×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Wednesday
14
Oct 2026
weather symbol
Athens 15°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by
> 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

Δείτε περισσότερα άρθρα μας στα αποτελέσματα αναζήτησης

Add Protothema.gr on Google

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

The Times: Greece and Italy compete for Britain’s wealthy as Chris Rokos fears new taxes

October 14, 2026

Woman caught on CCTV wearing gloves and surgical mask as she poisoned military doctor husband’s foods (video)

October 14, 2026

Kefalogianni meets UNESCO leadership in Paris to discuss cultural tourism and heritage protection

October 14, 2026

Turkish archaeologists claim to have found world’s oldest shipwreck: ‘We’re the first to touch these objects in 5,000 years’

October 14, 2026

Severe weather in Greece: Flooded roads, fallen trees and travel disruption as emergency alerts issued

October 14, 2026

OpenAI scandal: Engineer hid listening device in toilet paper to record executives’ meetings

October 14, 2026

Kim, the behind-the-scenes manoeuvring and the replacement at the Embassy, the polls and 17 bleak years, Alexis’s doorstep, Mandarin at Ellinikon

October 14, 2026

Guilfoyle’s ousting as US ambassador to Greece: WSJ reveals the frantic phone calls, AI claims and Trump’s ire

October 14, 2026
All News

> Greece

In reverence, the emotional deposition in Jerusalem, see photos & video

The Holy Temple of the Resurrection opened after many days due to the war between Israel and Iran

April 10, 2026

In the final stretch for the accreditation of joint master’s degrees: Aiming for their launch in the coming academic year

April 10, 2026

Schedule for Epitaph Procession today (10/4)

April 10, 2026

Perfect weather for Easter excursions, according to Tsatrafyllia’s forecast

April 10, 2026

Easter in Greece: The customs that continue in Greek tradition – From Nafpaktos to Corfu

April 10, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα