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A thirteen year old Muslim Background Believer (MBB), Nura Ahmed, was stabbed to death on June 2 apparently for refusing to renounce Christ and marry the Muslim who had been harassing her some time prior to her death.
Witnesses told the police that they had last seen Nura and a Muslim girlfriend walking home in Bambasi town of Benishangul Gumuz state. Later, passers-by found the barely breathing Nura next to the road in a pool of blood. There was no sign of the friend.
She was driven to the nearest clinic, but passed away just before arrival.
An autopsy report revealed the gruesome death Nura had suffered. She died as a result of seven stab wounds to three different parts of her body. However, according to the Police forensic report, Nura had been dragged some 150 meters into bushes next to the road, before being stabbed. It is assumed that Nura used her last bit of strength to drag herself back to the road side.
Police tracked down the friend Nura had been with that day. On questioning, she apparently admitted to being the harassing Muslim suitor’s messenger. She also confessed to having conspired with the man in exchange for money.
Except for admitting his interest in Nura’s hand in marriage, the apprehended suspect has reportedly pled not guilty to all of the charges against him.
Nura’s Story
Nura came from a Muslim background. Her mother, Tadelu Dimbasha (38), used to be a follower of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC), but became a Muslim when she married Nura’s father. This was Tadelu’s second marriage that ended in divorce. Five years ago, shortly after she left Nura’s father, Tadelu accepted Christ as Saviour and become a committed church member in Bambasi.
Shortly after the divorce, Nura’s father was transferred to another district where he served as a policeman. He placed Nura in the care of his sister to ensure she be raised as a Muslim.
Two years ago Nura befriended some Christian students at her school. The friends often spoke about Christ and Nura was intrigued by the stories. She was invited to church with them, and she really enjoyed the services. She later committed her life to Christ.
After coming to the Lord, Nura joined the discipleship training program. She was nervous about her aunt’s reaction to her church attendance and kept her conversion a secret for as long as she could.
When the aunt discovered Nura’s secret, she initially showed some tolerance to the situation. But soon started to express disapproval and called Nura’s father to come and address the situation.
Upon hearing about his daughter’s conversion, the father visited. Nura courageously explained to him the reasons for her new faith. But her father’s advice was very firm – the Christian faith was not good for her future. Before leaving, he allegedly warned Nura to return to Islam or else be married off to a Muslim or be killed.
Nura decided to run away. Last September, she fled to her mother, who lived in Bambasi.
Tadelu was glad to be reunited with her daughter, but she was even happier to hear that Nura had accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Nura found a safe haven with her mother. During the week Tadelu did contract labour on different farms. Nura went to school in the morning and sold fruit in the afternoon to help make ends meet. On Sundays, they attended church together. They also participated in the discipleship program.
Nura made no secret of enjoying the freedom to go to church. Life was tough, but neither mother nor daughter complained. They faced their challenges together.
It was not long before fellow Muslim pupils started harassing Nura over her faith in Christ. They isolated her and repeatedly told her to denounce her faith. When she tried to testify of Christ, they threatened to attack her for her “blasphemy” against the prophet of Islam.
“They were verbally threatening and insulting her daily,” said Tadelu. “I was scared for her wellbeing and we often discussed what to do. I was worried that she would be attacked on her way to the rural neighbouring villages to buy and sell her fruits. I realised that she was stronger than me when she told me ‘fear them not, Mama’. I still didn’t feel at ease and we agreed that she would stop selling fruit. I felt relieved.”
Nura then focussed her attention on school and the church. She zealously attended church and became a member of the choir. Whenever the church organised outreach programs for the youth, Nura was the first to take part.
“Nura was fervent and eager to learn,” recalled one of her spiritual leaders, evangelist Waqa. “Also, whenever we had prayer services she would lead in tears... There would always be tears and earnest heart-pouring prayers if Nura was leading prayers. When we had discipleship training, Nura would always be the first person to arrive.”
After a few months in Bambasi, Nura befriended a Muslim girl. Over a period of time Nura started to gently introduce her friend to Christ, but the girl was not interested. However, the friendship endured and they appeared to grow closer.
“Nura’s friend was among those school girls who previously opposed and insulted her,” remembers Tadelu. “I asked her how they became friends and she said the girl was so nice and friendly. She was also encouraging Nura to sell fruits again to get money. But I opposed the idea”.
One day, a Muslim man from a neighbouring village started showing interest in Nura, who looked older than her peers. The man kept voicing his desire to marry Nura through her Muslim friend. Nura did not share her friend’s excitement about the situation, because she considered herself too young to think of marriage. But she made it clear that as a Christian she could not marry someone from a different religion.
The man was apparently not impressed by Nura’s response and started threatening to force her into marriage.
“I was again scared that Muslims would attack my daughter,” shared Tadelu. “I told her to be on the alert and to return straight home after school.”
