Zaynab, a Student at the Islamic University of Africa, finds Christ through Call of Hope
For her entire life, Zaynab was a devout Muslim. As a student at the Islamic University of Africa in Sudan, she excelled in her computer science studies and even went on to become a frequent guest lecturer after graduating. As a wife and mother of two, Zaynab thought she had life all figured out. However, God had different plans.
One day, Zaynab turned on a television program and saw a man reading scripture. For the first time in her life, she heard the words of Jesus as the man read Luke: 19. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
She immediately asked herself: "Can Jesus really save me? Can he really bless me?"
The man she saw on the TV was Call of Hope’s Director in Sudan, Brother Faheem. He continued to explain that we cannot change in our own strength, but only through the power of Jesus.
Imagine the hope that filled Zaynab’s heart when she first considered that her sins were forgiven! She was desperate to learn more about the “Christian Jesus” and she began attending an underground women’s Bible study. As she learned more about Jesus she felt a true sense of peace for the first time in her life. But just as is the case with many Muslim converts, choosing Jesus made daily life more difficult.
Zaynab stopped participating in Islamic organizations and stopped lecturing at the university altogether. Her family members started to worry. When her friends and family began to ask what was happening, she explained “I believe in Jesus, I am no longer a Muslim.” These words shocked her family and they were horrified. Their only explanation was that Zaynab was possessed by a demon.
Without her consent, Zaynab was taken to see an Islamic Imam, a “demon expert”, in the Sudan capital of Khartoum. The Imam studied Zaynab and he concluded that the only way to remove the demon was to beat her. Her family followed the Imam's advice and regularly beat her until she was hospitalized.
When we heard about the hardships Zaynab was enduring we sent Call of Hope team members to pray with her in the hospital. Her family was astonished when they saw Zaynab praying to God with other Christians as she laid in her hospital bed. They realized that she wasn’t possessed but she had simply made a decision to follow Christ.
Today, Zaynab’s family no longer abuses her; however, they do not support her decision to follow Christ and they leave her out of nearly all family activities. Nevertheless, Zaynab is happy because she has found a new place in the family of Christ. She says, “Jesus has made me a new creature and has given me eternal life. He is the Son of God: What He has done in my life, only God can do.”
Please pray for Zaynab today and for the many Muslims around the world who are without Jesus. Today, the nation of Sudan is uniquely open to the Gospel message after years of political unrest and oppression. If God has used this story to touch your heart, would you prayerfully consider giving a gift to our work in Sudan? Together we can be a part of God’s plan to bring more Muslims to faith in Christ!
