Article By Samantha Kamman
A former Muslim who was disowned by his father, beaten by his wife’s brothers and thrown in jail after converting to Christianity continues to share the Gospel despite losing nearly everything.
His story is at the center of this year’s International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians, as The Voice of the Martyrs calls on churches and believers to pray for Christians facing persecution around the world.
The IDOP is observed annually on the first Sunday of November. This year’s VOM prayer video features Bassam, a Christian living on the Arabian Peninsula who faced severe consequences after leaving Islam and sharing his faith.
Bassam lost his home and family relationships and was also imprisoned, yet he continues to tell others about Christ. He has also seen one of his daughters become a follower of Jesus.
“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 the video.
“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.”
Todd Nettleton, vice president of message for The Voice of the Martyrs USA and host of The Voice of the Martyrs Radio, said the video featuring Bassam is meant to help Christians better understand the people they pray for.
“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?” Nettleton told The Christian Post. “And so the video is really an effort to just say, ‘Hey, these are the kind of people we’re praying for.’”
Bassam represents the kind of believer Nettleton hopes Christians will remember not only on the IDOP, but throughout the year.
“He has given up everything and yet says, ‘I can’t stop talking about Jesus,'” VOM’s vice president of message said. “Those are the kind of men and women that we’re praying for this weekend and hopefully praying for throughout the year.”
VOM hopes every church will participate in the annual observance, although congregations may mark the day in different ways, according to Nettleton.
Some churches incorporate prayers for persecuted Christians into their regular Sunday services, while others may spend the day commemorating the persecuted or dedicate a time to pray for the fellow believers forced to worship in secret or endure hardships for their faith.
VOM has made free resources available to help churches, families and small groups participate, including Bassam’s video testimony, prayer guides, discussion materials and resources for pastors. The organization is also hosting a 24-hour prayer event on social media, sharing a new prayer request from persecuted Christians each hour.
Regarding reports of Muslims in various countries converting to Christianity as Bassam did, Nettleton credited the Holy Spirit with changing people’s hearts. He described accounts of people who experienced dreams or visions in which they encountered Jesus Christ and were directed toward Him or Scripture.
“And so, there are those amazing supernatural encounters with Christ that are leading people to faith, leading Muslims to faith in Christ,” the VOM vice president explained.
He pointed to frustration with the direction of countries governed under Islamic systems as a factor that can lead people to consider Christianity. Nettleton recalled an interview he recorded for VOM Radio with two Iranian Christians discussing how a large number of Iranians reportedly no longer identify as Muslim.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has ruled the country for over 40 years, the advocate said, stressing that many Iranians are not happy with the direction their country has gone.
“They don’t like what they see. They don’t like where their country has gone in that time,” he said. “And so they are frustrated with Islam. They are looking for something else.”
“So that is fertile soil for Gospel seeds to be planted,” Nettleton added, referring not only to Iranians, but to people in other countries who have witnessed violence from radical Islamic terrorist groups who claim they’re practicing Islam the correct way.
“I think in many ways, Muslims are coming to faith in Christ because they’re dissatisfied with what they see in Islam,” the VOM vice president contended.
In India, 13 states have anti-conversion laws that Nettleton said can make evangelism and other forms of Christian outreach difficult.
VOM’s current radio program features an Indian pastor who was arrested under one of the laws and repeatedly beaten while in prison. Despite his suffering, the pastor had opportunities to share the Gospel with fellow prisoners, Nettleton said.
Although state leaders present the laws as measures to protect religious freedom and prevent people from being bribed or forced to change religions, Nettleton argued that their broad wording makes them hard for Christians to navigate. The laws can treat ordinary church activities as potential inducements to conversion, he said.
For example, Nettleton explained, authorities could view a church serving coffee and doughnuts before a service as an attempt to entice people to convert. He said giving away tea and cookies or allowing church music to be heard outside a building could also be interpreted as an inducement.
“Your freedom of religion law says that I’m not allowed to change my religion and I’m not allowed to tell anyone else to change their religion,” Nettleton said. “That doesn’t sound like freedom of religion.”
Nettleton encouraged Western Christians to pray for Indian believers to remain bold in sharing the Gospel despite the possibility of arrest or other consequences.
“Pray for boldness. Pray for a willingness to take risks and to share the Gospel as Scripture calls us to do,” he said.
For Christians who wonder whether praying from the West can meaningfully help believers suffering thousands of miles away, Nettleton recalled a conversation with a pastor from Vietnam.
The pastor told him, “When you pray for Vietnam, you are working right alongside us in Vietnam.”
“We know that the Holy Spirit is not bound by space and time,” Nettleton continued, explaining that Christians can work alongside their fellow believers in Vietnam, China, the Middle East, Nigeria and elsewhere through prayer.
“Don’t ever underestimate the power of our prayer to support and encourage and lift up our brothers and sisters,” Nettleton declared.
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