The frequency and intensity of the Muslim man’s messages through the friend increased. However, amidst all the threats, Nura was more concerned about her mother having to provide for their household by herself. She considered moving back to her aunt’s village to live with the Christian friends who had led her to the Lord. Nura discussed the idea with Tadelu, who agreed that it might be a good option. On a recent visit, the Christian friends promised Nura to ask their parents to accommodate her for at least one academic year.
While awaiting an answer, Nura asked if she could help her mother at work during the school holiday. She wanted to save up money for her move. Tadelu’s employer was willing to employ Nura.
Nura, who had just successfully completed her grade five was excited to spend more time with her mother, albeit while doing strenuous physical labour on the farm.
“On Monday, May 31, we spent the whole day at work. On Tuesday morning Nura told me that she wanted to stay at home and pray. I appreciated the idea and left. When I returned home, at about 17:00, she was still praying. It was a common thing she used to do. When she felt the need to spend longer times in prayer, she would remain at home and spend the day fasting and praying,” recalled Tadelu.
“After prayer, she came and hugged me. She told me that she was praying for me too. I appreciated it and we prepared our dinner.
“The next morning, Wednesday June 2, we went to work together. Her Muslim friend was also working at the same place. Nura and I spent more than half a day together, weeding the crops. Late in the afternoon, Nura told me she wanted to leave early. I reminded her to be careful. Before she left, she told me that she would prepare coffee and wait for me at home.”
Nura and her Muslim friend left the farm together. On their way to Bambasi, they passed through the remote village where the Muslim suitor lived. The girls were already halfway to Bambasi, when they were suddenly stopped by that man and a friend. Nura had never met the man who wanted to marry her, but must have realised that it was him, when he grabbed hold of her and told her friend to go home.
A public transport driver later noticed Nura lying next to the road in a pool of blood. He stopped his van and all the passengers got out to see if they could somehow help the girl. Nura was barely breathing.
One of the passengers recognised Nura and quickly sent a messenger to find Tadelu.
While waiting for Tadelu, some of the passengers applied first aid to stop Nura’s bleeding. She was falling in and out of consciousness. The passengers asked Nura who had done this to her, but she was too weak to respond.
The driver of the van realised that Nura needed urgent medical attention and he asked the passengers to help him load her into his van. At that moment Tadelu arrived at the scene.
“She was hardly breathing,” said an emotional Tadelu. “I put her head on my lap. She was so weak. She could not even open her eyes. When I asked her to tell me who did this to her, she couldn’t speak. She only glanced at me with a distant look in her eyes. She was covered in blood. I was hoping she would recover, but before we reached the clinic she died in my arms.”
Tadelu cried. Her daughter’s death is still too vivid a memory.
“It was my greatest fear that they would kill her. My fear became reality. Nura was always encouraging me to be strong in the faith. Now I have lost her,” concluded an emotional Tadelu.
Open Doors’ Involvement
Three weeks after Nura’s murder, Open Doors (OD) representatives paid Tadelu a visit.
“By the time of our visit Tadelu was still quite damaged emotionally. I realised that she was still feeling the pain of losing her daughter. The way Nura was killed came as a shock to all of the believers in Bambasi. Not even the church leaders knew how to console Tadelu after the first week of mourning.
“We spent some time with Tadelu sharing from the Word of God. We looked at Bible verses about persecution and how to respond to it.
“We told her that she shouldn’t be ashamed of the situation. We also told her that it might be a good idea to go back to work. We prayed together and called on the Name of the Lord for supernatural comfort and consolation for Tadelu. When I returned to our office, a Bambasi church leader called me to say that Tadelu went back to work the day after our visit,” reported one of the representatives.
Slowly, but surely Tadelu needs to rebuild her life even though her struggles have not come to an end. Her third son named Alazar Siriqa (7) is deaf and needs his mother’s close attention. Tadelu misses Nura a lot and especially the support she offered in this regard.
Background on Bambasi
Bambasi is a small town some 640km northwest of Addis Ababa in Benishangul Gumuz regional state. The people of this town and the surrounding villages mainly adhere to Islam and the EOC. Christians in Bambasi have faced a number of attacks by the hands of extremist Muslims. Local EOC followers have also been hostile towards converts.
Prayer Points:
1. Pray for comfort and consolation as Tadelu works through her grief. Pray that God will give her new hope in Him. Also pray for her spiritual growth during this time of mourning.
2. Pray for God’s provision in the lives of Tadelu and her deaf son, Alazar. Pray that God will give Tadelu patience, wisdom and guidance as she considers her options to provide and care for Alazar.
3. Please pray for the Bambasi Christians, who are also shocked by Nura’s murder. Pray that the local women and girls will not be discouraged by this incident. Pray for God’s provision in the lives of this traumatised Christian community. Also pray that this community will grow spiritually.
4. Please give thanks to the Lord for swift response from the local police. Pray that God’s will be done with for the ongoing investigation. Pray that justice will be served.
