Source: Frontiers USA, January 21, 2019
“No, don’t beat the thieves,” Sheikh Idriss said into the phone as I sat in his simple home on the edge of the village. “And don’t arrest them, either. Let them go and tell them to come to the civil court tomorrow morning.”
The thieves were two poor women. They’d been caught stealing corn from the sheikh’s fields. The normal response was to punish them with a beating.
For several weeks, Idriss and I had been studying the Bible together. Most recently, we’d read about forgiveness, and today, Idriss saw a chance to put Jesus’ teachings into practice.
“Jesus says to forgive them,” Idriss said to me after finishing the phone call. “I want to take these things we’re studying in the Word and teach them to my people.”
Idriss leads a Muslim tribe of almost 100,000 people. As a civil judge, he used to rule his court with an iron fist. Idriss still gives out firm judgments—but now he delivers them with kindness and mercy. When men and women come to him for counsel, he often presents them with a gift: a portion of God’s Word.
» Full story reports that a ministry team has shared Jesus with dozens of sheikhs in this region. Some have clearly declared Jesus their Savior.
» See also another story from Africa, this one from Togo, Gospel Workers Push through Hardship (Christian Aid Mission).