From Ramadan to Christmas: The story of a young believer from a Muslim Background
Christmas, for many, is the ultimate time of connectedness: we get together with our families, friends and our church to celebrate Jesus’ birth. But did you know that for Christians from a Muslim background their faith is something that disconnects them from the world around them? For young believers, this disconnectedness can be very confusing. With your support, they can attend a Children’s program that helps them to feel connected with the Christian community and make sense of their identity. This is the story of one of these children, Layla from Egypt.
Open Doors local partners meet Layla (now 14) at a house church meeting, somewhere in a safe location in Egypt. Layla was 9 when her parents came to Christ, she shared. “My parents gradually told me about Christianity,” she says. “Our family are strict Muslims; it was dangerous for them to tell me all at once.”
What Layla’s parents feared, happened. The family started to suspect that something was ‘wrong’: Since Layla’s father had stopped going to the mosque, the family started to be suspicious and if the family would indeed find out that Layla’s parents converted to Christianity, they would kill them. They had no other option than to flee overnight and settle in a town far away from everything Layla ever knew.
Left Out
Little Layla didn’t understand what was going on. Jesus was still a mystery to her and all she knew was that she now belonged to a family that was ‘different’. “It was Ramadan month when we moved to another town, and I went to my new school,” Layla shares.
“My peers gathered to celebrate breaking their fast and watch TV together, enjoying each other’s company. However, they excluded me from their gatherings because they knew my family didn’t participate in Ramadan. Instead, we celebrated Christmas at home, but I could not share this with my peers.”
With her family leaving Islam, Layla’s parents didn’t allow her to follow the rules and habits of strict Muslims anymore. “My friends at school ridiculed me when they saw me once drinking a cup of water during the break in the Ramadan period.
I was hurt by their harsh looks and verbal harassment,” Layla said. “Moreover, one of the teachers once insulted me in front of my classmates and intimidated me to get veiled. Teachers said that if I didn’t wear it, I would go to hell.”
Layla was struggling with many questions: “Is the Christian faith the truth? or should I go back to Islam so that I may not end up in hell?” She explains. “I didn’t know who I was. What was my identity? What beliefs should I accept and live for? I only felt left out and rejected.”
Layla’s parents saw their daughter’s struggle but couldn’t explain their new faith in a way understandable to a child. Layla felt lonely as she couldn’t find anyone to talk to. She ended up in severe depression and even attempted to commit suicide.
A Christian Friend
This is the moment when our local partners found the family. While the parents started a discipleship training that, among other things, helped them to explain their faith in a simpler way, field worker Sally reached out to Layla. “She became the Christian friend I had been looking for,” Layla says. “She gave me new hope.”
Sally invites Layla to a secret children’s camp where Layla connected with children like her and learned more about Jesus. “My eyes were opened to the truth. I believed in Jesus’ words when He said the truth sets us free. After the camp, I just wanted to share about God’s love with other people and to help them to change by God’s power.”
Following the camp, Layla joined a discipleship group for children: “Finally, I found a safe community,” shares Laila with a smile on her face. “The group is a safe place to be, to share, and even to show my weaknesses without shame.”
A Christmas Together
This Christmas Layla will celebrate with joy and thankfulness. With the help of the ministry, she learned to play the piano, which she uses to accompany the songs in the small house church that she visits with her parents. And even though Layla can’t share the joy of Christmas with her peers at school, she is not alone: Layla’s friend Sally still regularly visits her and Layla also made new friends at the discipleship group.
Layla explains the change in her life the best: “Jesus stepped into my life in my hopelessness and made all the difference.”
Please Pray
- Pray for Layla and her continued growth as a Christian.
- Pray for safety and healing over the whole family as they recover from persecution, and fight to live a Christian life.
