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Yasin begged God to reveal Himself. And when He did, it changed everything—and meant Yasin's life was in danger.
Peace has not been a word that defines the life of Yasin*, a Christian in his 50s who converted from Islam. Living in northern Iraq, Yasin tends to flocks of sheep, but even as a peaceful shepherd, Yasin lives with constant risk. He can't show his face or give his real name. Why?
"People might kill me," he says.
"The words of Jesus gave me peace in my heart."
Yasin, Iraqi believer
The history of Christianity in Iraq goes back to the first century. Now, in the country where the Bible talks about the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Christians who are raised in Muslim families face fierce persecution. They even might pay with their life for their new faith.
Coming from a Muslim family, Yasin was once surrounded by Islamic clergy, went to the mosque with his friends, and performed his religious duties. But Islam was simply his cultural custom—not his true belief.
Indeed, Yasin has seen how Islam has been used to inflict harm. He specifically points to the 1988 Anfal campaign, in which Iraqi Ba'athists—the party of the Saddam Hussein regime—killed between 50,000 and 100,000 Kurds.
Yasin explains: "I said to myself, 'This can't be God. If there was a God, then why did the massacre take place?'"
Still, Yasin continued his prayers for years: "God if you are real, give me a sign," he'd ask. "I don't want to be your enemy. I want to live with you."
And then, God answered.
In a dream, Yasin saw the whole world gathered: "The people were in two groups, one black and one white. And I did not understand what this was. Were they armies fighting each other? And I stepped away from them and did not know what to do.
"I saw someone coming toward me," he continues. "I cannot describe how beautiful He was. His hair was long, he wore a scarf on his head. … He put his hand on my head and said, 'You are my beloved child; this is the way, follow me.' I asked Him, 'Where should I go?' He said, 'Follow the white sheep.'"
When Yasin woke up, he was confused about the dream, and a friend who was knowledgeable about Islam told Yasin the dream was from the devil. But Yasin wasn't convinced.
A Christian man in Yasin's village told him that this was a vision from God. Then, Yasin met a pastor who read the Bible with him.
"It was the first time in my life I read the Bible," says Yasin. "I cried because of the beautiful words in it. … The words of Jesus gave me peace in my heart."
In the beginning, Yasin kept his newfound faith a secret. But it wasn't long until his family discovered his conversion.
"Before [my conversion], I was really violent toward my family," Yasin says. "But Jesus says we should be servants. I started serving my family, and my wife and children started asking why I suddenly behaved like that."
At first, he didn't tell them the reason for the change. But some five months after his conversion, Yasin revealed to his wife that it all was because of knowing Jesus.
Yasin prayed for his family to come to Christ, and over the course of five years, his son, his daughter, and his wife all began to read the Bible and, eventually, joined him in following Jesus.
As word spread of his conversion, Yasin's community began to turn against him.
"My brother came and tried to kill me several times," Yasin says. "One time, he broke my nose."
But that wasn't all. "They threw a firebomb at my house," Yasin says. Thankfully, the Molotov cocktail didn't burn down the house.
In the village, Yasin says he feels like "a sheep among wolves." Despite that, he explains, "I know that God has a mission for me, to bring the good news to my village."
Community with other Christians has been crucial in Yasin's journey as a follower of Jesus. It's because of the support from Open Doors' local partners that Yasin has been able to grow in his faith through seminars and conferences.
As he continues to follow Jesus in Iraq, he asks for your prayers. "I ask you to pray for me, because I believe in the power of prayer," he says. "I ask you to pray that God gives me strength to be able to evangelize to as many people as possible. I ask you to pray that God protects my children."
Open Doors works through local partners in Iraq, providing practical and spiritual support for those who follow Jesus despite the risk and the difficulty of being a believer.
*Pseudonym used for security reasons.
