Thousands Of Muslims Coming To Faith In Christ Across The Middle East, Says Charity

Assyrian women attend mass inside the Ibrahim al-Khalil church in Jaramana, eastern Damascus, Syria on March 1, 2015.Reuters

Thousands of Muslims are converting to Christianity in the Middle East in the midst of intense persecution and violence, a charity working in the region has said.

According to The Voice of the Martyrs Canada (VOMC), which supports and equips Christians in the Middle East through broadcasting, "tremendous growth is taking place in the lives of new believers who were Muslims".

"There are thousands upon thousands coming to Christ," VOMC told BosNewsLife.

"We are in regular contact with our FM stations in Iraq and have talked with many people who have family in the Middle East. Some of our Middle Eastern broadcasters have shared testimonies [about people turning to Christ] with us, which they hear directly from listeners when visiting there."

"God has been very faithful," the organisation added.

Christian Today has been told of churches in Iraq and Syria being full of new believers.

Eddie Lyle, president of Open Doors UK & Ireland, told the story of one pastor in the region who sent had to text his entire congregation asking them not to come to church one day because there were so many Muslims that there wasn't room for anyone else.

Pastor Rev Sami Dagher, who leads more than 30 churches across the Middle East, told Christian Today in 2015 that 80 per cent of his Baghdad congregation had fled Iraq, but "the church is still full with new people coming".

"We have about 400 people every Sunday in Baghdad, and about 30 per cent of those are from different religions," he said.

Dagher said that the word "revival" may be too strong, but many Muslims were becoming disillusioned with their faith, and looking to the Church for answers.

"They see people who will put a bomb around themselves and go kill themselves and others and say 'Allahu Akbar' [God is great]. They see a man take another man, cutting [off] his head with a knife and saying 'Allahu Akbar'. They can't really understand... how can they do it in the name of Allah?" he said. "They want to find the truth."