Meriam Ibrahim spoke out on the National Day of Prayer about the horrors she experienced during her time held captive by the government of Sudan.
She said that at one point she was “heavily pressured” by guards for three days to renounce Christ and become Muslim but she refused each time.
“Meriam revealed how she refused to waver in her faith in Christ, believing God would save her even as she was shackled in chains and sentenced to 100 lashes and death. Making matters worse, her infant son was in prison with her and she was pregnant with another child at the time — forced to give birth while shackled in chains,” said in an article ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow, who introduced Ibrahim at the Virginia event.
“In the face of persecution and told by Sudanese officials that she could avoid a death sentence if she renounced her Christian faith, Meriam stood strong and refused to reject her faith. For three consecutive days, she was told to renounce Christ. For three consecutive days, she refused.”
Ibrahim has said that her faith was “the only weapon” she used to survive her captivity.
Ibrahim said that her family had to leave behind very successful businesses in Sudan and they’re rebuilding in America from the ground up.
Meriam Ibrahim, the woman who was initially sentenced to death in Sudan for being a Christian, is going to be honored at the National Religious Broadcasters convention for showing “what it means to not be ashamed of Christ.”
“Meriam Ibrahim is a modern-day example of what it means to not be ashamed of Christ,” said NRB President and CEO Jerry A. Johnson. “We are honored to welcome her to NRB15 as we rejoice with her over God’s protective care in her life.”
The Islamic government of Sudan sentenced Ibrahim to 100 lashes and then death for “apostasy and adultery” because she married an American Christian. She was tortured during her time in prison and was forced to give birth to her second child while her legs were chained to a wall.
Ibrahim was told if she renounced Christ she would be freed.
She will be given the NRB President’s Award at the Hope for the Heart women’s breakfast on February 25th.
Two women who have been on the front lines of the battle for religious freedom in the world took center stage at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C.
Meriam Ibrahim, the woman who had been sentenced to death in Sudan for her Christian faith, appeared to accept the “Cost of Discipleship” award at the Summit and used her speech to encourage the wife of American pastor Saeed Abedini, who is imprisoned in Iran for his Christian faith.
“Do not fear; be strong. Take care of your kids and the Lord will be with you,” she said to Naghmeh Abedini, who addressed the Summit in her own address. Ibrahim called Abedini “her sister” and encouraged her to stand strong no matter what evil the Iranians may throw her husband’s way.
Ibrahim, who gave birth to her daughter Maya while shackled in chains to a wall of the prison, spoke of the weight the imprisonment had on her young son Martin, who was also kept in the prison.
“That was the most difficult time for me because Martin would want to go with him and grab on to him and I would stand there unable to do anything because he’s a child. He didn’t understand why he was in jail through no fault of his. He didn’t understand why kids were able to play outside and enjoy themselves and be with their parents, their fathers and mothers,” described Ibrahim.
Ibrahim thanked everyone who prayed and worked to obtain her release and her family’s escape from Sudan.
Meriam Ibrahim’s long journey to freedom has finally ended.
Ibrahim, her husband Daniel Wani and their children arrived in New Hampshire Thursday. The family arrived at the airport in Manchester to a huge, cheering crowd consisting of many of the Sudanese-American population of the city.
The family is going to be living in Wani’s home in the city near his brother and family.
The members of Sudanese Evangelical Covenant Church held signs saying “God Bless You” and cheering the family all the way to a waiting car. The church has been preparing Wani’s home for the family and providing all the necessary items for the family to start a new life.
Rev. Joel Kruggel, pastor of Bethany Covenant Church which sponsors the Sudanese church, says he wants the family to “absorb the fact that they are safe in New Hampshire, where life can be closer to normal.”
Sudanese Christian refugee Meriam Ibrahim and her family are due to arrive in the United States this week.
The family is reportedly going to be arriving in New Hampshire and will settle in the Manchester area according to her brother-in-law. Gabriel Wani lives in Manchester with his wife and three daughters.
Local officials in Manchester say there is a strong Sudanese community that is ready to welcome the family. The Sudanese Evangelical Covenant Church is planning a huge reception and celebration upon the family’s arrival.
