Former Muslim Hiding in Kenya after Repeated Threats

From Answering Muslims:

Former Muslim Hiding in Kenya after Repeated Threats

Meanwhile, Muslims in the West are complaining about Islamophobia.

NAIROBI, Kenya, January 27 (CDN) — A former member of a Muslim extremist group in Uganda who converted to Christianity is in hiding in Kenya, his movements severely restricted following threats to kill him.

Hassan Sharif Lubenga, 54, was a sheikh and member of the Buk Haram, a violent group of Islamists whose name suggests the Bible is corrupt and therefore forbidden. Originally from Chengera, seven kilometers from Kampala, the husband to four wives began his conversion process four years ago; in June 2011, he said, after various dreams and visions in which Jesus appeared to him, he made a full commitment to follow Christ.

Lubenga fled to Kenya last July 10 after hostilities peaked, and upon returning to Uganda in September he received messages on his cell phone from mujahidin – Islamic fighters – threatening to kill him, he said. He reported the threats to Chengera police, who told him they would investigate, but in October a friend told him that he’d heard in a Chengera mosque that his former colleagues were enraged and planning to kill him.

“My heart got troubled, but the voice of Jesus continued whispering to me to witness for Jesus without fear,” Lubenga said.

When Lubenga felt like giving up on his new faith, he said, he received a call from Bishop Umar Mulinde, his former pastor at Gospel Life Church International who was scarred in a Christmas Eve acid attack by Muslim extremists (see “Muslim Extremists in Uganda Throw Acid on Bishop,” Dec. 28, 2011). Mulinde told him the church was praying for him, and Lubenga was deeply heartened, he said.

“All my family members have deserted me,” he said by telephone. “The Muslims are looking to kill me. I need protection and help.” (Read more.)