Why I Left Islam for Christianity: The Transformational Journey of Abou Hamza Hussain

 

**Why I Left Islam for Christianity: The Transformational Journey of Abou Hamza Hussain**  

My name is Abou Hamza Hussain. I was born in Kismayo, Somalia, the son of a respected Sheikh and a faithful defender of Islam. From a young age, I was steeped in the sacred rituals of the Quran, taught to fear Allah, honor jihad, and protect the honor of Islam with my very life. My destiny seemed clear: to follow in my father’s footsteps as a leader and warrior for the cause of Allah.

By the time I turned twenty, I had become a full member of **Al Shabaab**, trained in the harsh deserts of Somalia, consumed with zeal and the belief that I was doing God’s will. I believed I was chosen to purify the land from the “infidels” and to usher in a caliphate ruled by sharia. With every operation, I silenced the quiet tremor in my heart—the faint question, *“Is this truly what God desires?”*

Then one night, everything changed.

It was just after an ambush mission in the outskirts of Baidoa. We had taken lives. The screams still echoed in my mind. That night, I lay under the open sky, haunted by a hollow feeling in my soul. As I drifted to sleep, I had a dream so vivid, it felt more real than life.

I saw a man clothed in radiant white. His eyes were like fire, yet full of compassion. He called me by name:  

**“Hamza.”**  

I fell to my knees, trembling.

Then He said:  

**“What you are doing is not from God. You are fighting in darkness, not in light. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”**

I woke up in tears. My body trembled. I had never seen or heard anything like it. The name *Isa al-Masih*—Jesus—kept echoing in my heart. For weeks, I was torn between the life I had known and the truth I had seen. I tried to suppress the dream, to drown it in religious rituals, but the peace I felt in that dream kept calling me.

Secretly, I began searching for a Bible. It took me months, but I found one—hidden in the back of a market stall in Nairobi during a covert trip. I began reading the words of Jesus. His teachings, His love for enemies, His call to forgiveness—it was unlike anything I had ever known. He didn’t call for revenge, but for redemption. He didn’t demand blood—He shed His own for me.

And then I read:  

**“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…”** (Matthew 5:44)  

I broke down and wept.

I realized I had been living in deception, wrapped in a cloak of religion but far from the heart of God. Jesus wasn’t just a prophet—He was the very Son of God, the living Word, the Savior of the world.

Choosing Christ meant walking away from everything—my position, my comrades, even my family. When I confessed my faith in Jesus, I became a target. My own father declared me an apostate. The men I once called brothers hunted me. I escaped death more than once, but I gained life—**eternal life**.

Today, I live in a neighboring country under a new identity. But I am not afraid. I share my story with other former militants and seekers who long to know the truth. I tell them:  

**“Jesus found me in the middle of jihad. He did not condemn me—He called me.”**

I am no longer a soldier of war.  

I am a servant of peace.  

I no longer fight with weapons of hate.  

I live by the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

My name is Abou Hamza Hussain.  

I was once a fighter for Allah.  

Now, I am a follower of Christ.  

And I have found the Truth that set me free.