07/13/2022 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – Abbud was wholly devoted to Islam and had led his family in this way for many years. But Abbud’s commitment to his religion was shaken by the birth of one of his sons, Habib.  

Habib was born with a mental disability, and because of this disability, Abbud and his family were stigmatized by their Muslim community. They blamed Abbud for his son’s condition, saying that God had given him to Abbud as punishment because of his sin. Abbud and his wife were tortured with questions about why God allowed their son to be born with a disability. 

One day, as these troubles plagued the family, Abbud was walking through a local market. He chanced upon an old vendor selling a variety of items—one of those items was a Bible. Abbud decided to buy the Bible, and he testified that God led him to John 9.  

Abbud read the story of Jesus’ encounter with a blind man. Jesus’ disciples had asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” In the passage, Jesus answered them, “It is not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”  

This passage changed Abbud’s life and the lives of everyone in his family. He and his wife’s confusion and despair over their son’s condition had found an answer through these words of Jesus. They chose to convert to Christianity soon after. 

Their conversion, however, came with consequences. Muslim-background believers (MBBs) face harsh persecution in the Middle East. For Abbud, his wife, and his children, this persecution came most dangerously from their own extended family.  

In one incident, the extended family kidnapped Abbud’s wife and physically abused her. Fortunately, his wife was eventually able to return — scarred but alive. The threats being made against them, however, escalated and became increasingly dangerous. Abbud’s family demanded that he, his wife, and his children return to Islam. They were under intense pressure, and for their own safety, they desperately needed to flee. But their financial circumstances made fleeing to another city nearly impossible. 

Seeing their need, International Christian Concern (ICC) began a project to discretely relocate Abbud and his family to a safer location. The project faced a number of complex challenges, but ICC was able to successfully resituate Abbud and his family in a safe place, away from the family members who had threatened them.  

In this new location, ICC continues to assist the family. Since the relocation, Abbud’s job prospects have improved. In this secure environment, he will soon be able to independently provide for his family. He and his wife will also have the freedom to raise their children in relative peace, teaching them all, including Habib, that they are fearfully and wonderfully made, dearly beloved by Jesus, who saves. 

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