Anmar sharing his story with our team
In the sweltering heat of Ramadan, in a small welding workshop in Iraq, Anmar worked for a living.
"I was like a horse with blinders in my faith," Anmar recalls. "Fasting, praying five times a day, reading the Quran regularly. I was married to the daughter of a Shia religious leader who taught at the Hawza, the Shiite Seminary. Our life was structured around Islamic tradition."
In that workshop, something unusual was happening. During breaks, the quiet workshop owner would pull out a book and read aloud. One day, Anmar's curiosity got the better of him.
"What are you reading?" he asked.
"The Book of God," came the simple reply.
"We have the Book of God – the Quran."
"Your book is different from this one."
The Three Days That Changed Everything
Something stirred in Anmar's heart. One summer day, during the first three days of Ramadan—when Muslims dedicate themselves to reading the Quran—Anmar made a decision that would alter his eternity. He picked up the Bible instead.
"By the third day, something broke inside me. At noon, when I should have been fasting until sunset, I ate. I broke my fast in the middle of the day. My father was furious. My wife was terrified—not for religious reasons, but because she knew what her family would do."
Her fears were not unfounded. His wife's father wasn't just religious; he was fanatical in his Muslim beliefs. The implications of Anmar's actions would ripple far beyond their immediate family. What would happen if he gave up Islam...and surrendered his life to Christ?
Three days later, after midnight, as Anmar sat on his balcony wrestling with the weight of his decision, a divine encounter took place.
"A figure appeared to me in a vision. He said, 'Give me your hands. You have two choices: salvation or perdition.' I was in a dark, frightening place. When I chose salvation and took one step forward, everything transformed into brilliant light. Suddenly, the fear vanished, replaced by indescribable peace and splendor."
Through a fellow believer, Anmar connected with a Christian named Nabil, who began to mentor him, sending audio and video messages and hymns. Anmar absorbed them all, hungry for this new truth he'd discovered.
Faith under Fire...and a brother martyred
For four months, Anmar tried to navigate his newfound faith quietly. But in communities where religion permeates every aspect of life, such changes don't go unnoticed. His father began calling him "kafir" (infidel); the neighbors whispered; and threats soon followed.
Then came the day that would shatter any remaining hope of peaceful coexistence.
"I was sitting outside our house with my brother Ahmed, who had also come to faith. A car approached. I was nudged by the feeling that something was wrong, so I went inside to get water. I heard four gunshots. When I ran back out, Ahmed was dead on our doorstep."
The murderer? His wife's uncle, her mother's brother. The message was clear: Apostasy would be met with blood.
What followed was a horrific escalation of violence. Anmar's own family turned against him, blaming him for Ahmed's death. His father broke his hand and knee in a series of severe beatings, tied him up, went to his workshop and burned it to the ground. He then attempted to burn Anmar himself.
"My mother intervened. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, 'Run. Don't stay here. They've all agreed—you have to die.'"
Anmar fled to Lebanon, but he eventually had to return to Iraq, where, now marked as an infidel, he struggled to find good work.
"I worked 14-hour days in construction, moving on a daily basis between three governorates. For two years, I saw my mother and my three children only every 40-50 days, and then just for 4-5 minutes. They were with my mother—I couldn't be near them. It wasn't safe."
His family attempted to sell their house to flee to Germany, but even this proved impossible. No one would buy property from "the infidel's family." They went months without work or income, ostracized by their entire community and shunned by their closest friends.
ATTENDING AN ENDURING FAITH CONFERENCE
In the toughest days of persecution, Anmar got in touch with our team at Help The Persecuted. Our Field Ministers met with Anmar, answered his questions about faith...and encouraged him in the Lord!
Today, Anmar speaks with deep gratitude about our Field Ministers who helped sustain him through his darkest hours:
"They're not just fellow believers. They're the family I gained when I lost my blood family. They check on me regularly. They answer when I call. After coming from a tradition where religious leaders only responded when it benefited them, this love, this availability – it shows me Christ's love in action."
Anmar recently attended our Enduring Faith Conference, a discipleship intensive for converts. It was one of the first times he had ever gotten to worship alongside fellow believers. There, his excitement was palpable. "I'm taking a new spiritual life back home with me," he shared with our team, his face lighting up.
Anmar's story isn't one of easy answers or simple victories. It's a testament to faith that persists through devastating loss, to hope that endures through years of hardship, and to a love that proves itself in the darkest valleys. Anmar says:
"Yes, I lost everything, but I gained everything too. When you know the truth, when you experience this love, this peace – how can you turn back? Even if the cost is everything, Christ is worth it all...
"Christ isn't just a prophet to me. He's my Father, my Lord, my everything. I lost my father, my mother, my brother, my wife, my three children – but Christ has compensated me for everything. When I pray, when I'm struggling, I talk to Him as my Father. Sometimes the answer comes the same day, sometimes the next day."
Today, our team is working with Anmar through our Enduring Livelihood Ministry to help him start his own tailoring business, which will help him have a steady income and live a life of independence and dignity! And we continue to minister to him, reminding him of the hope that will never fail—Jesus Christ.
Please continue to pray for Anmar. And, from now until the end of the year, please consider a gift to help persecuted Christians like him!
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." —John 16:33