By John Davison
KOBANI, Syria (Reuters) – A community of Syrians who converted to Christianity from Islam is growing in Kobani, a town besieged by Islamic State for months, and where the tide turned against the militants four years ago.
The converts say the experience of war and the onslaught of a group claiming to fight for Islam pushed them toward their new faith. After a number of families converted, the Syrian-Turkish border town’s first evangelical church opened last year.
Islamic State militants were beaten back by U.S. air strikes and Kurdish fighters at Kobani in early 2015, in a reversal of fortune after taking over swaths of Iraq and Syria. After years of fighting, U.S.-backed forces fully ended the group’s control over populated territory last month.
Though Islamic State’s ultra-radical interpretation of Sunni Islam has been repudiated by the Islamic mainstream, the legacy of its violence has affected perceptions of faith.
Many in the mostly Kurdish areas of northern Syria, whose urban centers are often secular, say agnosticism has strengthened and in the case of Kobani, Christianity.
Christianity is one of the region’s minority faiths that was persecuted by Islamic State.
Critics view the new converts with suspicion, accusing them of seeking personal gain such as financial help from Christian organizations working in the region, jobs and enhanced prospects of emigration to European countries.
The newly-converted Christians of Kobani deny those accusations. They say their conversion was a matter of faith.
“After the war with Islamic State people were looking for the right path, and distancing themselves from Islam,” said Omar Firas, the founder of Kobani’s evangelical church. “People were scared and felt lost.”
Firas works for a Christian aid group at a nearby camp for displaced people that helped set up the church.
He said around 20 families, or around 80 to 100 people, in Kobani now worship there. They have not changed their names.
“We meet on Tuesdays and hold a service on Fridays. It is open to anyone who wants to join,” he said.
The church’s current pastor, Zani Bakr, 34, arrived last year from Afrin, a town in northern Syria. He converted in 2007.
“This was painted by IS as a religious conflict, using religious slogans. Because of this a lot of Kurds lost trust in religion generally, not just Islam,” he said.
Many became atheist or agnostic. “But many others became Christian. Scores here and more in Afrin.”
One man, who lost an arm in an explosion in Kobani and fled to Turkey for medical treatment, said he met Kurdish and Turkish converts there and eventually decided to join them.
“They seemed happy and all talked about love. That’s when I decided to follow Jesus’s teachings,” Maxim Ahmed, 22, said, adding that several friends and family were now interested in coming to the new church.
Some in Kobani reject the growing Christian presence. They say Western Christian aid groups and missionaries have exploited the chaos and trauma of war to convert people and that local newcomers to the religion see an opportunity for personal gain.
“Many people think that they are somehow benefiting from this, maybe for material gain or because of the perception that Christians who seek asylum abroad get preferential treatment,” said Salih Naasan, a real estate worker and former Arabic teacher.
Thousands of Christians have fled the region over decades of sectarian strife. From Syria they have often headed for Lebanon and European countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump in 2017 banned entry for all Syrian refugees indefinitely and imposed a 90-day ban on travel from several other predominantly Muslim countries.
“It might be a reaction to Daesh (Islamic State) but I don’t see the positives. It just adds another religious and sectarian dimension which in a community like this will lead to tension,” said Naasan, a practicing Muslim.
Naasan like the vast majority of Muslims rejects Islamic State’s narrow and brutal interpretation of Islam. The group enslaved and killed thousands of people from all faiths, reserving particular brutality for minorities such as the Yazidis of northern Iraq.
Most Christians preferred not to give their names or be interviewed, saying they fear reaction from conservative sectors of society.
The population of Kobani and its surroundings has neared its original 200,000 after people returned, although only 40,000 live in the town itself, much of which lies in ruins.
(Corrects reference to U.S. policy in paragraph 21.)
