What would you give up for Jesus?
For Osahar, a brilliant Islamic Studies professor in Egypt, the answer was everything.
Picture a respected professor at Egypt's premier Islamic university, married with three children, deeply religious, career flourishing. This was Osahar's life…until he discovered that his life's work—teaching Islamic theology at a prestigious university—was built on shaky ground.
Tasked with academic research for a scholarly book on Islam, Osahar uncovered thousands of contradictions in the Quran. He went to the university’s president, who offered no answers but quickly suspended Osahar for his questions.
Osahar’s academic integrity cost him his professorship, but God had bigger plans.
Christ Himself appeared to Osahar in two vivid dreams, first offering him water and then rescuing him from drowning. "I knew it was God calling me to him," Osahar shares. Even the university president's warnings that these were "temptations from the devil" couldn't shake what Osahar knew in his heart to be true.
Soon, he gave his heart to Christ…and shared the gospel with his wife.
She was enraged and told her uncle, a powerful Islamic leader bent on forcing Osahar to revert. Persecution came in droves:
- He was forced to divorce his wife, who soon married his brother
- His three children were torn from him
- He endured 8 months of torture in prison
- Every possession was stripped away
- His prestigious academic career was destroyed
- He faces ongoing persecution and arrests and has had to flee from city to city
Yet, in the midst of everything, Osahar is clinging to Christ, counting "everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,” as Paul says in Philippians 3:8.
When our Field Minister Tarek met with Osahar, he was moved by all that Osahar has lost because of his faith and began to offer him wrap-around care so that Osahar can rebuild his shattered life. We have helped him rent a temporary apartment in a safe place and are making sure all of his tangible needs—food, clothing, furniture—are taken care of as he begins to look for a job in his new city.
When Osahar learned about how we would help him—which your support made possible!—he wept with tears of joy. "This timely arrival feels like a message of love and care from God during my deep struggle against persecution from my family and the authorities," he said. He prayed with our team a prayer of deep thanksgiving for God's provision—through you!
In the days ahead, our Field Minister Tarek will continue to minister to Osahar, discipling him and encouraging him in the Lord as he begins to rebuild his life. Please be in prayer for him and consider giving a gift to the Help The Persecuted team as we minister to Osahar and thousands of other persecuted believers like him across the Islamic World!