Abdul Rahman

Abdul Rahman was on death row. The case against him was airtight. He confessed to the crime he had committed some 16 years before: his conversion from Islam to Christianity. Rahman was then living in Afghanistan where even if the constitution affords religious freedom, a different set of laws contained in the Shar’ia or the religious law condemns a convert to death.

You may be thinking “Is that all he did?” Yes, but when the international press reported the forthcoming execution, a firestorm of reaction erupted, which eventually saved his life. Rahman was instead adjudged mentally unfit to stand trial. In other words, crazy!

Since 1980 there has been a movement in Islamic countries to reject secular law in favor of the Shar’ia where imams and clerics who demand harsh and severe reprisals upon victims carry far more authority than governments. The laws of the Shar’ia show no mercy nor compassion, but demand absolute, unswerving compliance to Islam.  Many more will be facing the same kind of challenges Rahman faced.

So what should be our response? First, know what you believe and why you believe it. Then memorize Scripture in a way that you could quote it back to God should you ever be persecuted for your faith and need to declare your belief. Finally, pray for brothers and sisters in faith who, in repressed areas of the world, have lost their freedom because of their commitment to Christ. As Paul put it, “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains” (Colossians 4:3). How could we do less than pray for those who are imprisoned for the cause of Christ?