“There are nine Islamic Extremist areas the world…It is all over the place.”
Jason Peters has helped compile a book of inspiring stories of Christians who have faced Islamic extremists.
“What we want to do is capture some of these stories. It was interesting because when you listen to their stories, you hear themes that challenge your own faith.”
Because of the association with Jesus of Nazareth, Islamic extremists have been identifying Christians with the arabic letter ن or nun.
ن is meant to be a slur against Christians, similar to the Jewish Star of David during World War II. However this has become a symbol of faith and support for Christians around the world. Many Christians have added the ن to their social profile images. Jason explains how the Church has redeemed what was meant to be of harm.
“God can take something like that and use it for good, and that’s what we’ve tried to do. We’ve tried to redeem it and if they’re going to have this painted on their house and be forced to either convert Islam or be killed, I’m going to claim this, I’m going to say you can put this on me.”
One of the most common themes in the book is forgiveness. Jason tells the amazing story of a man in Northern Nigeria. When Islamic extremists raided his village they gave him a choice between identifying as a Christian, or converting to Islam. When he stood by his faith they shot him in the face. By God’s miraculous intervention he survived and today shares a message of forgiveness we can all learn from.
‘If I saw the man who shot me I would hug him. I would tell them, like Luke 23 said, Father forgive them. I believe they do not even know what they are doing and I choose to forgive them.”
Dr. Jason Peters serves as Associate Vice President of Connection for The Voice of the Martyrs. As well as executive editor of .
