Sudan (MNN) – As Sudan faces dual crises of war and famine, Sudanese continue to flee their country. Many seek refuge in nearby Egypt, Algeria, Uganda, South Sudan, or Chad. Bishop Dr. Yassir Eric, partner of Horizons International, was born and raised in a Muslim family in Northern Sudan. He says relocating to a neighboring country does not dispel cultural challenges for refugees.
“Geographically, they are neighbors, but culturally they are extremely different. There is lots of discrimination going on in Egypt,” for example, “because of their color, their background,” he says.
In Ethiopia, Sudanese are not welcome because of political differences. In Uganda, refugee camps exist but are often underserved. This plethora and diversity of challenge is experienced by the approximately 3 million IDP who fled to other countries since Sudan’s civil war began on April 15, 2023.
The Gospel and Darfuri diaspora
Sudan’s northwestern region of Darfur is especially ravaged by the ongoing conflict. Historically, the area has been distinctly Muslim. Eric says he knew of only one Christian from Darfur when he moved out of Sudan in 1995. Since then, spiritual transformation has rippled through the growing wave of refugees.
“Today, the church is flourishing among the Darfuri people: in Chad, in Egypt, and even in Southern Sudan,” he says.
Eric suggests that refugees from this region are responding to the Gospel for two main reasons.
The first is disillusionment with Islam.
“Those people are being killed by their own brothers and sisters, so we realize that Islam cannot be the solution that we have been always seeking out.”
The second reason is that Christians are proactively engaging displaced Sudanese with the love of Christ.
“I just got back from Chad where I baptized in one day 250 Muslim-background believers from Darfur,” Eric says.
Ministry to Muslim-background believers
The encouraging reality of a growing church among Darfuri diaspora is sobered by the unique challenges faced by Muslim background believers. Eric explains that they must overcome theological challenges as their worldview is overhauled; spiritual challenges as they seek freedom from the spirit of bondage; and liturgical challenges as they learn how to worship and mature in their newfound Christian faith.
Growing up in a devout Muslim family, Eric experienced these obstacles firsthand. Before he became a believer, he witnessed genocide from the perpetrator’s perspective.
“People got killed in Southern Sudan because they were followers of Christ. And I used to belong to the group that wanted to finish those people,” he says.
That’s why when he became a follower of Jesus, the first thing Eric learned was how to live in peace with others.
“And this is what we are lacking in Sudan. It’s not the political intellect or the resources, but we just don’t know how peace works,” he says.
Eric now serves the church of Muslim-background believers worldwide, working with Horizons International, an MNN partner based in Lebanon.
“What we need as Muslim-background believers: people to help us find our identity in Christ,” he says. “Sometimes people think that we became Christians because Islam is bad. No. We became Christians because Jesus touched our hearts.”
He says ministries should seek to drive that point home by engaging with, listening to, and answering the questions of Muslim background believers, being careful not to provide content without context.
Find your place in the story
In a short documentary about his conversion, Eric credits his salvation to a persecuted Christian’s 25 years of supplication on his behalf. This Christian was once the victim of a brutal attack by Eric himself, years before he knew the Lord.
“That’s the answer to persecution, to hate,” he concludes. “It’s prayer.”
Please pray for the country of Sudan. Pray that the warring parties, primarily the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, would seek peace in the best interest of their people.
Pray also for the Darfuri people and other refugees fleeing the country. Pray that in the midst of turmoil, they would encounter the transforming love of Jesus Christ.
Click here to financially support Bishop Yassir Eric’s ministry in Sudan.
(Photo of Khartoum, Sudan courtesy of Ammar Nassir via Unsplash)
Header image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
