We are mourning the death of Bro. Abdul

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. (Psalm 116:15)

This week, the Call of Hope family is grieving the tragic murder of one of our faithful frontline workers, Bro. Abdul*. Bro. Abdul was brutally murdered for his faith in Jesus and because of his passion to bring Muslims to Christ.

Bro. Abdul himself used to be a Muslim scholar (Maulana), but had come to know the Lord Jesus through the ministry of one of our co-workers in northern India, Bro. Faraz*. Bro. Faraz is in charge of our extensive evangelistic efforts in several northern Indian states.

These past couple of years, Bro. Abdul had become a trusted co-worker of Bro. Faraz. More than 50 Maulanas (Muslims scholars), along with many other Muslims, had come to Christ through the work of Bro. Abdul. Not everyone was happy about his work. Sometimes, the persecution was intense. Now, Bro. Abdul has had to pay the ultimate price for his faith in Jesus. This past Sunday evening, on his way home from a prayer meeting, he was murdered. Bro. Faraz reports:

“When Bro. Abdul had not returned home by 10 pm on Sunday evening, his family started to get worried. They called the church. The believers there confirmed that Bro. Abdul had departed on his motorbike from the church quite a while before already. Bro. Abdul’s family members together with many believers started searching for him. Around midnight, one believer spotted the body of Bro. Abdul, laying at a distance from the main road, together with the broken bike.

At first glance, a fatal accident appeared to have happened to him. However, some suspicious signs were immediately apparent about this ‘accident’. The damage to the bike was atypical of a road accident. Also, Bro. Abdul’s body showed injuries to his thighs, chest and head which looked like he had been severely beaten. The police were called to the scene and they sent his body for a post-mortem. The results of the post-mortem confirmed that by all likelihood, Bro. Abdul had become the victim of a vicious, pre-planned murder.

The church conducted a small burial service for Bro. Abdul this week. To everyone’s surprise, almost all the people of his village attended the funeral. Except two of his brothers-in-law, who did not attend. These two had for a long time already been very hostile toward Bro. Abdul. They also had previously threatened to kill him, if he did not stop preaching the gospel and did not return to Islam. We do not know if they possibly were involved in organising the murder of Bro. Abdul.

We have lost a very valued brother and precious co-worker. This past Wednesday, we held a memorial service with 40 of our frontline workers in this Indian state, in memory of our dear late Bro. Abdul. Please pray for the bereaved family. Bro. Abdul leaves behind his wife and four daughters and one son. In addition to their grief, they now have to survive financially without their father’s support. We are trying to raise support for their livelihood and for the education of Bro. Abdul’s children. Please pray for the church of Jesus Christ in India.”

The church father Tertullian said: “The blood of the martyrs is seed for the church.” We are comforted, knowing that Bro. Abdul’s ultimate sacrifice for his Saviour will not have been in vain.

*Name has been changed