April 2024 Persecution Magazine

Front Lines of Ministry
A DEEP DIVE INTO THE LIVES OF CHURCH PLANTERS AND PASTORS
Faith beh in d
bars
Hoodo Cabdilaahi is a young, Somali Christian woman who was
imprisoned for converting to Christianity. In August 2022, Hoodo was
detained after authorities discovered her conversion to Christianity.
Hoodo went before a regional judge a few months later, where she was
asked to renounce her faith. Hoodo stood strong in her beliefs, telling the court that
she had left Islam 7 years ago. Hoodo asked the judge to release her from custody so
she could “go home to be with her mother.”
The judge ruled that Hoodo had “deliberately and mockingly left the religion of
Islam, which is the religion in which she was born” and that the judge has a “great
responsibility to protect the religion of Islam.” Hoodo was found guilty by the court
and was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.
The young girl was taken by the police to an all-women’s maximum-security prison
located in Gabiley, where she remains today. Since Christians are generally treated
worse than other prisoners by both inmates and the prison guards, her safety and
well-being is increasingly at risk. While in prison, Hoodo has been physically beaten
and is suffering from depression and isolation.
Everyone can take part! Photos of letters school
kids have written to the prisoners!
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Persecution | APRIL 2024