Before he could respond, an Islamic State (ISIS) fighter grabbed the phone and asked Abu to confirm that he was her son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, I am her son,\u201d Abu replied. \u201cWhat is the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, come and take your mother and sister,\u201d the fighter said. \u201cIf you will not come today, we will throw them in the street. Either they will be Muslim or we will leave them in the street. You just come and take them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n\t
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/plugins\/vom-custom-block-subscribe-ad\/assets\/magazine-cover.jpg\")
\r\n\t\t<\/figure>\r\n\t\tRequest your free magazine<\/p>\r\n\t\t\tSubscribe<\/a>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\n\n\n The ISIS fighter took all the family\u2019s money and belongings, closed up their house and painted the Arabic letter \u201cN\u201d on the home, indicating Nassarah<\/em>, or \u201cChristian\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing he couldn\u2019t enter Mosul as a Christian, Abu asked a Muslim friend to bring his elderly mother and sister \u2014 both in wheelchairs \u2014 to his nearby city, which had recently come under ISIS control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once there, the two women joined Abu and his wife and they drove toward Bashiqa in the north. However, shortly after starting their journey, their car was stopped at an ISIS checkpoint by fighters holding guns and swords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe told them, \u2018We are Christian and we are leaving,\u2019\u201d Abu recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ISIS guards who stopped Abu\u2019s car didn\u2019t like what they heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe cannot release you,\u201d one said. \u201cYou cannot go on your way. We have to call the authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After about 30 minutes, two well-dressed young men carrying automatic rifles arrived in new SUVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abu told them he was driving to a Kurdish area in the north, where his family would be welcome as Christians. The two men had other plans for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have to convert to be Muslim,\u201d Abu remembers being told. \u201cIf you will not convert to Islam, we will kill you \u2014 all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abu used Quranic verses to plead for his family\u2019s safety, saying he would happily pay a tax for himself and his Christian family members, but they couldn\u2019t convert. One of the men then grabbed Abu\u2019s left hand and pulled him from his family, telling him, \u201cWe will kill you now. If you want to stay alive, you have to convert to Islam. You will not be released. Either you will be Muslim, or you will be killed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the men continued to talk for more than an hour, another ISIS fighter slowly walked around Abu, looking him in the eyes and holding his sword. At the same time, Abu began to feel God\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was 100 percent sure I would receive this sword in my body at any moment,\u201d Abu said. \u201cI totally believe I was so weak, but the Holy Spirit was with me to strengthen me to confront them and to tell them that, \u2018I will not be Muslim.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGod gave me wisdom not to dishonor them or to speak anything bad about Islam or their prophet, but I was so strong and my voice was loud to say what I wanted to say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After about 90 minutes, the ISIS members realized Abu wouldn\u2019t convert. Another SUV arrived just then. A young man with a gun whom Abu described as a cultural director came up to him. Surprisingly, he wanted to send Abu and his family away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBefore you leave our land, I want to give you a message to deliver to the priests and pastors in your church,\u201d the fighter said. \u201cWe will follow the (Christians) all over the world. We will reach the Vatican and the pope. We will convert the pope to Islam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The man then ordered Abu and his family to leave, and they were released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shaken, Abu returned to his car. He couldn\u2019t believe he was free to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He drove off, grateful to be alive. However, further down the road, it all happened again. The family reached another ISIS checkpoint. Abu told the guards that ISIS leaders had released him and his family at the previous checkpoint. The guards wanted confirmation of this. One of them called a guard at the first checkpoint, who confirmed their release but suggested their car be checked for money or valuables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the guards checked the car, they discovered Abu\u2019s wife was carrying some extra cash. Infuriated, the guards ordered the family out of the car, which was further searched. One fighter then told Abu if he would convert to Islam, everything his family lost would be restored and he would be protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey were very harmful,\u201d Abu said. \u201cThey threatened us. Because of this, we were afraid and we gave them all that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more than an hour, Abu stated that he wanted to remain Christian. He could not convert, but he was willing to pay a tax for himself and his family to remain alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suddenly, the ISIS checkpoint supervisor intervened and asked Abu if he was willing to pay the tax if he returned home. He asked Abu where he lived, and then sent the guard who had previously threatened Abu away to confirm Abu\u2019s place of residence. Once the guard left, the supervisor told Abu and his family to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe told me, \u2018Go quickly by your car and leave,\u2019\u201d Abu recalled. \u201cI arrived at my car and left directly. This was the last checkpoint for ISIS control.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abu and his family eventually reached a Kurdish checkpoint, where they were welcomed as Christians. Abu believes God in His sovereignty used the ISIS checkpoint supervisor to spare his life. The family found a church on a mountain where they lived for a month. They later moved to another country in the Middle East where they met a pastor, a VOM partner who serves Iraqi <\/a>refugees. He found them a fully furnished house in which to live. God not only protected them but also restored their well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do believe the Holy Spirit protected us and kept us alive until today,\u201d Abu said. \u201cThe same Holy Spirit who fed the Hebrews on their way from Egypt<\/a> to Israel <\/a>is the Holy Spirit who fed us and protected us from all that you have heard from me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The evening of August 20, 2014, Abu Fadi received an urgent call from his mother. \u201cAbu, come for me,\u201d she cried from the Iraqi city of Mosul. Before he could respond, an Islamic State (ISIS) fighter grabbed the phone and asked Abu to confirm that he was her son. \u201cYes, I am her son,\u201d Abu replied. \u201cWhat is the problem?\u201d \u201cToday, come and take your mother and sister,\u201d the fighter said. \u201cIf you will not come today, we will throw them in the street. Either they will be Muslim or we will leave them in the street. You just come and take them.\u201d The ISIS fighter took all the family\u2019s money and belongings, closed up their house and painted the Arabic letter \u201cN\u201d on the home, indicating Nassarah, or \u201cChristian\u201d. Knowing he couldn\u2019t enter Mosul as a Christian, Abu asked a Muslim friend to bring his elderly mother and sister \u2014 both in wheelchairs \u2014 to his nearby city, which had recently come under ISIS control. Once there, the two women joined Abu and his wife and they drove toward Bashiqa in the north. However, shortly after starting their journey, their car was stopped at an ISIS checkpoint by fighters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26,54],"class_list":["post-1234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-field-stories","tag-iraq","tag-syria","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nExpecting to Die<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/assets.persecution.com\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/425-Aram-distro-63_pub_AbuFadi-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\n\nNot Free Yet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n