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Sudan: Christian pastor in hiding from Muslim extremist relatives, “I am not safe”

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – A Christian pastor in western Sudan has had to leave his home and go into hiding to escape arrest or abduction by his Muslim extremist relatives who accuse him of apostasy, Morning Star News reports.

Evangelist and pastor Ahmad Adam Mohamad of North Darfur state was publicly accused of apostasy earlier this month by Muslim relatives enraged at his discipleship of around 25 former Islamic Christians, MSN reports. On February 6, a group of his family members arrived at Ahmad’s house and threatened him, demanding that he renounce Christ and return to Islam. But he refused.

Then, on February 9, Ahmad’s relatives sent a group of Muslim extremists to search for him, but he was not at home, he told MSN. “Again, on Saturday, February 11, another group was sent to my house with a mission to arrest and kidnap me,” Ahmad added. Having narrowly missed an encounter with the extremists, Ahmad began moving from house to house to avoid arrest or kidnapping.

“The situation is extremely difficult – I am not safe at all,” Ahmad said. “I urge all the brothers to pray and help me get out from this area to a safer place,” he implored. “I have not eaten for almost two days now,” he told MSN on Monday, 13 February.

In a website statement explaining the situation of Sudanese Christians since the ousting of Sudanese dictator Omar al Bashir in 2019, the Open Doors Christian advocacy group said: “Christians are still vulnerable to extreme persecution from both their communities and their own families, particularly if they have converted from Islam. Converts may face sexual assault and domestic violence in their homes, as well as being vulnerable to imprisonment and violence. The government hasn’t put real protections in place for Christians and other religious minorities.”

Ruled by Islamists who conducted a military coup to displace the legitimate government in 2021, Sudan ranks 10th on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.