Safe houses in Middle East for converts from Islam

By Yvette Harding —

Many Christians across the globe are facing death for simply saying “I believe in Jesus Christ.”

“They lose their homes, their jobs, and some lose their lives, all because of their faith in Jesus,” says a video on the website of Help the Persecuted, an organization to rescue converts to Christianity in Muslim lands.

Their group has created safe houses throughout the Islamic world to house persecuted converts. A safe house is a “typical, rented apartment, usually two or three bedrooms, located within ordinary neighborhoods across the Islamic World.”

Once a person arrives at one of these houses, they’re given food, clothing, and medicine, and treated with dignity and respect. 

A majority of those staying in the safe houses are from an Islamic background who have converted to Christianity after finding Jesus. The threat is death sentence for apostasy, often carried out by their own family.

These people sometimes arrive beaten or imprisoned, or have been kicked out and shunned from their families due to their changing faith. For a self-proclaimed “religion of peace”, this doesn’t sound very peaceful.

They also send out field ministers to 15 countries— including Morocco, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Algeria, Afghanistan, Turkey and more.

Sakina, a Syrian woman who was threatened with death by her family after revealing herself to be a Christian, relocated herself to a safe house. She is now able to worship freely without judgement or fear.

Dalal, a woman from Lebanon, fled from her abusive husband and, with her daughter, managed to find a safe house to live in. 

“I have peace here,” Dalal said. “For the first time, I can pray without fear.”

Help the Persecuted gives “wrap around” care to those living in their safe houses, which includes physical, financial and spiritual care. 

“The goal is not only to protect, but to restore. Safety allows healing to begin; healing makes discipleship possible; discipleship produces courage to share the gospel again,” the video says.