Fedha Mohamed Elyas has visited her children in Texas before and returned home to Africa with no problems.
But this time, she’s afraid to go home.
Elyas is a resident of the Comoros islands, off the southeastern coast of Africa. She professes faith in Jesus Christ, which puts her in a tiny minority in her native land — and perhaps in danger.
The country, which is 98 percent Muslim, already has a reputation as not being open to other faiths.
But the recent election of a new ruler has produced a much more hostile environment for Christians. Many have already been imprisoned, fined and tortured, Elyas said, and she has no reason to believe she will receive any different treatment.
Friends already report her house has been searched while she has been gone and the Comoran government now has her name on a list of Christians.
She first visited Plainview, Texas, last summer to see her son, Daniel Coutinho, then a senior at Wayland Baptist University (WBU), and her daughter, Maureen Coutinho, a sophomore. She returned in the spring to see Daniel Coutinho receive his diploma from WBU and planned to stay for a few months. News from home, however, has left her afraid to return.
Under the rule of Islamic fundamentalist Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi since May, the Comoros islands are currently ranked 15th on the Open Doors list of the top 50 worst persecuting countries in the world.
Elyas and her fellow Christians have to worship in secret for fear of being discovered by the government.
The government does “not give you liberty to preach or worship,” she said. “People would come to my house, which is far from town, to worship. Someone would stand outside so if they saw anyone coming, we could hide the Bibles.”
Though raised in the Muslim tradition, as a young adult Elyas would sneak away to attend church.
“Sometimes when I found myself in real trouble, I would pray the Christian way. I would pray to Jesus,” she said.
“But whenever my prayers were answered, I would tell myself it was just coincidence, and go back to the Muslim way.”
Elyas chose Christianity in 1996. Family members immediately turned their backs on her. But she has been an outspoken leader among Christians in Comoros.
Since she is a diabetic who controls her condition with diet and exercise, Elyas and others believe a prison sentence would be almost a death sentence.
In prisons in Comoros, all basic necessities such as food and clothing are provided by the family, not the state. Christians attempting to bring food run the risk of being arrested themselves.
“One of the Christians [in prison] was sick with malaria, and some people brought him medication, which they gave to the guards,” said Daniel Coutinho, who works as an admissions counselor for WBU. “But it never reached him.
Even if a family member brings you food, there’s no guarantee that it will get to you — especially if you are Christian.”
With two children in the United States and another son, Nicky, studying in France, Elyas has no one in Comoros to care for her should she end up in prison.
Her only hope is to apply for political asylum in the United States and wait out the political storm in her own country.
She intends to return there as soon as conditions are safer, as do her children, who are now also Christians.
(ABP)
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