They say we are infidels

THEY SAY WE ARE INFIDELS tells the gripping story of thousands of Syrian and Iraqi Christians choosing to live true to their identity as followers of Christ in the face of unimaginable hardship and even death threats.

Author Belz offers no armchair reporting on these harrowing events, as most part of the narrative is based on eye witness account and frequent interactions with victims whom she has grown to know and love. Little wonder both empathy and literary competence came through beautifully in this masterful piece.

A Christian and Westerner in her own right, Belz does not betray inordinate allegiance to her native homeland, rather, she seeks to carefully present a fair report of goings on, particularly the aspects that don’t make it to mainstream media.

Being one who isn’t overly familiar with contemporary Middle Eastern geographical terrain and culture, reading this book gave me an insight into the complex dynamics at the heart of the ongoing crisis. It was both a challenging and encouraging read, with tears giving way to sighs of relief as the narrative vacillated between tragedies and encouraging stories of unwavering faith in such quick succession. Something I found intriguing was that most of these heroes of faith had no religious titles or special seats in the cathedral; they were everyday believers who, in losing everything, held on to the one thing that mattered to them most. Stories are told of seemingly little gestures that surprisingly go a long way in holding out hope to the hopeless. Page after page, telling stories of total dependence on God, evidenced by earnest prayers being said for almost any and everything!

If this were a work of fiction, it probably wouldn’t have made it to my reading list – why would I want to torture my imagination with such grimness for the fun of it? It is non-fiction, unfortunately so, and even so am I all the more eager to commend it as an essential read. I must say however, that it doesn’t make for a light-hearted or fun read, rather an enlightening and important one, if for no other reason than to wake us up to the reality of life as experienced by fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Yet holding on fast to the promise of Jesus:

“…I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” Matthew 16:18,

We pray in hope.

“you can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” – A.J. Gordon.

Oh that we would be fervent in our prayers on their behalf, and generous in the giving of ourselves for their wellbeing. Amen!

Thanks for reading!

Sike Osinuga.