Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Al Fadi was completely devoted to a radical form of Islam. He was a zealot on a mission. At one point, Fadi wanted to go to Afghanistan to kill the enemies of Islam, but his mother pleaded with him to stay at home. As for Christians, he hated them. Bitterly. Why not? They were going to hell anyway (according to his Muslim faith)
“I had nothing but contempt for Christianity,” he told Christianity Today (https://www.christianitytoday.com/magazine/2023/) “I believed that Muslims were superior to all others, that all non-Muslims were infidels, and that Jesus was a prophet sent by Allah, not the divine Son of God. As far as I was concerned, he had never been crucified, never died on a cross, and never been resurrected.”
“All in all,” he added, “I grew up harboring intense hatred for Christians, Jews, and all who refused Islam.”
After earning his undergraduate degree in Saudi Arabia, Fadi came to the United States in 1989 to pursue a graduate degree in engineering, determined to avoid Christians. After a month, he joined an international student friendship group to improve his English and was on the receiving end of many acts of kindness by his host family.
That November, they invited Fadi to their home for Thanksgiving. That day, they asked him if they could pray before the meal. Fadi says his “heart sank” when he realized they were Christians. Worse, he saw that—contrary to his prejudice—some Christians are actually filled with love. “This family had never shared the gospel with me,” Fadi said, “but they had shown me what the gospel looks like. And on that day, I walked out of their home with great doubts about my faith and its teachings.”
A couple of years later, after receiving his master’s degree, Fadi was hired by an engineering firm, where he met another Christian. The guy was just like the loving family that had taken him under its wing. Intrigued, Fadi asked his colleague why he was different. The answer was the same: Jesus Christ.
This set the former Muslim fanatic on a determined spiritual search. In May 2001, he did the previously unthinkable—he started attending a church, which was studying John’s Gospel. By November, the angry follower of Allah had committed himself to the Lord—a miracle of God’s.patient grace.
Today, Fadi leads a global ministry called CIRA International, which he founded in 2010. Its mission is to reach Muslims for Christ, equip believers to share the good news with Muslims, and disciple new believers, especially those coming from Muslim backgrounds. He also teaches about Islam at Arizona Christian University and local churches.
Fadi’s life changed because ordinary Christians—people just like you—took an interest in him, demonstrating the gospel in word and deed. Would YOU like to help change a life? Go to https://www.crescentproject.org/