Somalia (MNN) ― Earlier this month, underground church leader Madobe Abdi escaped an attempted kidnapping in Somalia.
Compass Direct News reports Islamic militants caught up with him March 15 and murdered him. What made his death more alarming is that Abdi was an orphan raised as a Christian rather than a convert from Islam.
Islamic militants have hunted leaders of the underground church movement as a means of discouraging others from responding to the Gospel.
Islam is Somalia's national religion. Although the Transitional Federal Charter grants religious freedom, President Ahmed has embraced a version of sharia (Islamic law) that mandates the death penalty for those who leave Islam.
Al shabaab, which is fighting the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), has embarked on a campaign to rid the country of all non-Muslims.
Last year, Mission Network News reported Islamic militants in Somalia sought out and killed at least 15 Christians, including women and children.
This year, on Jan. 1, Islamic extremists shot an underground church leader to death. Having learned that he had left Islam to become a Christian, al Shabaab members murdered 41-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Ali after he had left his home in Hodan, on the outskirts of Mogadishu.
Pray for encouragement and strength for the Christians remaining in Somalia as well as for those who have been forced to leave their homes. Ask God to provide for and protect them. Pray that they will continue to grow in their faith in Christ.
