October 21, 2008 Somalia (International Christian Concern)- Islamic extremists shot and killed a Muslim convert to Christianity on September 14, 2008 in Afgoye, a town 18 miles away from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. His name was Ahmadey Osman Nur, and he was 22 years old.
On September 14, Nur had been invited to attend a Muslim wedding in his neighborhood. The wedding ceremony was conducted in the Arabic language, a language no one among the attendants of the ceremony understood except the Sheik who conducted the ceremony.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Nur requested the Sheik to summarize the message in the Somali language, the mother tongue of all the people present at the wedding. Almost all the guests verbally agreed with Nur’s request. But the Sheik, who was a recent recruit of the Muslim militant group Al Shabab, was offended and asked one of his armed body guards “to silence the apostate.” As a Christian who converted from Islam, Nur was considered by the Sheik to be an apostate. Muslims consider Arabic to be ‘holy’ language; a language they claim to be spoken in Paradise.
Some of Nur’s Muslim friends advised him to leave immediately, fearing for his life, but the bodyguard, who was armed with a handgun, shot and killed Nur as he exited the house.
According to the Muslim groom who invited Nur to the wedding, Nur will be most remembered for his compassion to the elderly in the neighborhood where he lived.
Nur’s pastor said that the martyr will also be remembered as the first Somali Christian in Afgoye district to memorize the entire book of the Acts of the Apostles—a book he loved more than any other.
Recently, Islamic extremists have intensified their attacks against Christians in Somalia. In the past nine months alone, six Christians, including Nur, have been martyred for their faith. The other five martyrs are: Sayid Ali Sheik Luqman Hussein, David Abdulwahab Mohamed Ali, Da’ud Ali, Mohamed Yusuf and Hassan Mo’alim.
Please pray for Christians in Somalia as they go through this difficult time
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