He once was the Muslim leader of his village, but after meeting in secret with a Christian pastor he and his wife and children renounced Islam and became Christians. When his former mosque discovered his conversion, they exploded with rage. First they threatened him by text message, then they finally beat him and destroyed his house and his farm:
Muslim villagers in eastern Uganda on Nov. 23 destroyed the maize crops of a former Islamic sheikh (teacher) in eastern Uganda who was beaten unconscious after revealing his faith in Christ, sources said.
The day before his fields were destroyed, 30-year-old Malik Higenyi of Bufuja village, Butaleja District, received threatening messages on his mobile phone, he told Morning Star News.
“Be informed that you risk your life and that of the entire family if you happen to come back to your house,” read one anonymous text. “We curse you and your family. You are an apostate according to Islamic law, and you deserve to die."
Higenyi, who along with his wife and two children secretly embraced Christ on April 16, made an open confession of faith at his church on Nov. 13. News of his confession reached a mosque in nearby Lubanga village immediately, sources said.
“Before reaching my house, suddenly I was attacked by three people,” he told Morning Star News. “They started shouting, saying I am a disgrace to the Muslim fraternity of Lubanga mosque.”
Higenyi suffered a head wound and a broken bone in his right hand.
“The attackers hit me with a blunt object, and I fell down and did not know what happened from there,” he said. “I just found myself at Bufuja health center.”
Relatives ostracized him, and Local County 1 Chairman Walubi Mailadi supported their opposition to his conversion, sources said. Fearing attacks, he and his family have been unable to return to their thatched-roof home.
The family received Christ when a local pastor (name withheld for security reasons) visited his home and discipled him the following months.Since Higenyi’s public confession, Muslims from Lubanga mosque have been holding meetings to discuss his punishment, and after Friday prayer meetings they have issued harsh statements against apostates, sources said.
Higenyi and his family are now without a home and have taken refuge at an undisclosed location. (source)
He gave up his whole life to follow Christ, and yet through this he has put himself on the path leading to eternal life.
Never let the fear of men stop you from following Christ, for as Christ himself said:
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)
The Martyrdom of St. Stephen by Dom Gueranger
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