Prison Epistles; An Afghan Christian's Testimony to the World during Nine Months of Imprisonment

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Prison Epistles; An Afghan Christian's Testimony to the World during Nine Months of Imprisonment

He was sentenced to death for converting to Christianity

By Aidan Clay

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (ANS) -- "When they asked the question, 'Are you ready to become Muslim?' I refused it. They said that they cannot defend me in court because my fault is this: I have believed in God almighty and His only Son."


Said Musa
Said Musa wrote these words after being refused a lawyer on January 25, 2011.

Throughout his imprisonment and under constant threat of execution, Said's letters - written in a jail chamber and smuggled out of Kabul's prisons - boldly testify to his faith in the God who overcomes darkness and offers hope to the destitute and weary.

Refusing to die in secret, Said crafted his own defense in epistles inscribed in broken but legible English. As in the days of Paul, Said wrote so that the church - upon hearing of the perseverance of the saints - might be encouraged and led to prayer.

Taking up his cross

A fifteen year employee with the Red Cross treating victims of landmines, Said was known as a compassionate care-taker. Said himself is an amputee with prosthesis on his left leg - the result of a mine explosion 23 years ago when serving as a young officer in the Afghan Army. As a Red Cross employee, Said offered therapy to handicapped children and was greatly respected by the community. "He took care with compassion and great professionalism of the amputee or handicap children we used to bring him," said a westerner in Kabul.

Said was also known throughout the community as a Christian. A former Muslim, Said's curiosity about Christianity was aroused during the Afghan civil war when his neighbor's house was bombed. Two foreign women helped dig through the rubble when nobody else would. They managed to find one person still alive.

"Many tried to hide, but the women didn't," Said told the Associated Press. Said later found that the women were Christians, which prompted him to learn more about the faith. Eventually, a Christian convert from Iran led Said to Christ. Christianity was by no means the easy path to take, but Said knew that to follow Christ meant taking up the cross of Christ's sufferings (Luke 9:23).

Said's arrest came in late-May of last year after footage of Afghans being baptized was broadcast on national television and led to protests throughout the country. So enraged were some Islamic fundamentalist groups that a parliamentarian called for Afghan Christians to be executed. The national church in Kabul immediately fled the city. Said, however, was unable to escape. After having lunch with patients, Said was unexpectedly rounded-up by security officers working with the Ministry of Interior. Said's arrest was the first in what became a nationwide crackdown against Christians.

Christian world takes notice

International Christian Concern (ICC) visited Afghanistan just weeks following Said's arrest. After month of advocacy and awareness, the Christian world took notice. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in Southern California were among other pastors who campaigned for Said's release through social media like Twitter and Facebook. Churches throughout Europe and North America made the cause their own by standing together, united in prayer, calling for Said's freedom.

"It's a sympathetic case," said Paul Marshall, senior fellow at the Center for Religious Freedom. "Here he is, himself an amputee who lost a leg, working with amputees for Red Cross. He has six children. One is handicapped. He's an appealing figure."

It was difficult not to take notice of Said. His humility, gentleness of spirit, and love for his people touched even the most anti-Christian critics. Secular media was also intrigued and could find no fault in him. Said's plight hit the New York Times, the Sunday Times of London, and other major news outlets, and Said soon gained international notoriety.


Said Musa working with the Red Cross in Kabul treating victims of land mines
It was through Said's letters, however, that he became a symbol of Christian suffering to the world. "Prisoners in jail did many bad behaviors with me about my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They did sexual things with me; beat me by wood, my hands, my legs. Nobody let me for sleep night and day. Every person spat on me and beat me. Please Pray and immediately help with me and rescue me from this jail. Otherwise they will kill me."

Said's letters expressed a broken heart crying for relief in a very real and terrifying way. But, Said's fear of death was soon overcome by a joyful and fervent desire to serve his Lord and his people. "Every day and night I pray and cry, 'O Lord, I want to display your name in Afghanistan,'" Said wrote on December 1. "I want to build up your church, for this is my purpose. I have in my heart a fire of Good News. It should be announced to the people. It's our mission in the world."

Said was exactly where God wanted him to be during his nine long months of imprisonment. In one of Said's most encouraging letters, dated December 16, 2010, he spoke of sharing the Gospel with a member of the Taliban in his prison cell.

"I want to tell you. A person who's accused of murder, he's sleeping in front of me in the corridor of jail," Said wrote. "He's a hundred percent extremist and has discrimination with my religion. He's a Talib person. One night he wants to suicide himself. I prayed for him more and more. I told him, 'Please be patient. Please believe in Jesus Christ, he's the only person to forgive you and save you and release you from this jail.'

The first time he began screaming and insulting me. He told me, 'You're not clean, you're not a Muslim.' But I told him, 'Oh my friend and brother, please think about my word.' Then I prayed for him since the middle of the night. He woke up from sleep. He came near my bed and sat and told me. 'Please forgive me brother. You're really true person. I have seen wonderful dreams. A very light person spoke with me. He was an amazing person. I fell down on my knees and to the ground. He told me, "Please believe in your friend Said Musa. I am Lord Jesus Christ. I forgive you now. I couldn't speak at that moment and was shaking from fear and then I woke up." He told me, 'Now I have believe in Jesus Christ.''"

In prison and in freedom, God has lifted Said up to minister to his people and be voice for Christian freedoms like no other Afghan has been able to accomplish in recent memory. Yet, humbly, Said knows little about his influence. Seeking God's protection and strength, and appealing to the church for help, Said signed his letter, "Your destitute brother in the world."

Said Musa has now been freed and has been safely transported out of Afghanistan, but what a legacy he has left behind him.

ICC (www.persecution.org) is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.