The Truth Shall Set You Free

Arabic Bible

Yeshua (Jesus Christ) said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” The big story is that more Muslims are coming to faith in Yeshua today than at any other time in history.

Look at the following statistics concerning Islam to Christianity conversions in Middle East countries:

• Iran, more than 1 million Shia Muslims have turned to Yeshua since 1979


• In Pakistan, there are now more than 2.5 million followers of Yeshua


• In Sudan, there are now more than 5 million followers of Yeshua

Not every country has seen millions leave Islam to become adherents of the New Testament teachings of Yeshua.

• In Syria, there are between 4,000 and 5,000 believers, but this is up from almost none in 1967


• In Saudi Arabia, there are about 100,000 followers of Yeshua now, up from almost none in 1967.

But overall, the trend has been dramatic and largely unreported. For many Muslims, despair and despondency at what they see as the utter failure of Islamic governments and societies to improve their lives and give them peace, security, and a sense of purpose and meaning in life are causing them to leave Islam in search of truth. (The Bible says the truth will set you free.) Some have lost their way entirely and become agnostics and atheists. Others have turned to alcohol and drug abuse. But millions are finding that only Yeshua heals the ache in their hearts and the deep wounds in their souls.

For other Muslims, it is not depression but rage that is driving them away from the Qur’an and the mosque. They see too many Muslim leaders, politicians and clerics advocating and causing cruelty toward women, children and fellow Muslims. Devout and traditional Muslims are also turning to Yeshua because Arabic television networks constantly play violent images of hirabists.

The greatest spiritual awakening in the history of the Middle East is under way and Islamic leaders worry about the Christian conversions in the Middle East.

In 1993, a Saudi sheikh Salman Al-Odeh delivered a sermon entitled “Christian Missionaries Sweeping the Islamic World.” He argued that “Spanish Christians have the biggest center of missionaries to Africa. These missionaries are well trained and their efforts lead many Moroccans to convert.” He then cited the World Christian Encyclopedia—which he described as a “dangerous survey”—and warned his fellow Muslims that “the number of Christians in Africa was 9 million only in 1900 AD, or 9% of the whole population. In the year 1980 they became 200 million! They jumped from 9 to 200 million in 80 years.

In December 2001, Sheikh Ahmad Al Qataani, another significant Saudi cleric, appeared in a live interview on Aljazeera satellite television to confirm that Muslims were turning to Yeshua in alarming numbers. “In every hour, 667 Muslims convert to Christianity,” Al Qataani warned. “Every day, 16,000 Muslims convert to Christianity. Every year, 6 million Muslims convert to Christianity.”