Muad, Who Asked How to Treat Your Enemies

<p class="chapter-lead">“I am beginning to ask myself, why do we kill people who are not in agreement with us?”</p>

We told you how an ISIS member named Faiz decided to follow Christ and paid a heavy price.

Some months later, a man identifying himself as Muad made contact with the team. Was it the same Muad that killed Faiz? It seemed to be. But his tone was different this time. His heart seemed to have softened.

“I’m very confused. I grew up as a Muslim. I joined ISIS, and I have killed a lot of people, both Muslims and non-Muslims. I grew up learning sharia (Islamic) law from primary school to university. I am beginning to ask myself, why do we kill people who are not in agreement with us? Do people from other faiths act in the same way?'

A New Point of View

Muad had been searching online and came across Arab World Media’s Arabic website.

The team member explained that not all Muslims express their faith in such a violent way, but he counseled Muad to look at what he’d been taught from a new angle,

“To see if a faith is from the true God, take note of what it instructs people to do. If it exhorts people to truly love one another, it is from the true God.”

Muad was amazed and intrigued by this Christian faith.

“What does your faith teach about enemies? What if someone is a Christian but wants to convert to another faith? Do you kill them?”

What Does Jesus Say?

Muad was astounded to hear what Jesus said on these subjects. He learned how the Messiah explained in the Sermon on the Mount about the need to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors.

Muad had a lot of reflection to do as this new teaching challenged his deepest convictions. The responder encouraged Muad to take the time to read the Gospel of Matthew for himself and come to his own conclusions.

The following day, Muad texted the team with the most remarkable news.

“After reading the Gospel of Matthew, and listening to what you have shared with me, I have decided to commit my life to Jesus. After praying, I felt that I was born again and filled with a great sense of joy and peace. I have never experienced this before in my entire life.”

Pray for God’s living Word to impact even more fighters, leading them to sacrificially follow Jesus and leave the way of violent Islam espoused by groups like ISIS.

Does Muad Remind You of Anyone?

Muad is our modern-day Paul from the Bible. While he was ready to persecute and kill people who did not follow his religious beliefs, that did not disqualify him from experiencing first-hand the true grace of God. Muad’s past is heart-wrenching, but we praise God that he has a powerful testimony he can use to bring others to Christ.

Jesus calls us to fish for people, and we hope to cast our nets into the most unlikely of places so we can reach the most unlikely of people. Digital media platforms are one way to connect with scattered seekers as well as people seeking truth or longing for change who are part of hard-to-penetrate networks like ISIS.