Iraq (MNN) — Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reiterated U.S. support of justice for the Yazidi people in a recent meeting with Yazidi advocate, Islamic State survivor, and Nobel laureate Nadia Murad.
Abducted by ISIS during the group’s genocide against Yazidis in 2014, Murad has been fighting to hold the terrorists accountable for their crimes. She is also working together with the Kurdistan Region Presidency to ensure the safe return of survivors to the Yazidi heartland of Shingal.
Numerous Yazidis have encountered the Gospel since being driven from their homeland by the Islamic State in 2014. Today, the Yazidis’ “openness [to the Gospel] can be debated, but one thing that has been very clear is that God is doing some amazing things,” says Samuel* with Redemptive Stories.
For example, “the Yazidi speak their own version of Kurdish,” he explains.
“One of our partners has a Facebook page that is putting out Christian content in that language, but made by believers from a Yazidi background.”
Sometimes, these partners will meet with Yazidi families face-to-face in secret.
“This family will say, ‘Hey, have you seen this page? It’s amazing. They’re talking about this Jesus that is peaceful and loves us.’ All the while, they (believers) know they’re messaging this person from behind the scenes.”
The Islamic State is not as powerful as it used to be in Iraq, but they’re still around. Secrecy protects believers and the Yazidis from persecution. Pray the Lord will continue calling the Yazidis to His side.
“Pray for the Yazidis; pray for our brothers and sisters doing amazing work among the Yazidi. Some churches are being planted,” Samuel says.
Pray Yazidis will encounter the God of the Bible through a dream or vision if they have no access to a believer who can tell them about Jesus. “They believe in the spirit world; they believe that God would speak to them potentially through a vision or a dream,” Samuel says.
*Pseudonym
Header image depicts a Yazidi religious leader at his home in Babera village near Duhok, Iraq. (Photo, caption courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy/Unsplash)
