From Muslim to Christian

I wonder whether readers have heard about Abdul Saleeb who has been born and lived in a Muslim country in the Middle East.

As a Muslim he first thought highly of Islam as a faith and considered Islam as the ideal religion for all men because it had been founded on God's revelation as described in the Qur'an. For him prophet Mohammed was God's seal of prophethood.

But his religious mentality was radically challenged when he left his country and came to Europe to continue his studies. He became puzzled on acquiring some knowledge of Christianity and wondered how and why the Word of God as found in Christianity was different and contrary to the Word of God as found in Islam. God is truth and cannot contradict himself.

Till then he believed the Qur'an was dictated word for word by God to Prophet Mohammed and never questioned that assumption. He believed that the Bible was also the Word of God but to the extent that it did not contradict the Qur'an.

In the meantime he had some Christian friends who enlightened him about the veracity of Christian truths. Thenceforth, on reading the Qur'an, he started having more questions than answers. He was perplexed at the violent tone of many of the Qur'anic passages against Christians and Jews while he was being attracted by the emphasis on love as set in the New Testament.

As his knowledge of the Bible increased, his many questions were being answered. Even as a Muslim he came to believe that the crucifixion of Christ was an undisputable historical fact that no honest person that deals with evidences of history could deny. The character of Christ himself, as shown in his beautiful Sermon on the Mount, was little by little making a great impression upon him. He was indeed impressed by the multiple prophecies of the Old Testament about the coming of the Messiah. In the end he was completely attracted by the love of Christ; yet, becoming a Christian seemed to him a definite betrayal of his own family and Islamic heritage. The tension in his life was so strong that he felt torn apart between the two faiths.

His final decision came on January 20, 1985, when he started crying deeply as he was praying and turning to Christ in faith. He was feeling a great sense of peace and relief from the burden of his sins. That was the moment of his conversion to Christianity and the moment of God's powerful grace which he could not resist.

Soon after his own conversion, he decided to dedicate his entire life to promoting the Good News of Christ among Muslims. He studied theology and co-authored a book entitled Answering Islam: The Crescent in the light of the Cross.