Shalom to all

I am Brother Isdine. I come from a purely Muslim family. My late father was a devout Muslim, polygamous. He had four wives and several concubines, of which my mother was the first wife. Also from a Muslim family, she bore my father seven children, of whom I am the first son, very attached to my father and very loved by him. My father was the imam of the BANIKANNI BAMORA neighborhood, a residential area in the city of Parakou. Thus, from a very young age, I was already prepared to follow my father’s path, that of becoming a valiant man in religion. A few years later, he died, and I was freed from this pressure. My religious life was acceptable at that time because I managed to pray sometimes and I never missed a single fast. I learned the Quran in Arabic with my Quranic teachers and at home I learned the Quran in French using a French version of the Quran that my father left me. In 2019, I was admitted to the agricultural technical high school of Kika and it was the beginning of a new turning point in my life. I left my parents for a few months being interned in high school then during my first holidays, back home for a few weeks, I discovered that my older sister Rafiath converted to Christianity. It was a shock but I kept my cool. Our other brothers and sisters as well as my mother, persecuted her with insults every day. She was seriously scolded, threatened and mistreated by my mother and the aunts and uncles of the family. This whole story meant absolutely nothing to me because I was quite reserved and seen as the docile child from whom shame could never come. Several times the Jehovah’s Witness evangelists and other congregations and even the CMCI came to our house to preach Jesus Christ to us, I listened to them attentively as if I were interested but in reality in my heart I laughed at them and when he finished I wished them good luck then I repeated these words I quote << My life is for Allah wat-allah go get yourself elsewhere then I laughed at them >>. I despised these so-called Christians. One day my Sister Rafiath asked me if I knew a teacher named Yann Favi in ​​my high school. I told her no because he only intervenes from the second year and I was still in the first year. She promised to introduce me to him as soon as the opportunity arose. I thought he was a benefactor who would slip me a few tickets from time to time to talk to me. We did not meet until I moved on to the second year. I finally met him in class. He was teaching a subject I had no interest in. Our relationship wasn’t good from the start because I was expecting a benefactor who would give me grades as a favor, but he showed a rigor that exceeded that of all my other teachers because he said he was a Christian. I introduced myself to him as the brother of his friend Raphiath but that didn’t change anything in the relationship. He treated me like everyone else. He was still friendly. We exchanged contacts and then one day while I was at my parents’ house for the weekend, he called me and invited me to his house. I went to his house. His wife put me at ease. I had no idea what was being prepared. After the pleasantries, my teacher revealed the reason for his invitation and went to preach the gospel to me by asking me if in my opinion Muslims and Christians worship the same God? I was categorical in saying no and my answer plunged us into 4 hours of non-stop discussion. I had very solid arguments that the brother managed to destroy one by one with precise arguments. I was very nervous and angry at what I heard. But he was my teacher. What could I do? I wanted to be convinced of what he was saying by myself because I felt trapped. That’s when I had the idea of ​​clandestinely launching the recorder of my phone to be able to report to my teachers in Islam and to verify. After he finished speaking I confessed Jesus Christ in my life but I was not yet convinced. Brother Yann had realized this and had offered me a meeting the next Sunday to meet his older brother (Brother Bernadin) in Thian. I did not know how to say no. I accepted even though I did not want to go to any church. Brother Bernadin will re-explain the gospel. I understood clearly but my heart still rejected these truths which shook me as I heard them. After that Sunday, I returned to high school. Thinking I had escaped something, my teacher became very clingy with me. He invited him into classrooms and taught me. He used small brochures that we read and had a Quran on his phone and in person. We were alone together, and it was all these documents he kept in his bag to meet me that destabilized me, because I realized that it wasn’t just empty words. I truly believed in Jesus one day during the teaching class because I realized three things:

1. Allah is the father of no one. This passage broke my heart because I saw the complete opposite.
2. Despite all the seriousness in the Islamic religion, there was no way to escape hell. I understood that my efforts in this direction were in vain.
3. Allah’s paradise is only attainable through Sharia law. I was disturbed by this revelation because I had seen Islam since my childhood as a religion of peace. But I understood that day that the true Muslims were these Jihadists and Boko Haram.

Shortly after, I went home, all scared and afraid that my mother would find out, and consequently the whole family, but it didn’t take long to happen. One fine morning, while I was warming myself by the fire, she approached me and asked me, “Dine, I don’t see you praying like before, and you also promised me that you would finish memorizing the Quran before finishing your high school studies.” At that very moment, my heart began to beat very fast. I didn’t know what to answer her but by the grace of God a voice that was unknown to me made me repeat this < Mom of course I pray but not the Muslim prayer but rather the Christian prayer …… > She didn’t let me finish speaking when she started to scold me. That day for the first time in my life I was truly sad and unfortunately dejected. The news spread, my mother whom I certainly loved more than anything in the world rejected me, disowned me by her children. I was disoriented. I didn’t know what to do anymore. I was scorned, attacked and verbally threatened every day. There were meetings and meetings for my cause. I was practically chased out of the house. I just persisted by not moving. However, I had to be with them from now on to manage on my own. This continues to this day. Sent away from the family I travel everywhere just to free myself from the pressure. The alpha uncles, the Muslim friends, all hated me and abandoned me. Unable to bear these sufferings one good Friday I resumed my old habits and I began the prayer of Djuma. Brother Yann, having it sure, did not stop teaching me again and again. He came to my aid in the darkest moments of my life and by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ I renounced everything then I repented of all my sins. I know the forgiveness of God and I continue to work on my growth in the Lord Jesus. Since my eyes were opened, I pray every day so that my family knows salvation and I strive to preach to other Muslims so that all the Muslims of this world know the truth which gives life and that they are saved.