Last Thursday, June 29, Haroon Shahzad posted 1 Corinthians 10:18-21 regarding food sacrificed to idols. He didn’t include any additional commentary in his post besides the Bible passage. A Muslim villager screenshot the post and accused Shahzad of blasphemy. Muslims were beginning the festival Eid al-Adha in which an animal is slaughtered for the celebration.

The screenshot of the Christian’s post circulated on local media, and on Friday a local mosque made an announcement on loudspeakers prompting Muslims to gather in protest. Shahzad and dozens of other Christian families fled the village.

Pakistan (Photo courtesy of FMI)

Nehemiah with FMI says, “Pakistan has a culture of mob. There is a ‘mob-ism’ in Pakistan where a Muslim mob would come and they vandalize the entire village, kill people, burn that village, and this is very, very common.”

Police have registered a blasphemy case against Shahzad and are pressuring him to turn himself in.

A new agreement signed on June 17 in Pakistan now allows blasphemy cases to be tried under the country’s anti-terrorism laws.

Nehemiah with FMI says, “It also makes the charges of blasphemy an offense for which bail is not possible. The moment you are charged, cops are gonna come and pick you up and you vanish. They punish people in a few days without even hearing their side of the story, and most of the time, access to attorneys [is] being denied to such accused people.”

FMI supports Pakistani believers as they share the Gospel in their communities, and sometimes is able to offer legal aid when Christians are targeted for their faith.

(Photo courtesy of FMI)

“We have people on the ground who share news with us. Every day, there are multiple stories. Every day, there are people who are being killed, who are being framed in false accusations. They are behind bars for doing nothing, for just posting a verse on Facebook.”

Awareness allows you to pray. Nehemiah asks, “I would just request our brothers and sisters to pray for protection and power for believers. Pray that people in Pakistan who have not yet heard the Gospel would be given that opportunity. Pray for open doors for Christians to share Jesus and lives to be transformed.”

Header photo courtesy of Abuzar Xheikh/Unsplash.

According to Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court, the annual Muslim pilgrimage known as the hajj began July 18, with Eid al-Adha celebrated July 20-22. Eid al-Adha is the second major Muslim festival after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting.

Uncharted Ministries co-founder Tom Doyle says it’s an essential time for believers to pray for the Muslim world.

“They (Muslims) are seeking; they want to have a personal relationship with God,” Doyle says.

“We do see God move more dramatically during Muslim holidays, because what are the Muslim holy days about? They’re trying to connect with God.”

What is Eid al-Adha?

Eid al-Adha commemorates a father’s willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience, but God provides an animal to offer instead. Most Muslims sacrifice an animal in remembrance of the father’s compliance.

Eid al-Adha, known among the Arabs as the “Great Eid”, is celebrated every year with special rituals and traditions in the port of Assaluyeh. The Arab people of this port visit each other in groups after Eid prayers to congratulate and rejoice.
(Milad Rafat/Wikimedia Commons)

While the father is Abraham in the Bible and Ibrahim in the Quran, both holy books contain a version of this event. Furthermore, while the Quran doesn’t indicate the son by name, most Muslims believe it was Ishmael. Genesis 22 shows the son was Isaac – the son of promise.

“They don’t know the truth. They have a story that’s been changed; it wasn’t Ishmael, it was Isaac,” Doyle says.

“But most importantly, all of this is fulfilled in Jesus, who died on the cross for their sins.”

Find your place in the story

Pray Muslims will encounter Christ in visions and dreams during this holiday season. “[It] is important that we see Muslim holidays; we don’t just blow them off. Take some time and pray,” Doyle says.

Use this free resource from Prayercast, our sister ministry, to guide your intercession. “Pray for breakthroughs. There is an openness; there is a dissatisfaction with their religion. There is [a] sense of hopelessness [among] young Muslims throughout the Middle East,” Doyle says.

“One-fifth of the world [is] remembering this sacrifice, but the ultimate sacrifice – the real sacrifice – is what Jesus did on the cross for the world, and that includes Muslims.”

Header image depicts Muslims at a 2019 Eid al-Adha event in Delhi, India. (Photo courtesy of Shivam Garg/Unsplash)

According to the founder and president of Crescent Project Fouad Masri, Eid Al-Adha is a holiday created by Mohammed as he attempted to trace his roots back to Abraham. "He made the celebration to remember that Abraham took his son to sacrifice him to God, and God sent an angel with a sheep and the sheep was sacrificed instead of his son."

While this story is a familiar Bible story about Abraham and Isaac, Masri says, "This story is mentioned in the Quran, but it doesn't say the name of the son. Most Muslims will tell you [it was] Ishmael."

However, Masri doesn't use this verse to get into an argument over who the story was about. He uses it to ask a question: "What happened on the Adha?  They will say, 'We're remembering that God redeemed the son of Abraham with a sheep.' We say, 'Great, we believe that God redeemed the whole human race through His lamb Jesus, the Messiah, who died on the cross.'"

Masri says there's a distinct difference between Muslim and Christian faith. "Now because we are saved, we can do good works, while in Islam you are taught to do good works so you might earn salvation in the future."

He says greeting Muslims with the words "Eid Mubarak" or "blessed celebration" can help open doors for outreach. When you do this, Masri says, give them a gift. "You can give them a Bible, an Arabic New Testament, or Farsi New Testament. Or you can give them the booklet, "Adha Injeel" which explains sacrifice in the Injeel, which is the New Testament."

Masri says it's effective, especially during this celebration. "We've seen people come to faith in Christ because of that celebration. Once they read the Biblical account and understand Jesus as their redeemer, they come to faith in Christ."

Crescent Project offers resources to help you share your faith with Muslims. Click here to find out more.