×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Saturday
14
Feb 2026
weather symbol
Athens 18°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

How ISIS led these Muslims to become Christian

The brutal regime under ISIS made them reconsider the Muslim faith

Newsroom February 6 04:10

Four years have gone by since the Islamic State group’s jihadists were run out of Kobani, a strategic, Kurdish-dominated city on the Syrian-Turkish border, but the militants’ violent and extreme application of the tenets of Islam has left some Muslims not only questioning their faith but outright denouncing it and embracing Christianity.
In an article published by NBC news online, some ex-Muslims, who lived under the brutal regime of ISIS, explain how they were led to seek a new God and their quest resulted in their converting to Christianity.

A new church is attracting converts. It is the first local Christian place of worship for decades.
“If ISIS represents Islam, I don’t want to be a Muslim anymore,” Farhad Jasim, 23, who attends the Church of the Brethren, told NBC News. “Their God is not my God.”
Religious conversions are rare and taboo in Syria, with those who abandon Islam often ostracized by their families and communities.
“Even under the Syrian regime before the revolution, it was strictly forbidden to change religion from Islam to Christianity or the opposite,” said Omar, 38, who serves as an administrator at the Protestant church. (He asked for his last name not to be revealed for safety reasons. The church’s priest declined to be interviewed.)
“Changing your religion under ISIS wasn’t even imaginable. ISIS would kill you immediately,” he added.
While residents are still dealing with the emotional scars left by the brutality of ISIS, Omar says many people in Kobani have been open-minded about Christianity.
“Most of the brothers here converted or come to church as a result of what ISIS did to them and to their families,” he added. “No one is forced to convert. Our weapon is the prayer, the spreading of spirit of love, brotherhood and tolerance.”
Islamic leaders around the world have spoken against the extremists’ ideology, accusing the ISIS militants of hijacking their religion.
In 2014, more than 100 Muslim scholars wrote an open letter to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi saying the militant group has “misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder.”

more at nbcnews.com

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#christianity#converts#faith#God#isis#islam#Middle East#religions#syria
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Emergency weather bulletin from the EMY: Storms and gale-force winds expected in 5 regions – African dust to spread across the country

February 14, 2026

Countdown to tax returns: What taxpayers need to check in the pre-filled data

February 14, 2026

Politico on the Munich Conference: Europe is spending more on defense and can stand up to the US

February 14, 2026

A two-faced weekend weather pattern: Muddy rain, temperatures above 20°C and African dust

February 14, 2026

When scrolling becomes addiction: Internet addiction now affecting even primary school children

February 14, 2026

New farmers’ rally at Syntagma today – tractors to depart at noon

February 14, 2026

Dramatic helicopter rescue of three men who fell into a frozen lake in New York, watch video

February 14, 2026

Macron: We will work to strengthen the criminalisation of anti-Semitic and racist acts

February 14, 2026
All News

> Politics

Dendias from Thrace: The largest settlement project in the history of the Armed Forces, we protect the Muslims of the region

According to the Minister, the presence of the Armed Forces in Thrace takes on a new significance

February 14, 2026

Hatzidakis: The twelve-month tourist season in our country is feasible

February 13, 2026

Mitsotakis on the donation from the Pavlos and Alexandra Kanellopoulos Foundation: Major multi-million intervention at KAT with 16,000 surgeries per year

February 13, 2026

Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Archbishop Makarios of Australia

February 13, 2026

Mitsotakis on the dismantling of networks by AADE and the Hellenic Police: “‘Legality Everywhere’ is a constant commitment for us”

February 13, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα