent in those places. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left|color:%23111111″ google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” css=”” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cChrist makes himself known in the North Africa region in a variety of ways,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cOur contacts there say that people there learn about Christ through social media, or through dreams.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]But Representative Foley says one of the main ways Christ has made himself known for more than two decades is through the ministry of \u201cPastor Joe\u201d (name changed for security reasons).<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Pastor Joe<\/span> is originally from the sub-Saharan Africa region, where more than 60 percent of the population is Christian,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cBut because of war, he emigrated as a student to a country in North Africa <\/span>with a Muslim population<\/span> of more than 99 percent.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]She says that <\/span>a<\/span>s Joe shared his Christian faith with <\/span>fellow <\/span>students, God gave him a passion to lead <\/span>North A<\/span>f<\/span>ricans <\/span>to Christ and then disciple<\/span> them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Joe soon changed the focus of his studies to Christian theology and eventually became a pastor<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Much of his ministry work now involves training Christian leaders and teaching new Christians how to follow Christ in this restricted nation.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55313″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says that t<\/span>hough <\/span>the North Africa region\u2019s <\/span>Christian history <\/span>dates back to<\/span> the early church, today there are few churches or Christians in the country. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>The gospel is still opposed by many Muslims, and Christian converts from Islam often <\/span>have to <\/span>conceal their new faith from even their closest relatives<\/span>,\u201d she says<\/span>.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>That<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>why they need help from people like Pastor Joe.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor <\/span>Joe and his church help many new Christians who are rejected by their families for leaving Islam. <\/span>He recently shared with V<\/span>o<\/span>ice of the Martyrs about one such person<\/span>\u2014<\/span>a young North African woman who accepted Christ and went home without realizing the difficulties her newfound faith would create for her with her family. Pastor Joe told Voice of the Martyrs, <\/span>\u201cJoyfully, without anyone warning her, as soon as she arrived back <\/span>home<\/span> she started telling people, \u2018I discovered Jesus. <\/span>I\u2019ve<\/span> become a believer.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The young woman\u2019s Muslim family was angry about her conversion. <\/span>Pastor Joe said that t<\/span>he girl\u2019s mother told her, \u201cI would rather that my daughter became a prostitute than a Christian.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Then, other relatives started attacking her. \u201cThe whole family came against her,\u201d <\/span>Pastor <\/span>Joe <\/span>told V<\/span>o<\/span>ice of the Martyrs<\/span>. \u201cThey started insulting her and beating her, and one night they just threw her outside [in her] pajamas. She ran away, and I am glad we were there to receive her and help.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55307″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”The North African nation where Pastor Joe lives is 99% Muslim.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cYou can\u2019t really imagine what the people here endure,\u201d <\/span>Pastor Joe told Voice of the Martyrs. <\/span>\u201cIf you are identified as a Christian, you are [treated like] someone who has leprosy.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor Joe told Voice of the Martyrs that <\/span>family members often hide their conversion to Christianity from other family members.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard a story where the husband was trying to hide his Christian faith,\u201d <\/span>Pastor <\/span>Joe said, \u201cand his wife became a believer without knowing that the husband was a believer. She was also hiding her Christian faith. Later the two met in a Christian service. You can imagine it was <\/span>a great day<\/span> for them.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]According to Representative Foley, Pastor <\/span>Joe<\/span> is in danger every day because his work is among Muslims who convert to Christianity, which is against the law in North African countries<\/span>. <\/span>\u201c<\/span>Muslims try to <\/span>intimidate <\/span>Pastor Joe and his church members in order to stop them from converting more Muslims.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> She says that <\/span>someone has left threatening messages on the church door <\/span>and <\/span>also<\/span> smashed <\/span>church <\/span>members\u2019 car windows.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are afraid,\u201d <\/span>Pastor <\/span>Joe admitted<\/span> to Voice of the Martyrs<\/span>. \u201c<\/span>We are exposed<\/span>, so <\/span>there are <\/span>many times we start a day, but we don\u2019t know how the day will end.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55304″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Pastor Joe (on left) is passionate about sharing the gospel. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0101|line_height:1.45em” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Still, <\/span>Pastor <\/span>Joe <\/span>told V<\/span>o<\/span>ice of the Martyrs that <\/span>encouragement from <\/span>Christians <\/span>around<\/span> the world <\/span>has helped him and his congregation persevere and continue in the ministry to which the Lord has called them. \u201cIt is good<\/span> to help the <\/span>Christians <\/span>here <\/span>who are <\/span>going through hardships know that they are not alone,\u201d he said. \u201cThe body of Christ is not a theory; it is true, it is a reality. [We are] the family of God, and we need to help each other.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\u201cNo single believer I know <\/span>[here in North Africa] <\/span>ever told me it is easy,\u201d <\/span>Pastor <\/span>Joe said.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Pastor <\/span>Joe said the local church is growing, and he requests prayer that the Lord will sustain him as he points others to <\/span>\u201c<\/span>living water in the North African desert<\/span>\u201d<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Representative Foley says Voice of the Martyrs posts urgent prayer requests for Christians <\/span>like <\/span>Ps. Joe<\/span> on its website at <\/span><\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/prayer\/urgent\/<\/span><\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55310″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”The North Africa region has one of the highest concentration of Muslims in the world, with some countries\u2019 Muslim population exceeding 99%. But according to Voice …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":55311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55315"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55317,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55315\/revisions\/55317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}