July 2023 Persecution Magazine

AN EXPLOSION OF CURIOSITY
Christian media, Bible access, and dreams
fuel Muslims’ interest in the gospel. With
the majority of Muslims in the Middle East
and North Africa not knowing a Christian
personally, these seekers then desire to
find a church or a Christian where they can
have their questions answered. While some
Christians fear association with seekers
due to persecution, there are also many
courageous front-line workers helping to
guide and support these seekers in their
Christian journey.
IMITATING CHRIST
God uses Christians’ unconditional love and
charity amid the turmoil that society has
endured in the past few decades. Christians’
charity for the poor, the refugees, the sick,
and the outcasts has been an irrefutable and
irresistible light for the watching world.
Church leaders in places like Lebanon and
parts of Europe have shared how opening
their doors to help Middle Eastern refugees
has created new opportunities to be the
hands and feet of Christ and brought about
revivals of a living faith among their churches.
Even governments and societies in Syria,
Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey have recognized the
peace and positive influence their Christian
minorities contribute during recent conflicts
and national crises, helping to guard the
historical mosaic of religious co-existence
in the Middle East that political movements
and radical Islamic terrorist groups threaten.
REFINING THROUGH FIRE
God uses persecution to grow the faith
of Christians and birth new churches and
believers. Numerous testimonies of Christians
shared that before the conflict with ISIS, they
were cultural Christians in name, without any
vibrant connection to their faith, community,
or desire to pass on their Christian faith to
their children. However, through the fires
of persecution, such as displacement and
economic loss, these people share how their
trust in God grew, and Christian communities
forged into greater unity and life.
Another example is from North Africa, where every time there is a church
closure or publicized arrest of Christians, internet data points to sharp
increases in searches about Christianity from locals curious about what it is
and why it is considered so “dangerous” by their governments and societies.
As more people, particularly the younger generation, interact with and
are exposed to Christians through friendship and understanding, the more
they ask why there should be such division and persecution towards their
Christian neighbors.
THIS PAGE: A 5th century steeple in Iraq stands damaged after it was used as a sniper tower by ISIS during the war.
The church that was used as ammo storage has resumed services. OPPOSITE: Mar Mattai monastery in Iraq was
started in the 4th century in the mountains as a refuge for Christians fleeing Roman persecution. Recently, it was used
as a refuge again when ISIS emptied Mosul of Christians.
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Persecution | JULY 2023