A strange thing happened to Hezbollah fighter Afshin Javid when he was on his way to the United States to attempt to convert Christians to Islam.
“I had 30 illegal passports at that time,” he says. “I was arrested and put in jail in Malaysia. I was a dedicated Muslim who not only prayed the prayers, but I read the Koran once every 10 days, cover to cover. So I was very dedicated in my time in jail. One day, as I’m praying, a man appears in front of me — normal size, but his being shines like light. This light is not a normal light. This light carried identity in it. And you knew that he is holy and instantaneously, I knew I am not.”
Javid cried out for forgiveness.
“I ran to the corner of the room, literally held my head in my arms, and just cried out, shouting, ‘Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me,'” he says. “And I didn’t think he would forgive me, because he is just. Still, I felt a touch on my left arm, and he said, ‘I forgive you.’ And I felt the weight just lifted off me. And I knew I’m forgiven, but I don’t know how. And I was confused. Still, I say, ‘OK, I don’t understand. Only God can forgive, but You just forgave me. You are God, but you are a different God than the one I have studied about. This is not Allah. So who are You that forgives me?’:
The answer was, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
“So I said, ‘I don’t understand; what is your name?’” Javid shares. “And he said, ‘Jesus Christ.’ And it was as if someone grabbed all my bones out of my body. I just fell like a piece of meat to the ground. And I just began to weep.”
Like Paul, he understood that he once was blind but now could see.
“It’s like being colorblind, and then suddenly you see colors and you realize the world is so much more beautiful than you ever thought,” Javid told CBN News. “And if you ask me what made the world so colorless? It’s the hatred, the anger that is in the heart of every Muslim.”
READ: Jewish artist portrays life of Jesus
Now, instead of hating Jews, he is expressing support for Israel after the brutal attack by Hamas.
“We are standing with all the Jewish people, with the people of Israel,” he said. “And we are mourning their sorrow of their family members that have been lost, but also for the right of Israel to exist,” he said.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice