Iraqi pastor looks ahead to bright future, not back to prison_11204

Posted: 1/09/04

Iraqi pastor looks ahead to
bright future, not back to prison

By Sara Horn

LifeWay Christian Resources

BAGHDAD, Iraq (BP)–It would be hard to imagine a time Maher Abdul Mageed hasn't smiled. The Iraqi pastor lights up a room, whether it's in his church or at the hospital where he helps translate for Iraqi patients.

But there were plenty of times he had reason not to smile. The low point came as he was interrogated in Saddam Hussein's military intelligence prison–the most feared prison in all Iraq. He knew the same men who were questioning him had severely tortured other prisoners, and he wondered whether he ever would see home again.

Mageed professed faith in Jesus Christ in 1994 after first hearing the gospel from his brother, who had left Iraq for another country. Within a year, Mageed felt called by God into vocational ministry, although there was no training in evangelism he could obtain in Iraq. Under Saddam Hussein's dictatorship, it was extremely difficult to preach the gospel in Iraq; doing so could result in a three-year trip to prison.

A father and husband, Mageed decided to start a media ministry. He reasoned that audiotapes, books, CDs and videos offered the easiest way to preach the gospel without being accused of specifically proselytizing for his faith. Using double-deck cassette players, he worked until midnight each night taping various Christian programs. His wife then helped copy the tapes while she cooked. He was eager to share his tapes and CDs with fellow members of the church he attended, the sole Arabic evangelical church in the area where he lived.

Word began to spread throughout the church and surrounding neighborhoods about Mageed's ministry, a development that concerned several local local church council members who also belonged to the Baath Party.

“They asked me to stop my media ministry and said it was becoming a problem,” he recounted. “I asked them why. They were fearful that Saddam would close the church.”

Over the next few months, Mageed tried his best to meet the council's requests, without giving in to shutting down his ministry altogether. Still, the moment came when he was asked to do just that.

The leader of the church council confronted him on everything he had been doing–from passing out tapes to printing and distributing a flyer outlining the plan of salvation.

“I told him, 'I'm not doing anything wrong,'” Mageed said. “He told me, 'You don't like to obey my orders.' I just said, 'I don't like to not obey my Jesus.'”

The next evening, Mageed was sitting in his living room chair, watching TV and eating peanuts in his pajamas and robe when someone knocked at the door.

Two men, security agents for Saddam Hussein, quickly informed him he must not open his mouth or make any sudden movements. A man who had frequently borrowed tapes from the ministry stood there as well. He quickly pointed to Mageed and nodded to the men, leaving as quickly as he came.

The pastor thought quickly and made up an excuse, which gained him permission to run upstairs to his wife. He told her what was happening and instructed her to hide the mountain of audio cassettes and videotapes they had brought home from the church.

In all, 10 evangelical pastors were arrested that day. Mageed spent five days in a 4-by-4-meter room with five Muslims who had been accused of political crimes. When he was brought in for interrogation, a cold chill ran through his body as he was told what the charges were.

“They had been listening to the CDs I passed out,” Mageed said. “One of the recordings talked about a leader's integrity, and the fact that the best leaders in the world are Christians.

“To them, that meant I was opposing Saddam being the leader of the world. That was the lowest moment for me, because I knew they had torture devices. I started praying.”

Five days later, Mageed was released unharmed, although many of the other pastors were imprisoned until right before the war began.

Today, Mageed and his family enjoy new freedom to worship and share their faith. They have started a church, and about 90 percent of those who attend are new believers.

“Jesus filled us with more purpose,” said Eman, Mageed's wife. “He filled us with a great ambition to tell the people about grace and God's good news.”

More than 10,000 Iraqis already have been touched by Mageed's media ministry. He believes the future will only get better.