While delivering a sermon to a group of intently listening Iranian couples in a rented church in Liverpool, the former Muslim now leader of a growing church in Norway, explains the importance of respecting each other.
“But what should I do when my husband doesn’t respond the way I want him to,” asks one frustrated congregant.
“You still show love and respect because that’s what Jesus commands you to do in marriage,” responds Pastor Jahan.
The advice is not an empty one; but rather, a learning that Pastor Jahan had to understand in his own life journey — a journey that eventually led him out of Islam and into the Christian faith.
Through an interpreter, he shares his story. “It all started when my oldest daughter, El-Ham, was diagnosed with a strange disease. No one could help her. The imams (religious leaders) all told me to fast, give sacrifices and pray to the prophets. I did all that; still nothing helped. I wasn’t rich, however, spent a lot of money on her medical needs. Then one day, after giving blood for my daughter’s surgery, I came across a church. That’s when I stopped and prayed to Jesus. I remember how He had raised the dead and I prayed in His name for my daughter’s life.”
The next day, when Pastor Jahan arrived at the hospital, he remembers how everyone prayed in the name of various prophets. He, however, would silently pray in Jesus’ name. He kept his prayers silent because he didn’t want others to know he was praying to Jesus and if something unfortunate happened to his daughter, they would blame it on his prayers to Christ. However, to his surprise, his daughter had a successful operation and within time, fully recovered from her illness.
“You would think I would have fully given the credit to Jesus, but I didn’t,” recalls Pastor Jahan. “Instead, I went on my way as if nothing changed.”
That’s when things started taking a bad turn in Iran.
In addition to ensure that his daughter remained healthy (something he felt couldn’t be guaranteed in Iran) and because of accumulating concerns over Iran’s totalitarian government, the pastor and his family fled the country. In 1988, the family was given asylum in Norway through United Nations’ interventions.
“We had a decent life,” recalls Pastor Jahan. “It was worldly. We didn’t believe in anything. My wife Nasrin and I also had no objection to our children going to Sunday school, which was offered to us through a local church, because we felt ‘God is God’ and that was good enough for us.”
But that simplistic “anything goes attitude” suffered a blow when Pastor Jahan’s own marriage faced the risk of ending.
“A social services representative had to get involved. Eventually, I was allowed visitation rights to see my children. I guess you could say I was at the same place I was when my daughter was suffering her illness; I was desperate.”
It was then, while talking to his wife during one of those social service -approved visitations, that he remembered a Bible that was given to his family as a gift while in Turkey, where the family resided as it awaited approval to move to Norway.
“In an effort towards reconciliation, I asked my wife if she remembered that Bible. We took it out of the drawer and began reading the book of Matthew. Matthew 11:28 where Jesus talked about ‘all who labor’ to take ‘His yoke.’ This verse particularly touched my heart. After reading the scriptures, I didn’t want to smoke anymore. I read the New Testament eight times and then at a Billy Graham convention in Norway, I officially accepted Jesus into my life in December 1990.”
His family eventually followed his lead. Nasrin, his wife, even goes as far as saying that it felt like “I had married a new person.”
The rest is history. Today, Pastor Jahan and his wife, Nasrin, help lead a church movement in Norway that serves Afghani and Iranian communities.
“When I encounter Muslims, I first reach out to them in friendship. Eventually, they see something different in my family and that’s what starts the conversation. God is good and He wants to be known, and I enjoy making that happen among people who are in need of experiencing His love.”
“But what should I do when my husband doesn’t respond the way I want him to,” asks one frustrated congregant.
“You still show love and respect because that’s what Jesus commands you to do in marriage,” responds Pastor Jahan.
The advice is not an empty one; but rather, a learning that Pastor Jahan had to understand in his own life journey — a journey that eventually led him out of Islam and into the Christian faith.
Through an interpreter, he shares his story. “It all started when my oldest daughter, El-Ham, was diagnosed with a strange disease. No one could help her. The imams (religious leaders) all told me to fast, give sacrifices and pray to the prophets. I did all that; still nothing helped. I wasn’t rich, however, spent a lot of money on her medical needs. Then one day, after giving blood for my daughter’s surgery, I came across a church. That’s when I stopped and prayed to Jesus. I remember how He had raised the dead and I prayed in His name for my daughter’s life.”
The next day, when Pastor Jahan arrived at the hospital, he remembers how everyone prayed in the name of various prophets. He, however, would silently pray in Jesus’ name. He kept his prayers silent because he didn’t want others to know he was praying to Jesus and if something unfortunate happened to his daughter, they would blame it on his prayers to Christ. However, to his surprise, his daughter had a successful operation and within time, fully recovered from her illness.
“You would think I would have fully given the credit to Jesus, but I didn’t,” recalls Pastor Jahan. “Instead, I went on my way as if nothing changed.”
That’s when things started taking a bad turn in Iran.
In addition to ensure that his daughter remained healthy (something he felt couldn’t be guaranteed in Iran) and because of accumulating concerns over Iran’s totalitarian government, the pastor and his family fled the country. In 1988, the family was given asylum in Norway through United Nations’ interventions.
“We had a decent life,” recalls Pastor Jahan. “It was worldly. We didn’t believe in anything. My wife Nasrin and I also had no objection to our children going to Sunday school, which was offered to us through a local church, because we felt ‘God is God’ and that was good enough for us.”
But that simplistic “anything goes attitude” suffered a blow when Pastor Jahan’s own marriage faced the risk of ending.
“A social services representative had to get involved. Eventually, I was allowed visitation rights to see my children. I guess you could say I was at the same place I was when my daughter was suffering her illness; I was desperate.”
It was then, while talking to his wife during one of those social service -approved visitations, that he remembered a Bible that was given to his family as a gift while in Turkey, where the family resided as it awaited approval to move to Norway.
“In an effort towards reconciliation, I asked my wife if she remembered that Bible. We took it out of the drawer and began reading the book of Matthew. Matthew 11:28 where Jesus talked about ‘all who labor’ to take ‘His yoke.’ This verse particularly touched my heart. After reading the scriptures, I didn’t want to smoke anymore. I read the New Testament eight times and then at a Billy Graham convention in Norway, I officially accepted Jesus into my life in December 1990.”
His family eventually followed his lead. Nasrin, his wife, even goes as far as saying that it felt like “I had married a new person.”
The rest is history. Today, Pastor Jahan and his wife, Nasrin, help lead a church movement in Norway that serves Afghani and Iranian communities.
“When I encounter Muslims, I first reach out to them in friendship. Eventually, they see something different in my family and that’s what starts the conversation. God is good and He wants to be known, and I enjoy making that happen among people who are in need of experiencing His love.”