{"id":55519,"date":"2025-09-16T14:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T05:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=55519"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:25:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T05:25:07","slug":"vomk-report-365","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2025\/09\/16\/vomk-report-365\/","title":{"rendered":"SOMALIA: CHRISTIAN WIDOW INTERCEDES FOR HER MUSLIM ATTACKERS TO BE RELEASED FROM PRISON"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55513″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A Somalian widow who converted to Christianity and was beaten by Muslims seeking to force her to return to Islam successfully pled for the release of her attackers from prison. ” 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=””]That\u2019s 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).\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHalima\u2019s extended Muslim family includes well-known Somali political and Islamic leaders,\u201d says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr. Hyun Sook Foley. \u201cOne was a member of Parliament and another was a leader of the clan to which the country\u2019s president belonged.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Representative Foley says that Halima\u2019s connections to power were not always an advantage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Halima was a young girl, her family was forced to flee the country after civil war erupted in Somalia in the 1980s,\u201d says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a big target on us because we belonged to the clan of the leader,\u201d Halima told Voice of the Martyrs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55510″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHalima grew up as a refugee in a neighboring country, and her family was assisted by numerous aid groups over the years,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cSo, 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.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But once she was inside the church, Halima said the pastor\u2019s message touched her heart.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was talking about the fight between Jacob and Esau,\u201d she told Voice of the Martyrs. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Halima had a limited understanding of the local language, she said that God helped her understand everything the pastor said. \u201cI never heard such a story in the Quran or anywhere,\u201d Halima told Voice of the Martyrs. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After responding to the pastor\u2019s message, Halima and Bekele remained at the church for several days to receive instruction in basics of the Christian faith.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before long, Halima was telling others about Christ. \u201cI just started sharing the gospel with other people, even before being baptized,\u201d she told Voice of the Martyrs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55516″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Halima” 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=””]According to Representative Foley, Halima\u2019s extended family was shocked by her conversion and how it had changed her.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Halima visited her ailing father at the family home, her brother attacked her for sharing her Christian faith with his daughter,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cHe even fired a handgun at Halima, and she had to escape through a window.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTwo days later, she received the news that her husband\u2019s plane had crashed into the ocean, killing him and everyone else onboard,\u201d says Representative Foley.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Halima traveled to Ivory Coast to identify her husband\u2019s body. \u201cIt was a very difficult time,\u201d she told Voice of the Martyrs, \u201cbut because I clung to God, I survived.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Halima\u2019s heartbreak continued after she returned home, when her family members refused to join her in observing a customary three days of mourning. \u201cNot even a single person from my family came to comfort me when my husband died,\u201d she told Voice of the Martyrs. \u201cBecause I rejected Allah, Allah killed my husband; that is what they said.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Halima\u2019s Muslim family expected her to abandon the Christian faith after such an agonizing loss. But the loss drew Halima closer to Christ.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Halima\u2019s husband was alive, she often sang while he played guitar, and afterward he would preach,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cFollowing his death, she began to write and record worship music.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, she compiled her Somali worship songs into an album, something unique in a culture where only 1% are Christians.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen her family heard her music, they considered it blasphemous,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cOne 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.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”55517″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Halima befriends refugee women on the streets and in shops, asking about their problems and sharing how the Lord helped her during times of trouble” 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=””]As the officer took the attackers to jail, Halima went home to recover. But when she got there, she sensed God speaking to her. \u201cI knelt down and was praying,\u201d she told Voice of the Martyrs. \u201cGod told me, \u2018Go back to the place and help them be released.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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. \u201cI fell down at his feet and asked him to release them,\u201d 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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHalima,\u201d he said, \u201cI don\u2019t want to beat you. Today I came for a different reason.\u201d He then told her that he had struggled to sleep for six weeks following his release from jail, until he finally became a Christian.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI, myself, accepted Christ,\u201d he told her, \u201cand now my village is saved!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause she is also displaced, they share many of the same struggles and sorrows,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cMany 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.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think clinging to the Lord is the best thing to survive,\u201d Halima told Voice of the Martyrs. \u201cI don\u2019t consider myself a widow now; I believe that Jesus is with me.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More information about persecuted Christians in Somalia is available at <\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/country-profile\/SOMALIA\/<\/span><\/a>[\/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=”55513″ img_size=”full” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”A Somalian widow who converted to Christianity and was beaten by Muslims seeking to force her to return to Islam successfully pled for the release of …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":55512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55519","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\/55519","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=55519"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55521,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55519\/revisions\/55521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}