Young Dhaka convert preaches Christ with his style of life
Joynal Hasan spoke about his conversion, which happened after watching by chance a movie on Easter Sunday. The Christian is getting death threats for his faith and was badly beaten in the past. For him, "Persecution makes my faith burn, which becomes even purer.”
Dhaka (AsiaNews) – Joynal Hasan (not his real name) is a 30-year-old man from Dhaka who converted to Christianity. He spoke to AsiaNews about his conversion, for which he was beaten and for which he continues to receive death threats. Yet, he is not afraid for his life.
Speaking about the extraordinary missionary month he said that the event, for him, means "preaching Christ to other faithful through my style of life, telling the story of Jesus Christ to those who have never heard of it. This way they can know him and get closer to him."
"Even if I am persecuted because of my faith, I have faith in my heart. Persecution makes my faith burn, which becomes even more pure.”
Hasan says he first heard of Christ in 2000. "It was Easter Sunday afternoon and I was watching television. On the BTV channel they aired a film about Jesus. At that moment I found out that Christ sacrificed his life; later I learnt a lot more.”
“I looked for a Catholic church and met a priest. I read so many books and the Bible. This helped me to understand faith more deeply. Meanwhile I met nuns and priests, and their sincere behaviour attracted me more and more to Christianity. In the end I decided to receive baptism.”
"It was not easy,” said the young man. “The priest tried to discourage me. ‘Even your Muslim religion is good!’ he told me. But I didn’t give up hope. I spent three years preparing with catechists, nuns and priests. Finally, I was baptised.”
Hasan says fellow Muslims where he lived did not welcome the news of his conversion. "One day I received a message on my cell phone saying: ‘You have done an insult to Islam by becoming a Christian. We will kill you.’”
“At the beginning I didn't take the threat seriously; in fact, I thought it was a joke, but then I noticed that someone was following all my movements.” Eventually, he was attacked.
“One day I was returning from Sunday Mass and three people stopped me. They violently attacked me with sticks. I almost died, but Jesus Christ saved me. I stayed in the hospital for several months.”
When he went to file a complaint with the police, "they didn't want to register the case at first. Later they did, but never conducted an investigation. I know the police are against me."
Hasan is a merchant today. He earns a living trading with business partners and customers. He continues to receive death threats, but he does not deny his passion for Christ.
"I live in a Muslim country where radicals also live and it is difficult to bear witness to Christ. But there are many ways to preach the message of God. My style of life preaches the Christian message and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life."
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24/10/2019 10:26
