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Iraq's 'Safe Haven' a refuge from torture
23.2.2009
By George Thomas
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February
23, 2009
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region 'Iraq', —
Security conditions in Iraq have improved greatly in
recent months. But for Christians living in this
war-ravaged nation, life is still very challenging.
Since the 2003 U.S.- led liberation, dozens of
churches have been bombed and many believers killed
or kidnapped by radical Muslims.
Now in a corner of Iraq, one church is thriving as
it provides a safe-haven to those fleeing
persecution.
'They Kept Hitting Me'
"I was standing on the street talking to my friends
when these four men jumped out of a pickup truck
with guns, it happened so quickly," said Karzan
Mohammed, a 21-year-old Iraqi who described to CBN
News what it was like the moment his life was turned
upside down. |
Karzan Mohammed, a 21-year-old Iraqi Kurd, he had
converted to Christianity. Jarjis pastors the
Kurdzman Church, a thriving congregation that has
more than 1,000 believers who are mostly converts
from Islam.
To see a
Video-report click here
by CBN news in English. For Windows Media Video. |
A few minutes later, Mohammed found himself inside a
dimly lit prison cage.
"The men threw me up against the cage and started
punching me in the stomach, kicking me and hitting
me on the head," he added.
One morning in February 2008, Mohammed got a taste
of what it's like to walk away from Islam. A few
weeks earlier,www.ekurd.nethe
had converted to Christianity after he said he saw
Jesus in a dream.
His family got word of his conversion and alerted
authorities.
"The guards were yelling and shouting, asking me to
renounce my faith in Jesus Christ. I said no. They
said I had committed a crime by leaving Islam. I
told them I would not go back. They kept hitting
me," Mohammed recalled.
When that didn't work, the guards kicked it up a few
notches.
"I was dragged into another cell, hung upside down
and electrocuted," he said.
But each time prison guards applied electricity to
his body, Mohammed kept confessing the same line.
"I screamed: 'Jesus loves you, Jesus loves you,'" he
said.
For months they tried to break him, but he would not
relent.
"I smuggled a Bible into the prison and started
witnessing to the guards," Mohammed said.
"Eventually four of them accepted Jesus! But word
got out that I was sharing the Gospel and so for
weeks I was kept in isolation."
The guards finally decided to release him after he
endured seven months of almost daily torture.
Mohammed says it was nothing short of a miracle.
A Shelter From Persecution
Today in the town of Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan
region in Iraq's north. Mohammed is slowly healing
and trying to get his life back together. He is
getting some help from Hazim Jargis,www.ekurd.netwho
pastors one of the fastest growing churches in the
city.
"His parents kicked him out of the house when they
discovered he had become a Christian. Mohammed had
no place to go and so we took him in," Jarjis told
CBN News.
Jarjis pastors the Kurdzman Church, a thriving
congregation that has more than 1,000 believers who
are mostly converts from Islam.
"The church gave me a place to stay, food to eat,
and the encouragement to get back on my feet,"
Mohammed said.
As is the case in many Muslim countries today, those
who dare to convert away from Islam face intense
persecution and in some cases death.
And so today, in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Kurdzman
Church has become a refuge for those fleeing
persecution.
"We've helped 18 such families this last year,"
Jarjis said. "So many of them pay a high price for
accepting Jesus. The least we can do is provide a
safe place for them."
Free to Preach the Gospel
Founded in 1991, the Kurdzman Church of Christ is
officially recognized by the authorities in Iraq's
northern autonomous Kurdistan region.
Despite the threats against Muslim converts,
especially from family members, Christians enjoy a
degree of religious freedom there not seen in the
rest of Iraq.
"We have to be careful not to offend our Muslim
brothers, but we can freely preach the Gospel. We
hold regular pastor's conferences and conduct
evangelistic outreach to the community," Jarjis
said.
Northern Iraq has become a refuge for thousands of
Christian families fleeing religious persecution in
other parts of the country.
Mission of Love
Since the U.S.- led liberation in 2003, dozens of
churches have been bombed, and many believers killed
or kidnapped by radical Muslims.
"There's a reason we have peace here in Northern
Iraq. God is giving us the opportunity to minister
and be a blessing to those who have lost
everything," Jarjis said.
Karzan Mohammed has lost everything, but still has
his life. Today with the help of the Kurdzman
Church, Mohammed is training to be an evangelist.
"The Holy Spirit protected me during my time in
prison so that I can tell others about the love of
Christ and how He changed my life," Mohammed said.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency,
cbn com
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