Majid and the Sheikhs

Frontiers worker Ben never would have guessed that his Muslim friend Majid could influence the spiritual destinies of so many people.

Over the years, Majid had shown little interest whenever Ben shared the Gospel with him. But Ben never gave up. He continued sharing, and his teammates kept praying for God to stir in Majid a hunger to know Christ.

Then Majid called Ben with an urgent request. “I need to meet you now,” he said. Ben dropped what he was doing and met Majid at a coffee shop.

Ben never gave up. He continued sharing, and his teammates kept praying.

“I’ve done a lot of searching in my life,” Majid said. “I’ve looked at who I am as a Muslim. I’ve looked at the leaders in my community, and they are not the sort of people I want to be like.” In many of their lives, he saw hypocrisy and hate.

“But I’ve been watching you,” Majid continued. “You’re different. I hear you talk about your relationship with Jesus, and you really believe He’s in you and with you. I want to follow Him in the same way, and I want you to help me learn how.”

Ben and his teammates celebrated with Majid and started studying the Gospels with him, helping him discover what it means to follow Christ. Majid devoured the Word. And the more he applied it in his life, the more he experienced God transforming him.

“I want to follow Him in the same way, and I want you to help me learn how.”

Majid was well known and respected in his community, and word of his decision to follow Jesus spread quickly. People were intrigued by the changes they saw in him. Soon, he was leading a group of Muslim friends in studying the Bible every week.

Then he was invited to speak at a political rally. The organizers asked Majid to speak against an opposing party and blame them for the strained state of politics in the region.

As Majid prayed with Ben, he sensed that God had a different message for him to share. Standing in front of the crowd, Majid described how following Jesus Christ had transformed him. “I’ve found the means to forgive my enemies, and you can, too,” he said. “We must pray for our enemies and exchange hate for forgiveness, bloodshed for love.”

Standing in front of the crowd, Majid described how following Jesus Christ had transformed him.

“How can you tell us to pray for our enemies?” some of the attendees grilled him afterward. Several sheikhs from local mosques also approached him. “We would like to hear more about what you shared today,” they told him.

Majid invited them to his home, though he couldn’t tell if they were outraged or genuinely interested in hearing about Jesus. A few days later, they visited him. “We like what you shared about love and forgiveness,” one of the sheikhs said. “We don’t want to keep building up hate in our community. Just as you said, forgiveness is better than anger. Please tell us more.”

“Why don’t we study the words of Jesus together?” Majid suggested. “That’s how I learned about forgiveness.”

They started meeting weekly to study the book of Luke, reading one chapter every week. They were halfway through Luke when one of the sheikhs, Asef, announced that he and the others had been doing some reading on their own. “We couldn’t carry on at this slow pace,” he said. “We’ve read all the way to the end of the book and believe everything it says about Jesus Christ. We’re ready to follow Him.”

“And we want to help others learn Jesus’ ways, too,” another sheikh added. So right then, they thanked God for showing them the way to salvation. Then Majid shared about starting new groups to introduce more people to God’s Word, just as Ben had coached him.

“We don’t want to keep building up hate in our community.”

That Friday, Asef invited everyone in his mosque to stay after the prayer time for what would be the first in a series of Bible studies beginning from creation to Christ. He handed out the passage to small groups and appointed leaders to ask a series of discussion questions.

These groups have continued meeting in the mosque, and many people have become followers of Christ. New groups have started, and today, there are more than 60 groups meeting all over the country! At the center of this movement is confidence in Jesus Christ’s message of salvation for those who put their trust in Him.

“Jesus is the hope for all people, including Muslims,” Sheikh Asef declares publicly. “He is the Savior of the world, and if we don’t esteem Him above all the prophets, then we’ve lost.” Whenever he shares this message, Asef follows up by coaching his listeners to start gathering to study God’s Word together.

“Jesus is the hope for all people, including Muslims,” Sheikh Asef declares publicly.

Recently, Asef was approached by several Muslim leaders. “You have to stop talking about the ways of Jesus,” they insisted. “Your teachings about peace and forgiveness are weakening our people against our enemies.”

“I can’t stop,” he answered. “Jesus’ words have changed my life and I am stronger because He is in me. As long as I’m alive, I will continue sharing so others can find forgiveness and know He is the way to salvation.”

Ben and the Frontiers team are amazed by all that the Lord has done!