Help The Persecuted CEO, Joshua Youssef, speaking with Oday
At just eight years old, when most children are learning multiplication tables and playing with friends, one young Iraqi boy was being recruited into one of ISIS's most secretive programs. This is Oday’s harrowing journey starting from a terrorist training camp.
In 2013, as ISIS began its brutal expansion across Iraq and Syria, Oday's life took a devastating turn. His uncle, a senior strategist who worked for ISIS, saw an opportunity in his nephew and recruited him into a an ultra-secret unit designed to train child assassins for global operations. "You are only 22 children among thousands, but you are special. You are the future of the caliphate," his uncle told him. "When you turn 18, you will be our hidden weapons across the world—in France, America, Germany. Each assassination will bring you closer to paradise and to the Caliph himself."
For Oday, however, the training was nothing short of torture. For nine months, these children—some as young as eight—were held in cells and trained in tunnels without seeing sunlight. They received one meal a day, endured systematic beatings, and were forced to watch torture videos designed to desensitize them to violence. Oday still bears scars on his back from the abuse, physical reminders of those dark months that continue to plague him today.
"I watched a boy my age crying at the torture videos. The trainer struck him hard and said, 'You are my soldier.' Instantly, I saw that boy's humanity disappear; his tears stopped. His face went blank. Within one minute, they erased a child and created a weapon."
The program's ultimate goal was chilling: to create sleeper agents who would carry out assassinations worldwide once they reached adulthood, with promised rewards of money, status, or proximity to powerful Islamic leaders.
After ISIS's defeat, something unexpected happened. Oday witnessed helicopters evacuating a number of ISIS leaders to Syria—his uncle included. Seeing the leaders who had cost him his childhood simply flee, leaving him and his fellow child soldiers alone and vulnerable shattered his worldview and planted the first seeds of doubt about the organization he'd been trained to serve.
The Search for Truth: When Christ Came in
In 2018, Oday woke up one morning and discovered his father watching The Jesus Film. Although his father rejected Christianity and would become a devout Muslim, it was the beginning of an intellectual and spiritual journey that would leave Oday forever changed.
“When I saw Adam in that movie, my whole world tilted. ISIS taught us Christians were ignorant infidels who knew nothing of the prophets—that they believed only in Jesus. But there was Adam, right at the beginning of their story. That single moment shattered years of lies…If the Muslims lied about this, what else had they lied about?”
Armed with a mobile phone and an insatiable curiosity, Oday began researching Christianity online. He secretly read and studied Christianity through Instagram pages and online resources. What he discovered upended his worldview: Christians believed in other prophets, not just Jesus, and the Ten Commandments aligned with universal moral principles. To his utmost shock, Christian teachings on marriage, relationships, and human dignity stood in stark contrast to what he'd witnessed under ISIS.
In Christianity, the prohibition against killing was absolute, unlike the selective violence he'd been trained to embrace while in training.
"In Christianity, killing is absolutely forbidden and families relate through love, not control. Yet these same moral principles appear in the Quran but are completely contradicted in practice."
And as he learned more about Christianity, he realized more about Islam. "ISIS is the real Islam," he said, noting that the terrorist organization had "some of the strongest religious scholars in the world." This realization led him to question not just ISIS's interpretation, but the fundamental teachings themselves.
However, the Bible presented another path forward.
“The Bible showed me something completely different: dignity, protection of innocence, and relationships built on mutual respect. Once I saw these contradictions, I couldn't unsee them. The choice became clear: follow a faith that justified what my conscience knew was wrong, or seek truth elsewhere."
The transformation wasn't just intellectual—it was deeply personal. "What struck me most were the simplest truths," he reflects.
had found ultimate redemption in Jesus! After a few years, he connected with our Field Minister Nabeel, who began providing him with discipleship and prayer support. Despite danger and fear of family opposition, Oday began attending church services whenever possible, sometimes only managing one visit per month due to the commute and security concerns, and family restrictions. Soon, Oday gave his life to Christ! The former child solider had found ultimate redemption in Jesus!
Persecution for His Faith
His father, who had become Shia Muslim and lived a troubled life, kicked him out multiple times once he discovered the Oday had left Islam to follow Jesus. His brothers viewed him with extreme suspicion. He struggles with PTSD from his time as a child soldier, which can “turn him into a different person” and leads him to violent outbursts.
His family is pushing him to marry a Muslim girl, but he longs for a relationship with a Christian wife. He struggles to find stable work and housing that would allow him to live openly as a Christian in a region where conversion can mean death.
An Enduring Faith Conference, A Turning Point
This past summer, our Field Minister Nabeel invited Oday to our Enduring Faith Conference in Iraq—a secret gathering of converts to Christianity from around the Islamic World.
So many of you gave so generously so that people like Oday could attend...and the conference marked a breakthrough in Oday’s journey.
"Ever since I came here [to the Enduring Faith Conference], I didn't feel like I was a stranger. Even when I shared my story, I didn't feel like anyone was criticizing me for the crimes that ISIS committed. I felt like I was among my own family."
The love and acceptance he experienced stood in stark contrast to his fractured family relationships. It was the first time he had ever experienced genuine community.
Most significantly, the conference helped him release the burning hatred and unforgiveness he carried toward ISIS.
"The hatred ISIS planted in me dug so deep that even years later, I knew I could kill them without hesitation. That rage owned me. But sitting in that conference, surrounded by people who knew my story and still embraced me—something broke inside. Not my anger, but the chains holding it…At the conference, I learned that killing is a big sin. For the first time, I chose to let go. I chose to stop letting ISIS control who I would become."
For the first time, Oday chose forgiveness over revenge. He chose Christ over hatred. And, in that moment, Oday took his first communion. Oday and so many other converts to Christianity, celebrated that Christ had given him ultimate forgiveness—and because of what Jesus had done for him, Oday could forgive those who had done him so much harm.
Converts at the Enduring Faith Conference receive communion
The Road Ahead: Challenges and Hope
Although Oday has led a difficult life, he has found new hope in Christ—and, because of you, our Field Minister have been able to be there for him.
- When Oday had questions about Jesus, our Field Minister Nabeel was there to answer them and point Oday to the truth.
- When Oday came to faith in Christ, Nabeel discipled him.
- When Oday felt desperately alone and was struggling with unforgiveness, we were able to invite him to our Enduring Faith Conference, where Oday’s faith was encouraged!
Today, we are working with Oday to help him find a path forward of independence and dignity. We continue to minister to Oday spiritually, discipling him and providing more connections with other converts. However, we are also helping him physically, working with him to create a business plan so that he can use his skills in design and tailoring to start his own clothing business. When the business plan is ready, because of you, we will be able to provide him the initial seed funding so that he can get started!
Oday’s story is one of resilience, hope...and a mighty God who is mighty to save. Through your prayers and generous giving—you are a part of every bit of it. Thank you for ministering to people like Oday, whose future was changed forever because God called this former child solider His own.
