A Christian Named Mohamed

During my days in Kenya this past summer I spent hours with a converted Somali Moslem named Mohamed. He served me in innumerable ways, unobtrusively, sacrificially, humorously and imaginatively. He was a refugee from Somalia escaping from the civil war in that land. When he first was invited to discussion groups with other Somali men he was the most argumentative of all. Often the shouts of disagreement from the office of the church to which he had been invited, and the stalking out of the room in high dudgeon by Mohamed could be seen and heard fifty yards away.

“I never wanted to become a Christian; Christians do all sorts of bad things. I feared I would be judged by losing my sight – Allah would take it from me for reading the Bible, this book which was written by Jewish men to suit their own religion.” Christianity for him was summed up in the statue of Mary carrying the baby Jesus and Christians bowing down before that. But Mohamed persisted in asking questions about the truth and he was finding no answers. Then God gave him a desire to take a Bible, read it and see for himself its message. At first his attitude was to prove Islam was right. The works religion of Islam was always in his mind; he was constantly weighing up his good deeds hoping he had done enough to outweigh the bad when he stood before Allah, but he knew men could also catch the judging Allah in a bad mood and into hell you go. This became an increasing burden; how could all his good deeds be enough if the whim of Allah would be against him? He came to know with conviction that he needed a Helper.

No salvation exists in Islam; no regeneration and certainly no assurance of your ultimate destiny. Looking at the lives of his fellow Moslems he saw that none of them ever kept its precepts, and were not able to. Then he began to read the gospels and to attend to the preaching. He found the message of the Saviour, ‘Come unto me,’ to be powerful and the conversation with Nicodemus in John 3, ‘You must be born again,’ but that divine calling into fellowship with Christ was the beginning of real problems. His Moslem friends threatened to kill him, and they told him with their threats that they’d go to heaven if they succeeded in his murder. He knew also he would lose his family’s inheritance if he abandoned Islam – his father is a businessman. Who would pray for him at his death if he left that faith? But the knowledge he’d gained of the person of Christ proved to be compelling, and he couldn’t leave the fascinating Saviour, reading Scripture more and more and finally submitted his entire life to him; “I am the only one of my entire sub-clan to believe in Christ. Why me? I understand why God hated Esau, but why did God love Jacob?” The God who changed me can change anyone. Christ came to save His people, including Muslims. Christ is at work, and anyone who believes is my relative/brother/sister. What is our attitude towards Muslims? Who will reach them? Who will pray for them? How will they get saved if they don’t hear the good news?

That was eight years ago. At that time he was taken by the Kenyan authorities along with hundreds of other Somali refugees and kept in a camp for a year, with only two other Christians. It was Daniel in the lion’s den. There Mohamed had to take a stand, with little human protection, in such an antagonistic environment, and he confessed Christ openly, overcame bad attitudes and habits and discovered the faithfulness of God. The UN who ran the camp allowed those in the camp freedom of worship “as long as your god didn’t disturb other gods!” He returned to Nairobi at the end of that year and began his growing work of bringing the gospel to the Somalis. “Our preaching is ultimately a defence of our lives, of how we behave. The world is always watching us and we are trying to explain how we live to them. I had been given something that cost Christ everything, but my fellow Somalis couldn’t see this. They thought I was a fool, but as they got to know me it was obvious to them I was no fool. So then they said that I must be insane, but again I appeared sane enough, as I talked to them. They simply did not understand me.”

Many Christians ask him why he has not changed his name. His reason is that “one old Mohamed had deceived the Somali people for centuries, and now there is another new Mohamed who tells his people the truth.” “We are new to this business,” he says, smiling, “and we are facing many new challenges but the Lord is our strength and wisdom, and I get good teaching every Sunday and God is keeping me.” He is a deacon in his local church. The God who changed me can change anyone. Christ came to save His people, including Muslims. Christ is at work, and anyone who believes is my relative/brother/sister. What is our attitude towards Muslims? Who will reach them? Who will pray for them? How will they get saved if they don’t hear the good news?

He works every other week as a hospital chaplain to Somalis. What is his vision for that work? This is what he says: “There are four things I try to encourage;

1. Let us praise the Lord for the Somalis. Many come from that country where there is no gospel ministry at all of any kind, particularly in the rural area. Just think: many of these people could have died without ever hearing of Christ. But in His grace and mercy God has brought them to the hospital. I appreciate they are not always easy to deal with and they may sometimes irritate us, but is any one of us entirely free of guilt on these charges? Let us thank the Lord that He has brought to us a people who have not heard the gospel of Christ that they may hear of Him and believe.
2. Let us make sure that God “through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him” (2 Cor. 2:14). You have heard the saying, “Your life is the only Bible some people will read.” This is true of the Somalis. They have come from Somalia, some of them from the very rural parts of their country. They have never read a Bible, met a Christian or heard the Christian message. The first time they have exposure to the Christian faith is in the hospital. It is worth asking the question, “What impression does my life give to the Christian faith?’ Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Let us treat the Somalis with kindness and courtesy. Let us be gracious and winsome in our manner that we love and serve One who is full of grace, full of love, full of mercy, full of kindness.
3. Let us speak to them of Christ. It is not always easy to speak to people of Christ, but it is our duty to do so. Surely we are not here on earth just to make others’ lives comfortable, we are here to speak to them of our Saviour. As and when you have time, sit by a Somali patient and speak to them of Christ, particularly those who understand English or Swahili. You do not need to preach a sermon to them, just share with them how Christ has saved you and what your salvation means to you. The woman of Samaria went into Sychar with a simple testimony, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did” (John 4:29) and brought many to Christ. Why not seek an opportunity to share with a Somali patient your testimony of how all your sins have been forgiven in Christ?
4. Let us make good use of literature. You know that when on is in hospital he has plenty of time on his hands and will read whatever is available. Tracts are available in English and Swahili, make use of these. There is a great need for some of these tracts to be translated into Somali. Please pray that the Lord would enable us to do this. The Lord has opened a wonderful door for us to preach. Many of the Somalis we meet are from the rural areas of Somalia and would in the normal course of their lives have no contact at all with the Gospel. In seeking to bring the Gospel to them this is the work we do.

During the days that I am there I visit each Somali patient in the hospital. I ask what their illness is. Then I ask if they ever heard what the Bible teaches, emphasize the fact that we are all sinners in need of cleansing and forgiveness of sins. Show the beauty of creation, the fall of man and the need of the second Adam, Jesus Christ and show how through his atoning death on the cross redemption has been accomplished for all his people. I make clear to each person that they must repent of their sins and turn to Christ for salvation. I pray for the person, asking the Lord to be merciful to them and save them. Interestingly enough they listen intently even though they are Muslims, occasionally a person may disagree, and we have time for discussion about what Islam teaches. But most of the people are friendly.

I also visit the people that the Hospital has discharged before they go back to Somalia. I keep the contacts even when they go back to Somalia. There is great need for Somali Literature, Radio broadcasts, cassettes and video cassettes.”

If you have read this then simply pray that God will bless and keep Mohamed in the work for God. Pray for the Somali refugees in refugee camps and for the Somali fellowship in Nairobi which is often threatened. But, brethren, remember we have a hope beyond the grave.