An intellectually curious woman who grew up as a Muslim once treated Jesus as a historical figure, but everything changed the moment she encountered His love.
Intellectually Curious Woman
Yasmeen Salama is an intellectually curious woman who considers herself a child of two worlds. She was born to a Christian mother and a Muslim father. Growing up, she always felt like she had a relationship with God, but she wondered which God she truly believed in. Because she was raised as a Muslim, she wasn’t allowed to read the Bible or go to church. However, she never really felt like she was one.
When she was 14 years old, she got so sick of being judged about matters of God, which she received from Christians, Muslims, or even atheists. She reached a point where she had enough and finally decided to do her research to discover who her God was. That’s when she asked her father for permission to read the Bible. “He gave me permission. He simply requested that I study Islam first, which I did,” she recalled.
Largely Intellectual Journey
Furthermore, she went through 12 years of a largely intellectual journey, just reading and studying Islam and Christianity. “I came to the conclusion pretty quickly that it all hinged on the identity of Jesus,” she shared. Meanwhile, she admitted that as a Muslim, she had a lot of preconceived notions of who Jesus was. But then, when she read the Bible, she met a different Jesus. She continued exploring Him as a Person and someone to connect and have a relationship with.
She also realized a completely irrefutable mountain of evidence proving the Bible’s accuracy. This fact removed the element of uncertainty from the equation. That’s when she knew where the truth was written. After finally treating the Bible as accurate, she spent the next two years of her life wondering about the reason why she couldn’t fully give her life to God.
Red Rocks Austin. (Screenshot). (2024). Baptism Sunday. Retrieved May 21, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HprffpKESTg
The Love of Jesus
Moreover, she had two things that she was struggling with. First, it was her relationship with her family. She knew she had a lot to lose and didn’t want to decide to follow Jesus lightly. Second was her pride. She didn’t grow up in a place of poverty or brokenness, and that’s why she didn’t feel the need to have a Savior. But then, God broke that façade down and discovered that she was missing something in her life, and it was Jesus.
“Jesus to me now is such an interesting question to kind of look back at what my perception of Him was before. And so to me, it just felt like it’s this person that I’ve always, always known of. But had no idea just how much He loved me, had no idea just how personal He was. He was a historical figure to me, and now He’s a friend. Now, he’s my God, now he’s my King,” she testified.
Finally, she decided to get baptized at one of Red Rocks Austin Church’s Baptism services. She believed she was now ready to share her testimony publicly.
Watch the full video here.
Reference | Red Rocks Austin
Header Image: Red Rocks Austin. (Screenshot). (2024). Baptism Sunday. Retrieved May 21, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HprffpKESTg