Photo Courtesy Christian Post
An Islamic theologian responsible for teaching ISIS militants "jihad 101" has turned to the Bible after growing "sick of the killing" and finding himself yearning for something "better," according to a Christian missionary who works in the Middle East.
"As I say that I feel a bit reticent because I know that many, many Muslims want to distance themselves and are embarrassed by it and are great people," Julian added. "And we should not see our Muslim neighbors as terrorists ... but as neighbors who want to be a regular part of the community. But nevertheless, some of this evil stuff is being exposed as never before."
Julian suggested that "exposing the evil" of ISIS leads to "dissatisfaction and disillusionment" among followers and would-be supporters.
The missionary was presented only as "Julian" in the interview "because he is a guest who travels in and out of the Muslim world on a regular basis," VOM Radio host Todd Nettleton explained. VOM is a nonprofit organization that draws attention to persecution of Christians around the world.
Julian was described as "a long-time worker in the Muslim world" affiliated with Operation Mobilization — a collective of 6,800 volunteer missionaries and staff working in 118 countries to spread "the message of hope through Jesus Christ to men, women, and children around the world."
The missionary went on tell of two accounts involving "ISIS guys coming to faith" that he had heard at a prayer event in Egypt in October.
"One is about a fighter who suddenly, unexpectedly out of the blue had a vision of the cross. For an ISIS fighter that's bad news, not good news," Julian said, chuckling afterward.
"So he goes online. … He's looking for a good Muslim site to bolster his faith, and inadvertently he stumbles into a Christian site and gets kind of interested and more interested and reads and the doubts grow. He leaves Syria, goes into Turkey and meets a believer who's able to share the Gospel and he comes to faith. And he was at a church conference in Lebanon in October and shared that personal story."
"The other account we heard was from Lebanon that there was a taxi driver who was a believer up at the border with Syria, and into his taxi gets this guy with a big beard. And the guy with the beard says, 'Take me to the airport, I'm flying home to Saudi. But on the way, I want to find a Bible. Can you find me a Bible?'" Julian added. "And the taxi driver knew a Christian worker in Beirut who was very happy to give the guy with the beard a Bible. And then, 'Sir, would you like to tell us why you're looking for a Bible?' His response was, 'I'm from Saudi, I'm a sheikh (which means a teacher of Islam). I've been in Syria teaching the ISIS fighters jihad 101, the theology and practice of jihad. I'm sick of the killing. There must be something better than this."
"As I say that I feel a bit reticent because I know that many, many Muslims want to distance themselves and are embarrassed by it and are great people," Julian added. "And we should not see our Muslim neighbors as terrorists ... but as neighbors who want to be a regular part of the community. But nevertheless, some of this evil stuff is being exposed as never before."
Julian suggested that "exposing the evil" of ISIS leads to "dissatisfaction and disillusionment" among followers and would-be supporters.
The missionary was presented only as "Julian" in the interview "because he is a guest who travels in and out of the Muslim world on a regular basis," VOM Radio host Todd Nettleton explained. VOM is a nonprofit organization that draws attention to persecution of Christians around the world.
Julian was described as "a long-time worker in the Muslim world" affiliated with Operation Mobilization — a collective of 6,800 volunteer missionaries and staff working in 118 countries to spread "the message of hope through Jesus Christ to men, women, and children around the world."
The missionary went on tell of two accounts involving "ISIS guys coming to faith" that he had heard at a prayer event in Egypt in October.
"One is about a fighter who suddenly, unexpectedly out of the blue had a vision of the cross. For an ISIS fighter that's bad news, not good news," Julian said, chuckling afterward.
"So he goes online. … He's looking for a good Muslim site to bolster his faith, and inadvertently he stumbles into a Christian site and gets kind of interested and more interested and reads and the doubts grow. He leaves Syria, goes into Turkey and meets a believer who's able to share the Gospel and he comes to faith. And he was at a church conference in Lebanon in October and shared that personal story."
"The other account we heard was from Lebanon that there was a taxi driver who was a believer up at the border with Syria, and into his taxi gets this guy with a big beard. And the guy with the beard says, 'Take me to the airport, I'm flying home to Saudi. But on the way, I want to find a Bible. Can you find me a Bible?'" Julian added. "And the taxi driver knew a Christian worker in Beirut who was very happy to give the guy with the beard a Bible. And then, 'Sir, would you like to tell us why you're looking for a Bible?' His response was, 'I'm from Saudi, I'm a sheikh (which means a teacher of Islam). I've been in Syria teaching the ISIS fighters jihad 101, the theology and practice of jihad. I'm sick of the killing. There must be something better than this."
RSS Feed