Customer Reviews

Baghdad Believer: a Sunni Muslim Experiences Jesus in the Midst of Destruction and Violence

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From the first page to the last sentence I was taken with the rich detail of Jay Nealson's account of an Iraqi Muslim's attempts to see the difference between, "...truth and culture..." This is more than the story of one man's journey toward Christ. It is a realistic look at the spiritual risks and opportunities that exist for Muslim's in a war torn nation. Time and again, Jay Nealson's prose is almost poetry. When his character says, "In following Isa, life is not easier, but it seems so." you feel the intensity as well as the exaltation of his belief. This is a book that gives hope, even in the face of entrenched and dangerous opposition. LOUISE BUTLER, Author of Beating the Bell Curve, and Gloriana! and regular contributor to The Mensa Bulletin.

This book provides a refreshing--but realistic--alternative to the bad news we hear coming from Iraq almost every day. The reader is left with the conviction that the real hope for Iraq comes neither from military nor political solutions, but from God's spirit gradually changing lives and transforming society through people like Mahmood and his uncle.

Mahmood's journey is not the story of a victim and the author does not seek to villainize those who persecute the believers. Rather, this story shows how Muslim followers of Christ must struggle with unique issues, such as how to reconcile maintaining family honor with zeal for proclaiming Christ, and how to put the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount into practice in an entirely Islamic environment.

As is often the case across the Muslim world, Christ reveals himself to Mahmood through a series of dreams. In addition to receiving comfort and peace from these revelations, Mahmood matures in his faith through listening to stories of the Prophets, reading the Bible and discussing issues of faith with his uncle. Of particular interest is how the audio stories in the local dialect complemented the teachings of the printed Scriptures in the literary language and provided Mahmood with a more accessible vehicle for sharing his faith with family members.

This book is well written and easy read. It gives an excellent overview of life in 21st Century Iraq and the questions which poeple are asking but also the long term satisfying answers. There is hope!

I really liked this first-hand story of life in Baghdad. The main character is a shopkeeper who is given a secret book and then starts having dreams. This increases his paranoia, and the conflicts within himself, and with his wife and parents. Through a number of beatings and deaths of other family members, Mahmood finds both internal peace and is able to become a peacemaker in his community. This is a different view of life in Baghdad than is presented in traditional news media, and gives hope that there is good in Baghdad. The most interesting points are those where cultural norms, such as lies and deception, seem to be a difficult obstacle to true peacemaking. If it is normal and expected to lie, even with an oath, then what does that say about the political leaders? For other books on Iraq and social systems of the Middle East, see the civilsociety at seedwiki pages.

I have been to Baghdad twice and Love it there, love the people, so I had a special interest in reading this. I loved it. God really does woo the unsaved to Himself through dreams.

Very good look into Iraqi culture.