When Peter, a follow-up coordinator in Syria for international outreach ministry Leading the Way, received a telephone call from an Islamic man named Muhammad asking to meet with him, he felt his life could be in danger.
“I had this strange feeling that he was from ISIS and that he might try to kill me. But I had a peace inside that the Lord would protect me as He had a reason behind this encounter,” Peter, whose name has been changed for his protection, said in a video recently posted by Leading the Way. “So I set up an appointment knowing that he could try to kill me.”
Peter would soon learn that Muhammad was a “prince of ISIS” and had indeed planned to execute him. But instead, something incredible happened: The two men became brothers in Christ.
Muhammad, whose name has also been changed for his protection, said he “grew up on radicalism.” He joined ISIS and became a so-called prince — a highly ranked religious leader in the Islamic militant group who taught the Koran and encouraged jihad, or holy wars against so-called infidels and apostates.
“One day, somebody asked me why I am a Muslim. I had no answer,” Muhammad said in the video posted by Leading the Way. “I began to search in the Koran, Hadith and the Sunnah [Islamic religious texts]. I wanted to find proof and evidence that Allah exists and Islam is right. I found nothing.”
When Muhammad heard about Peter’s work and that he evangelizes Muslims, he contacted Peter to set up a meeting.
“When I went to Peter, I was scared but I wanted to search for the truth,” he said.
Peter said he directly told the man, “Our God is not yours.” This angered Muhammad.
“When I listened to Peter, I felt his words were arrogant. His words had awakened Muhammad, the radical one,” Muhammad said. “Because of my anger, for a moment, I forgot why I came to Peter. I suddenly had one thought: How should I kill him?”
Then, suddenly, Muhammad broke down and began crying. Peter put his hand on the man’s shoulder and started to pray, but Muhammad got up and left. The men went their separate ways.
One night soon after, Muhammad had a dream about the Blood of Jesus and called Peter, urgently asking to meet again.
“I had a dream. Peter came to me and gave me a white envelope dripping with blood,” Muhammad said. “The blood had a good fragrance, like musk or perfume. When I saw the blood, I was scared. Peter said to me, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ Then I woke up.”
Muhammad asked Peter how he could seek forgiveness.
“I said, ‘The Lord gave it to you for free. You just need to accept it,'” Peter said.
Muhammad then confessed to Peter that he intended to kill him the first time they met. He apologized and then repented.
After that encounter, the two began meeting regularly. Muhammad soon shaved his beard and was baptized.
“Once I got out of the water, I felt a victory and a joy I could not describe,” he said.
The former ISIS leader is now conducting a Bible study for three Syrian people in his area.
“I found the truth in Jesus Christ and, because I have surrendered my life to the Lord, I am certain He will never forsake me,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad’s story is one of many Leading the Way says it has heard from radical Muslims who have come to Christ.
“What we are seeing God do is remarkable,” Leading the Way founder and president Michael Youssef told Charisma News. “Muslims who claim to have seen a vision or a dream of Jesus tune in to our teaching channel or reach out to our follow-up team. And there they hear about the very One whom they saw in a dream telling them that He loves them and died for [them] … We are witnessing a powerful movement of God. The Lord is moving in unprecedented ways, and Muslims are coming to know Jesus in numbers previously considered impossible.”
(H/T: Charisma News)
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