A Muslim woman brutally oppressed by her husband finds liberation through Jesus.
Actually, Mariam Tripp is a deeply religious Muslim. Even though she is struggling with Islam in some areas, she clings to Allah. But one evening she has an encounter with Jesus. And through him he finds a freedom she never dared dream of.
I grew up in Iran and was raised from childhood to hate everyone else. We hated the Jews and the „filthy Christians,“ as they called us.
As a teenager, I struggled with my religion. Especially with the role of women in Islam. I did not understand why I should be second-class and why men were allowed to treat us brutally.
An unhappy connection
At 17, I was married. My husband and I went to the US to study there. We got a son and I enjoyed living in another country. But my husband got to know radical Muslims at university and changed towards me. It was not long before I was no more than a slave to him.
From now on, he locked me up in our apartment and I was only allowed out if he allowed it. I was like a prisoner. Any love had disappeared from our relationship.
Decision with consequences
At that time, I began to implore Allah to give me love for my husband. That he would help me to endure all this. But nothing changed between us. When my husband once beat me so badly that I could not go to college, I asked for the divorce.
But he mocked me: „Oh no, you’ll come back to Iran with me and I’ll make you an obedient, submissive woman out of you.“
I whispered, „We are not here in Iran. You can not beat me in the plane or pull my hair to the airport. I will not go with you anymore. “
One morning he and my son were gone, back in Iran. I knew that with my decision for my family I had died and that I would never see my son again. Now I was completely on my own.
The encounter
While I prayed one evening again, suddenly a man stood in the room. Full of gentleness and love he looked at me and I felt so comforted. Intuitively, I knew that it was Jesus, although I had never dealt with him.
For so long I had been waiting for an answer from Allah, and he had always been silent. But Jesus showed himself to me without me asking for him. At that moment I knew that I had to become a Christian, even though I did not know anything about this religion.
In search of Jesus
In the following days, I bought a Bible. But what I read confused me. Was Jesus really the son of God? I decided to just ask God Himself, „Forgive me, I do not want to offend you, but please tell me if Jesus is your son. Is he God? »
Then I opened the Bible and read in John’s Gospel: „In the beginning was the Word. And the word was with God. And the word was God. (…) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, a glory as of a single Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. “ How could God have spoken more clearly to me?
Since then I am a Christian. In Jesus, I found a freedom that I did not even dream of. Through his love he has solved my hate.
Muslims have no savior. Buddhists must redeem themselves, Hindus have no savior. But I found my Savior in Jesus Christ. What is in the Bible is true. Jesus died on the cross for me. I’m forgiven. This is the message that sets you free, that makes you happy and that changes everything. (Jesus.ch)
Date: 14.12.2015
Author: Miriam Hinrichs
Source: Jesus.ch / cbn.com
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