Converts from Islam: unseen and unheard

Converts from Islam to Christianity are exposed to threats, even in the West.

Two Italian journalists presented a book that recounts the testimony of converts from Islam to Christianity, while at the same time “Time” magazine ask why fundamentalism is growing among converts to Islam.

Giorgio Paolucci, editor-in-chief of “Avvenire” – a Catholic newspaper in Italy, and the Libyan journalist Camille Eid offer in the book entitled “I cristiani venuti dall’Islam (Christians from Islam), published by Piemme Publishers, thirty stories of former Muslims living in Italy who have converted to Christianity. The authors, according to an interview with Zenit (a Rome-based news agency), had sought to further understand the technical and legal implications of conversion, but ended up by trying to understand (among the many possibilities for humanity) why some people love Jesus so much that they are willing to suffer persecution.”

According to Paolucci, converts to Christianity have many problems and challenges including that of getting others to know about their experiences, unlike that which occurs to Westerners who convert to Islam. In fact, the author confesses that the first obstacle they faced in writing the book was in finding people willing to offer their testimony without fear. This caution explains, also, why it is difficult to ascertain specific data on the number of converts from Islam.

According to their investigation, the authors of the book spoke of “several hundred converts, from the countries of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.” Some were baptized in Italy, while others were baptized elsewhere and then fled to live in Italy.