Somalia (MNN) — According to International Christian Concern, a 22-year-old Somali Christian, Ahmadey Osman Nur, was murdered last month during a wedding ceremony.
The Muslim wedding Nur was attending was performed in Arabic, the language of Islam. Even though most Somali Muslims don't speak Arabic, it is considered the "language Allah hears" and is therefore used in Muslim ceremonies.
Due to the lack of comprehension of the service by any of the guests, Nur asked that the contents of the wedding be translated into the Somali vernacular. The Sheik performing the ceremony was aware of Nur's conversion to Christianity, however, and took offense to the request. He declared him to be guilty of apostasy and asked a guard to "silence" him.
Nur was encouraged to leave the ceremony, and upon exiting, he was shot and killed by the armed guard.
Nur is not the first Christian to be put to death for his faith in Somalia. It seems as though many Islamic extremists are looking for reasons to kill believers, and they often do so without much justification. In the past nine months, six Somali Christians have been martyred, including Nur.
Ironically, Nur is now remembered for his generous compassion for those in need, a quality necessitated in the Five Pillars of Islam.
Please pray for believers in Somalia and other Islamic nations that undergo this kind of persecution daily. Pray that believers would reflect the peace of Christ with their lifestyles and that many more Muslims would come to know the Lord, just as Nur did.
