Book Report~Secret Believers

Written by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen

This book was a real eye-opener for me.

This is a story about what happens when Muslims believe in Christ.

I read this book during the same time that my husband and two oldest sons were building a house for a Muslim family in Atlanta. They lived with them and the family took care of all their meals, etc. They became good friends and our families hope to visit each other in the near future. The wife would call me and congratulate me on my wonderful husband and sons. She would tell her teenager that he should treat his parents with the same respect that our sons treated their father.

It is easy to lump people into one group. It's easy to say that "The terrorists were Muslims. therefore all Muslims are terrorists." But, it isn't true.

As I am struggling to write a short essay on the book, in hopes that you will read it too, I've decided to copy what is written on the back page. Because this book affected my spirit in a heavy way, the words to describe it are not coming easily to me. So I will use words already written.

"A young Muslim terrified by nightmares until he is introduced to Isa (Jesus). A former leader in a fundamentalist Muslim movement that persecuted Christians. A privileged young Muslim woman who is held captive by her family when they find a Bible in her possession."

"In his most incredible and eye-opening book to date, Brother Andrew invites you to meet these brave men and women you never knew existed. This is the riveting true story of the church in Islamic countries struggling to come to grips with hostile governments, terrorist acts, and an influx of Muslims coming to Christ. The names and places have been changed to protect the real people in the real places. But the stories are true."

"Secret Believers not only gives you a glimpse of the lives of these courageous believers, it also proposes four practical initiatives for Christians in the West to help these persecuted brothers and sisters. It calls us to join a new kind of jihad, leaving vengeance behind in favor of forgiveness, radical love, and unyielding prayer."
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And this from Brother Andrew on p. 240-
"Why does Islam appear stronger than Christianity today? It has everything to do with
the crucial question posed by Islam:Who is God? ....Many times people ask me. "Andrew, how long will this conflict with Islam and terrorism last?" My usual reply is, "It will last until we Christians have found the answer to the question, Who is God? and are able to verbalize it and prove it by our actions that God is not the God of revenge but a God who forgives."
"...have you ever prayed for terrorists ...Prayer is the primary way we wage war."
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Please read this book. Not only will it open your eyes to the Muslim world and those who are Christians in the midst of that culture, it will open your eyes to the persecuted church. People are dying daily and being brutally tortured because of their faith in Christ. I worry because we are so spoiled and get so bent out of shape when our rights are violated. We know so little of real persecution. We will need our own Brother Andrew to help us when it comes.