Jonas an Iraqi Muslim who was a prominent leader of a mosque, was approached by some radicals at the mosque and was badgered to hide weapons there for them.  He was afraid to refuse because they threatened him if he didn’t comply.  Jonas’s only recourse was to flee the country.  He went to Greece. 

It was not long before the Greek government told Jonas he would be deported back to Iraq.  Fearing for his life, he sought help from a local priest.  This Godly man fought hard for Jonas to be able to stay in Greece, but he failed and Jonas eventually ended up in another country.  Muslims there chided him saying the priest only helped him to coerce him to become a Christian.  Jonas argued back saying that the entire time that the priest was helping, he never asked about his religion, that he was just a good man, not concerned about “forcing” Jonas to become a Christian.

Jonas was surfing the web one day and came across the internet forum hosted by our co-worker, Samuel.  Jonas posted that he was fed up with Islam, but a few minutes later he retracted that posting and said he was a believing Muslim.  When Samuel asked him via the web why the retraction, Jonas replied that he was afraid that he was making a mistake by saying what he really thinks in a public forum.  Samuel continued to “chat” with him for some time and Jonas became a believer in Jesus Christ. 

Now, even more fearful of returning to Iraq because he would be deemed a traitor to Islam, Jonas immigrated to yet to another country where he continued to chat with Samuel over the internet.  Jonas was isolated from the Muslim majority population and had no Christian friends.  Samuel searched the internet for an evangelical church near where Jonas was living.  Samuel contacted the pastor, who it turned out was like Jonas, from a Muslim upbringing.  This gracious pastor told Samuel that he would welcome Jonas with open arms.  God has provided a support network, a new family, the Body of Christ for Jonas.

Please pray for Jonas that he would grow in his new found faith and that he will remain faithful in the midst of pressure to become Muslim again.