Italian officials who flew her to Rome rescued Ibrahim and her family from Sudan last week. She and the family met with Pope Francis, who reportedly had been working behind the scenes to help Italian officials free Ibrahim.
The Pope praised Ibrahim’s “courageous witness to perseverance in the faith.”
Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese Christian woman who had been sentenced to death for not renouncing her faith in front of a Sudanese court, is free.
Italian vice-minister for foreign affairs Lapo Pistelli posted a picture of himself with Ibrahim and her family on Facebook with a message that read “with Meriam, Maya, Martin and Daniel, a few minutes from Rome. Mission accomplished.
The family will meet with the Pope before flying to the United States to start a new life.
The move was a surprise to everyone associated with the case and there have been no details released yet regarding how Italy was able to get Ibrahim and her family out of the country. Unconfirmed reports say the Italian government and the Vatican entered negotiations two weeks ago to free the family.
Ibrahim’s attorney Mohaned Mostafa told Reuters not only did he not know the she was leaving the country, but that the charges the government was using to keep her from leaving have not been dismissed.
Her family had also been keeping her in the country by suing to have a court declare her a Muslim against her wishes but that suit was dropped earlier this week.
The family of Meriam Ibrahim, who had brought a lawsuit in an attempt to have her declared a Muslim by Sudanese courts, announced they have dropped their lawsuit.
The development could allow the persecuted Christian woman to finally leave the country with her husband and two children for the United States.
Attorney Abdel Rahman Malek would not give a reason that the family was dropping the suit.
The Sudanese government is still holding charges over Ibrahim’s head that she tried to leave the country on false travel documents; however, the family’s attorney says he has evidence to show that the papers are legal under international law.
A New York City area church said this week they would be willing to provide housing, food and other necessities to Ibrahim and her family so they could begin a new life in the United States.
The Sudanese government has not responded to multiple requests from American groups and political leaders to release the family.
A New York City church is offering to pay for the flights to have Meriam Ibrahim and her family leave Sudan along with providing them food and shelter.
Pastor William Devlin of Manhattan Bible Church traveled to Sudan and met with the Foreign Minister. The pastor says that he asked the Minister to intervene to allow the family to leave the country with him.
“The Devlin family has offered to bring this family back to the USA from Khartoum and have them live with us. I have been interviewed by the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. and I have also met for three hours with the U.S. Ambassador to Sudan here in Khartoum – and his senior staff,” Devlin said in an email to The Christian Post on Sunday. “I, along with another brother in the Lord, were able to go to the Safe House where this persecuted family is currently living in Khartoum and minister to them for over an hour.”
The family is reportedly in good health despite the Sudanese government’s continued actions in keeping Ibrahim from leaving the country. The family is still waiting for the results of an ultrasound to see if newborn Maya will be able to walk after complications with her birth.
Persecuted Christian Meriam Ibrahim has asked the world to pray for her daughter who will be undergoing an ultrasound to see if the injury from her birth will cause permanent disability.
Doctors are telling Ibrahim that it’s possible the injuries suffered at birth are not as severe as initially feared and that it’s possible the child will be able to walk on her own. Ibrahim was forced to give birth with her legs tied together with chains because the prison guards would not release her for the birth.
Ibrahim and her family have been taking refuge in the U.S. embassy after being released from prison on charges related to her Christian faith. The family has been hoping to leave the country but the Sudanese government continues to refuse to allow the family passage out of the nation.
The family has been especially sensitive to the possibility of the child being confined to a wheelchair for life because her father, Daniel Wani, is wheelchair bound because of multiple sclerosis.
The Islamists family members of persecuted Christian Meriam Ibrahim are attempting to get the death sentence against her reinstated by trying to prove she was “born a Muslim.”
The family contends that because she’s a Muslim, her marriage to a Christian man is illegal under Sudan’s Sharia Law.
The lawyer hired by the family says they are going to ask Khartoum Religious Court to review the case and declare Meriam Ibrahim “belongs” to the men in her family.
Ibrahim is in hiding at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum with her American husband and two children. She has been unable to leave the country because of the government’s special police charging her with using illegal documents to leave the country.
Ibrahim’s lawyer Mohanem Mostafa said that the court has not officially notified her of the lawsuit but that he believes the court will dismiss the case.
