They asked him, “Why are you worshiping differently than the Muslim way?”

In Nairobi, Kenya, on October 5, 2024, an individual from Somalia, who had converted from Islam and had already faced attacks in May and July, was once again targeted.

Somali Christian Convert Faces Third Violent Attack. During his time, his Muslim family members suspected him of planning Christian prayer meetings.

Mohammad Abdul was conducting a worship service in his home in an undisclosed town in the Lower Juba Region. Accompanied by his four Muslim relatives, he led the worship in a locked room while they patiently waited outside.

I keep my prayers confidential, as they are a personal conversation between me and Jesus. I don’t see any benefit in praying in public.

They asked him, “Why are you worshipping differently from the Muslim way? What is so unique about your worship? Why do you close yourself in the room while praying?”

Abdul responded, “I keep my prayers confidential because they are a personal conversation between me and my Lord Isa [Jesus]. Furthermore, I don’t see any reason to pray in public.”

Upon being told that he had to take part in Islamic worship with Muslims, he responded by stating that he had already adopted the Christian faith, with Jesus being his Lord and Savior. He said that Jesus, who had saved him, was aware of his true intentions and was happy in his heart, therefore asking to be left alone.

One relative jumped on him as another hit him with a blunt object, and a third relative slapped his face, he said. He suffered a fracture in his left hand, injured fingers on his right hand, and cuts to his face.

“You are inviting terrible trouble to yourself and your family,” one relative told him, to which Abdul said he replied, “You can beat me up more if you want, but I can tell you that Isa has saved me. Whether or not I die, I live to serve him.”

They left him bleeding as one uttered, to his surprise, “Since you love God, may He then lead you to the right path,” Abdul said.

His wife had cautioned him in July to lead any Bible studies, prayer, or worship in one of the small structures set aside for visitors, and by August, he was leading three cell groups in Bible study and prayers.

In early September, one relative found him leading prayer and worship inside the room. The relative asked his wife, “I am perplexed. What has gone wrong with your husband, who is conducting prayers while closing the door? Contrary to how Muslims pray, this is a different way of praying.”

The relative then hurried away, Abdul said. Realizing their lives were in danger; she told Abdul about the relative as soon as he’d finished leading prayer.

The couple has three children, ages 9, 5 and 3.

Abdul had survived a May 5, May 5 knife attack by his Muslim relatives on the outskirts of Kismayo in southern Somalia’s Lower Juba Region, and his in-laws had taken his wife and five children away while he was receiving hospital treatment. Abdul put his faith in Christ in March.

Having recovered his family and relocated them to another area after the attack in May that left him with a deep cut on his head and a fractured hand, Abdul, in the July 8 assault, also suffered injuries that took away his ability to speak, his wife said. The relatives also broke his wife’s ankle and beat his children.

Following the attack on May 5, Abdul was able to find a rented house for his family after their relatives destroyed their home.

According to the U.S. State Department, Somalia’s constitution establishes Islam as the state religion and prohibits the propagation of any other religion.

It also requires that laws comply with sharia (Islamic law) principles, with no exceptions for non-Muslims.

The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to mainstream schools of Islamic jurisprudence. An Islamic extremist group in Somalia, Al Shabaab, is allied with Al Qaeda and adheres to the teachings.

Since 2011, Al Shabaab or its sympathizers have been responsible for the deaths of numerous individuals from outside the local community in northern Kenya. This violence began after Kenyan forces, along with an African coalition, entered Somalia to counter the rebel group following terrorist attacks on tourists and others along Kenya’s coast.

Somalia is second on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List, ranking 50 countries where being a Christian is most challenging.