NAIROBI, Kenya — One Christian left his native Somalia 10 years ago, and another fled as Muslim extremists were bombing his house earlier this year, but both Somali converts from Islam feel they are still in danger in Kenya.
In February, Islamic extremists from the al-Shabaab militia fighting for control of Somalia reduced Mohammed Abdi Mose’s house in Mogadishu to ashes as he evacuated his family, the 54-year-old father of seven told Compass Direct News. His head bears a scar where shrapnel struck and he requires medicine to limit the injury’s damage to his memory.
About 150 people died that night in military fighting, but Mose said it was no accident that his house was targeted.
Another Somali convert from Islam arrived in Kenya in 2001, but he and his family also are seeking a third country after Muslims in Nairobi recently posted his photo in a mosque, accusing him of being a threat to Islam.
The Muslims of Nairobi’s Somali enclave in Eastleigh found out that Adam Musse Othman, 60, had translated biblical portions into Maay, one of the Somali dialects, and they also got hold of a copy of the “JESUS” film that Othman had translated into Maay; they were able to identify the voice-over in the film as his, he said.
Othman said he has received threats. “I cannot take such threats lightly, hence my request for resettlement on security grounds where we can live peacefully, decently and freely — also, to save ourselves from death and violence,” he said.
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