International (MNN) — Three years ago, Meriam Ibrahim was released from prison.
Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada remembers the story.
It started when Meriam married Daniel, a young man with dual citizenship in Sudan and the United States. The problem was that he was a Christian, and though Meriam was raised as a Christian, “Her father who had left the family years before was a Muslim. And so in Islamic culture, if your father was a Muslim, even if he’s not part of the family, [you are] still considered a Muslim.”
This led to her arrest on charges of blasphemy. “She was given a sentence of 100 lashes for committing adultery because she had married someone who was not a Muslim and she was sentenced to death by hanging,” Musselman said.
(Photo courtesy of World Watch Monitor)
According to Muslim law, she could not be executed while she was pregnant, so she waited in prison for the beginning of her child’s life and the end of her own. However, that extra time gave her story a chance to be heard all over the world. “Because of the international pressure, she was eventually released and made her way to the United States,” Musselman said.
But why does it matter now? First of all, Musselman said she may be out of the frying pan but there still is a fire at her doorstep. “Even though she’s out of Sudan and into the United States, there are those who think she deserves death under the radical Islamic doctrine.”
But that only serves to make her perseverance now more inspiring. Despite the constant danger and a traumatic past, Meriam Ibrahim refuses to sit still.
“She is speaking up for those who are in similar situations as hers and then also bringing to light the fact that these are happening,” Musselman said. “Meriam’s case is just one of many that are going on around the world. It is still the plight of many Christian women and men around the world that are falsely accused and then are having to face these very horrific situations.”
The work Meriam’s doing is dangerous, but it’s bringing hope to believers stuck in dangerous areas around the world. Want to help? Your support is always appreciated, and you can pray that “she would continue to be bold in her faith, and continue to bring attention to the persecuted who are being challenged for their faith because they don’t go along with the radical brands of Islam.”
She’s a very courageous woman and we need to hold her up with prayers of protection. While I do want to contribute to her mission, it can’t be today, just don’t have it, but, I will send what I can when I can because I believe in what she’s doing.
Los musulmanes no saben, que el verdadero Dios que hizo los cielos y la tierra, creó al hombre con libre albedrío, o voluntad propia, porque Él es amor.