A Routine Bible Study
A light breeze rustled through the palm trees, easing the ever-present heat that is as much a part of life in Malaysia as cold is in the Arctic. In a small suburb of Kuala Lumpur, a city of 1.6 million people and the sixth most visited city in the world, Jon concluded a Bible study with ten other ethnic Malay Christians.
As they said their good-byes outside, Jon felt good. The gathering had gone well. March clouds that often dumped buckets of rain were still far in the distance. He would have no trouble getting home before it rained. He looked forward to returning home, where he could turn on his fan and immerse himself more deeply into the Word of God.
Harassment and Threats
Even when he saw the SUV speeding toward him, Jon didn’t fret. He knew the drill. Since he had converted to Christianity six years earlier, he’d become accustomed to police harassment. Every three months, they made him report to them. They would urge him to recite Islamic prayers and re-embrace the Islamic faith and his ethnic heritage. And every three months, he’d politely refuse.
In Malaysia, the population includes a variety of ethnicities—Chinese, Vietnamese, Indians, and others. In addition, the Malaysian government strives to maintain a distinct, indigenous Malay culture that requires all Malay people to be Muslim. Two sets of laws exist for governing the people. Civil laws govern all citizens. Islamic laws concerning matters of religion, family, property, and inheritance apply only to Muslims.
Arrest and Intimidation
It’s illegal for Malay people to convert, and evangelization of Muslims is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both. Although the number of converts to Jesus is increasing, there were no more than one thousand Malay Christians among Malaysia’s population of twenty-eight million at the time of Jon’s arrest in 2011. Jon’s boldness in following Jesus had made him a traitor in the eyes of most Malays. Yet thus far, police interactions with him had always had the air of going through the motions. He even knew the exact location where the police chief would hang his hat each day.
When the SUV screeched to a halt, Jon noticed a bit more bravado than usual. Still, he figured it was a routine three-month visit. Seconds later, three men grabbed him, blindfolded him, and threw him into the car. Then they pursued the others.
“No, no, no! Don’t take them,” Jon called out amid the bedlam. “Just take me. Do what you will with me, but leave them out of it.”
The leader grabbed Jon’s face, thumb on one side and four fingers on the other, squeezing it in a vise-like grip. “Our patience with you, rotten kafir [infidel], has run out. It is time for you to be rehabilitated. To return to what you never should have left: your faith in Allah!”
To be continued…
Date: 13th September 2025
Martyr: Jon
Location: Malaysia
Source: The Voice of the Martyrs ‘I am n’
Author: Not specified
Suffering Saturday 160
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