(Editing by Tom Perry and Alexandra Hudson)
Abiding
Man Shall not Live by Bread Alone [podcast]
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” 1 Peter 2:2
Spiritual growth occurs when we ingest the words of God, embrace, incorporate, and walk them out.
“Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” Job 23:12
“The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”Psalms 33:11
The graphic message below is from a dear sister in Christ named Cassandra, on SubStack:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:22-25
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16
YOUR PRAYER: Holy Father, thank You for finding and forgiving me and saving me into Your eternal family. Help me realize the utter importance of feeding on Your Word daily. I love You dear LORD Jesus. Help me to love You more LORD. Help me to feed, to nourish the members of Your body with Your Word. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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VIDEO Mission Mexico Update January 2026 [video]
“So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.” Acts 19:20
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Abiding
The Prayer Life of Jesus [podcast]
Prayer is communion, communing with God. Those who earnestly seek God in prayer, who earnestly seek to know Him and to fulfill His will for their temporary lives in this world…. will glorify Him here and to be with Him eternally.
What do we learn from the prayer life of our LORD Jesus?
“Luke 5:16 PRAYERS OF JESUS. Luke stresses more than the other gospels the place of prayer in the life and work of Jesus. When the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus at the Jordan, He was ‘praying’ (3:21), at times He withdrew from the multitudes ‘and prayed (5:16); ‘and He continued all night in prayer before choosing the twelve disciples (6:12). He was ‘alone praying’ before He asked His disciples an important question (9:18); at His transfiguration He climbed the mountain ‘to pray’ (9:28); the actual transfiguration occurred while ‘he prayed’ (9:29); and He ‘was praying’ just before He taught the disciple’s the Lord’s Prayer (11:1). In Gethsemane He ‘prayed more earnestly’ (22:44); on the cross He prayed for others (23:34); and His last words uttered before His death were a prayer (23:46). Luke also mentions that He prayed after His resurrection (24:30).
In examining the life of Jesus in the other Gospels, we note that He prayed before extending the invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that labour …’ (Mat. 11:25-28); He prayed at Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:41-42), for Peter (Luke 22:32), and during the institution of the Lord’s Supper (John 17).” Life in the Spirit Study Bible
“And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.” Matthew 14:23
“14:23 PRAY ALONE. While on earth, Jesus often sought time to be alone with God (cf. Mark 1:35; 6:46; 5:16; 6:12; 9:18; 22:41-42; Heb. 5:7). Time alone with God is essential to the spiritual well-being of every believer. We must continually remember that the lack of desire for solitary prayer to our heavenly Father is an unmistakable sign that the spiritual life within us is in a process of decline. If this is happening, we must turn from all that offends the Lord and renew our commitment to persevere in seeking God and His saving grace.” Life in the Spirit Study Bible
“And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” Luke 18:1
“18:1 MEN OUGHT ALWAYS TO PRAY. Jesus was frequently concerned that His followers pray continually in order to accomplish God’s will for their lives. From this parable of the widow who persevered we learn several things; (1) We must persevere in prayer with regard to all matters until Jesus returns (vv 7-8; Rom. 12:12; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17). (2) In this life we have an adversary (v. 3), Satan (1 Pet. 5:8). Prayer can protect us from the evil one (Mat. 6:13). (3) In our prayers we should cry out against sin and for justice (v 7). (4) Persistent prayer is counted as faith (v. 8). (5) In the final days before the return of Christ, there will be increased diabolical opposition to the prayers of the faithful (1 Tim. 4:1). Because of Satan and the pleasures of the world many will cease having a persistent prayer life (8:14; Mat. 13:22; Mark 4:19).” Life in the Spirit Study Bible
SUMMATION you might ask?
Following Jesus by living a life of prayer with the Father and Himself – living your life in complete submission to and dependency upon the LORD …. daily declaring with John the Baptist that “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30).
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:30
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Be persistent. Be relentless – in praying, communing with your God!
Read aloud, begin to memorize and live out:
“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11
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