In July 2023, Wesley Saliboko was baptised in a church in Uganda. With the water still flowing down his face, Wesley raised his hands in worship, his smile reflecting a joy born of God’s grace and the sorrow of death.
Imam and Muslim extremist
Just one month earlier, Wesley had been a Muslim extremist. Often referred to as el-Hadji, an honourable title given to Muslims who complete a pilgrimage to Mecca, he had been an imam in two mosques and served as chairman of his local mosque. He also actively participated in jihad.
“We said we are holier than Christians and we are fighting a jihad, fighting Christians and killing people,” he said. “In Islam, they hate those who are not Muslim; they call them paganists.
Over the years, Wesley became disillusioned with Islam. He had grown up in a Muslim family, but one of his grandfathers had converted to Christianity. Wesley remembered his grandfather’s stories about Jesus Christ and God’s love, which differed greatly from the violent version of Islam he knew. In his heart, he felt that jihad was wrong. “My heart would remain with sorrow after making a jihad. I did not want to live with this sorrow in my heart.”
Tragedy
Then tragedy struck his family. On 16 June, 2023, members of an Islamist group crossed into Uganda from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and attacked a school.
Among the students killed in the attack was Wesley’s 15-year-old niece, Amina. She and her mother had left Islam to follow Christ just a year earlier, and Wesley’s brother had chased them from their home. Their local church had then provided for their needs.
The contrast
Already questioning his Islamic faith, Wesley was struck by the contrast between Muslim and Christian responses to the school attack. No one from the local Muslim community offered condolences to their family or apologised for the extremists’ actions.
“I was impressed by the love and support the Christians showed,” he said.
When the minister boldly proclaimed the Gospel at Amina’s funeral, Wesley placed his faith in Christ. In the days after Wesley became a Christian, he began to share the Gospel with his family. He first led his wife and eight children to know Christ, and then Amina’s father.
Death threats
Leaving Islam has not been easy for them. In Uganda, Christian converts face severe harassment in Muslim communities; some have even been killed. Because of his former leadership in the Muslim community, Wesley has received death threats, forcing him and his family to go into hiding.
Today, Wesley rejoices in his newfound freedom. “I have cast all of that Islamic extremism off to follow Jesus Christ,” he said. “I have received Jesus Christ, and I want to serve Jesus Christ.”
Source: VOM
