Muslim extremists in Somalia on Saturday (Aug. 15) beat a mother of eight children unconscious after learning she had converted from Islam to Christianity, sources said.
A former member of an underground Christian fellowship who returned to Islam, Fatuma Osman, directed other Muslims to a women’s Bible study for the attack in Afmadow, Lower Juba Region, area sources said.
Sophia Ibrahim, who converted to Christianity in April 2022, suffered multiple bruises and injuries and sustained a deep cut to her head in the assault, said a source. The source learned that she was unconscious for four hours and lost a significant amount of blood before neighbors took her to the hospital.
Ibrahim and other Christian mothers were meeting in a home watching a video about the life of Christ when a Muslim identified as Ahmed Hussein and three other men arrived and told them that Christianity was not allowed in their village, and that they were misleading Muslims, said a source unnamed for security reasons. The Muslims then beat the women with sticks, leaving several of them with bruises and injuries to their faces, hands and other parts of their bodies, said the source.
The women managed to escape from the house and return to their homes, but the assailants followed Ibrahim to her home, where they found her praying, the source said. They entered and struck her with blunt objects and pangas, long Somali swords, according to the source.
Neighbors responding to Ibrahim’s screams for help found her bleeding heavily from the wound to her head and took her to the hospital, the source said.
“I screamed very loudly, and neighbors arrived and found me in a pool of blood, especially from the deep cut on my head,” Ibrahim told the source. “I lost a lot of blood and became unconscious. I found myself in the hospital.”
Ibrahim said her faith remained unchanged despite the attack. She credited God with protecting her life and said her experience had strengthened her determination to continue following Christ.
“God has been protecting my life, and I cannot forsake Him,” Ibrahim told Morning Star News. “Jesus changed my life. Jesus has been a supply of the needs of my family.”
She added that she intended to continue sharing her faith with others.
“I will continue serving Him and making others know Him because of the everlasting life and the joy of knowing Christ,” she said.
Ibrahim’s eight children are ages 8 to 19, and she also cares for five other children. The children are facing difficulties while their mother remains unable to resume normal activities during her recovery, and the family is in need of continued care and support, sources said.
Ibrahim was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday morning (Aug. 19) and moved to an undisclosed location for security reasons.
“It is very difficult to report this brutal attack because Islam is a legal religion in Somalia, and it is believed that any other religion should not be practiced,” a Morning Star News contact said. “Pray for our other believers who are staying in this particular area, because they are now living in great fear for their lives.”
Somalia ranked No. 2 on Christian support group Open Doors’ 2026 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. The country’s constitution establishes Islam as the state religion and prohibits the propagation of any other religion, according to the U.S. State Department. It also requires that laws comply with sharia (Islamic law) principles, with no exceptions in application for non-Muslims.
The death penalty for apostasy is part of Islamic law according to mainstream schools of Islamic jurisprudence. An Islamic extremist group in Somalia, Al Shabaab, is allied with Al Qaeda and adheres to the teaching.
