I am Sister Samiatou, daughter of an imam from the TOURÉ family in Djougou. Djougou is considered the Saudi Arabia of BENIN. In Djougou, especially in the TOURÉ family, Islam is not just a religion, but a culture. It is therefore our identity. Denying Islam is like denying yourself. A Djougois doesn’t have to choose their religion. It’s a fact. If you are from Djougou, then you are Muslim. Quranic school is compulsory in our family and in Djougou. It is shameful for an imam not to have educated his children in the religion. This is how my grandmother, who is an allajah (meaning she has been to Mecca), enrolled me in Quranic school. At first, I went there just because it was an obligation, but later I set myself the goal of finishing memorizing the Quran in Arabic. I applied myself to this because those who finished the Quran were very honored in Islam and especially in our family. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish my Quranic studies in Djougou, since some time later, we emigrated to NATITINGOU, another city in the north of BENIN. In NATITINGOU, my father built his own mosque and led the prayers himself. To root me in Islam, my father specially hired a Quranic teacher for a good recitation of the Quran but especially to learn to write and read Arabic. I really applied myself to this study. Later, my father lost his job, and he could no longer pay the Quranic teacher who stopped teaching me. But before stopping classes, the Quranic master had already taught me a lot about recitation, reading, and especially Arabic conjugation. I was already able to read any Arabic script. But I was not at all satisfied with my Quranic recitation. I wanted to master the recitation of the Quran and chant it with a beautiful voice. It was my dream. That’s when I made friends with a Muslim sister who was advanced in religion and in memorizing the Quran in order to complete my knowledge. Here again, I was unable to finish. In the middle of my studies, I obtained my baccalaureate and had to leave the city for university studies. At the university, despite the pressure of the courses, I looked for a place to finish my Quranic studies in order to please Allah. My parents knew that I had a void in religion that I wanted to fill at all costs. In my second year, one of my cousins, who was advanced in religion and in memorizing the Quran, had just graduated and was going to university in the same city as me. I seized the opportunity to complete my Quranic courses with him. We started off well until the day my cousin began to desire me. I strongly opposed it because it was really dirty in my eyes. How could someone so religious be interested in his cousin to the point of wanting her as a wife, I say? I saw him as a false Muslim and a bad religious teacher. But he justified his act with a verse from the Quran where Allah authorizes the prophet of Islam to take even his cousins ​​as wives.

It was Surah Al-Azhab (Surah 33v50). This incident extinguished the passion for memorizing and chanting the Quran in me. Since that day, I have not sought to continue elsewhere. I still remained a devout Muslim with attire worthy of a Muslim. I was so strict in my dress that some members of the Islamic community on campus approached me to congratulate me on my dedication to Islam. I had no doubt about Islam. For me, Islam is the only truth. The incident with my cousin did not affect my faith in any way. It was as if something was preventing me from making progress in Islam. Some Christians preached Jesus to me in vain, since for me I was in the truth and I strongly opposed their message. In my resistance to the gospel, I came across one of Abdoul Madjid’s debates, the Congolese. I was satisfied with the debate, and I took his arguments as a way to defend myself against Christians. One day, an evangelical sister approached me with the gospel. She said in

John 14, verse 6, Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

It was as if I was expecting that from her, since in the debate I had followed, Abdoul Madjid said that the way is not the destination. So, to shut her mouth, I said, “The way is not the destination.” I knew that after this response, she would have nothing more to say, and thus I won the debate. But she instantly retorted: “If you don’t take the way, you will never reach your destination.” My mouth was shut. I decided to avoid him completely in order to continue my religion. I had a pagan friend who eventually started Brother Bernadin’s church. She went to church but lived in sin. Since we were friends, she invited me to come stay with her. I accepted. In the room, everyone practiced their own religion. Then one day, I met Brother Bernadin, who is my girlfriend’s pastor. Since he knew I was a Muslim, he paid special attention to me. He gave me a comparative study of the two beliefs with evidence from the Bible, the Quran, and the Sunnah. It was the first time I had seen a Christian who knew so much about Islam. He didn’t speak to smear the religion. He supported his arguments with specific references. Things I had never heard since my birth, neither in my studies nor from one of my Quranic teachers. I was overwhelmed. How can a Christian know more about Islam than Muslims? How is it that I am learning certain things about my religion for the first time from a Christian? It was a shock for me. I was greatly frightened by Surah Maryam.

(Surah 19 v71-72) which says, “There is no one among you who will not pass through Hell. For it is a sentence with your Lord that will not be reversed. Then We will deliver those who were righteous, and We will leave the wrongdoers kneeling there.”

 I clearly understood that if I died a Muslim, my first destination was Hell. This verse and several others in the Quran opened my eyes to my miserable condition as a Muslim. I realized that I was in the hands of the enemy of my soul, and I had to escape to follow the Good Shepherd. In July 2017, I repented of my sins and received the Lord Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. After receiving the Lord, I could not explain the joy that filled me. I was so filled with joy, and there was great peace in my heart. I had only one desire: to sing the psalms, to praise and to worship. Hallelujah. The more I grew in my faith, the more I learned to know the Lord Jesus. I was constantly strengthened in my faith by the Word of God, the teachings and the testimonies. When my parents learned that I had become a Christian, the persecutions began. My little brother, who had read the Quran, wept bitterly as if he had lost a loved one. Several people in the family cried as if there had been a death. Some said that I had lost my mind and came to test my psychology to see if everything was in place. One day, to my great surprise, my own mother, her brother and her cousin arrived at my home. As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by insults, shouts and beatings. My mother hit me and ordered me to get out of the midst of Christians. Then she grabbed my shirt and began tearing it off to expose me in the courtyard. But I held firm so as not to expose my nakedness. She shouted, “Have you ever seen one of us become a Christian?” After this incident, I was a little discouraged. But I regained courage when, reading my Bible, I saw that the Lord had already said in 

Matthew 5:11:12 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” And

Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or wife or children, or lands or houses for my name’s sake will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life.”

Peter could say this: “To whom will I go if Jesus possesses eternal life in Him? For one thing is certain, neither parents nor anyone can give me eternal life except Jesus Christ.

These verses sealed my lifelong commitment to the Lord, and what should have been a cause for discouragement has become a cause for joy. Glory to God. Today, I serve the Lord in the CMCI’s house of prayer for the conquest of the Malsi people in northern Benin. To God be the glory. Amen.