Somali pastor martyred

11-30-09
 

Pastor Ali was returning home from a worship service when two masked members of al-Shabab, an Islamic militant group, ambushed and shot him. Left for dead, the pastor was eventually taken to a hospital, but died of bullet wounds ten days later. His grieving wife and daughter are now in hiding fearing for their own lives.
 
Ali had converted from Islam to Christianity ten years ago while working in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital.  In 2002, he started pastoring an underground house church.

Al-Shabab has previously declared Somalia an Islamic state and vowed to eradicate followers of Jesus. This year alone, the group has killed a dozen Somali Christians. Several believers have fled the country due to intense persecution. Yet despite the growing number of martyrs, the Somali church is growing rapidly.
 
Please continue to pray for the underground church in Somalia.

~ adapted from International Christian Concern