Mali or Azawad—Religious Freedom or Oppression?

For many years, Mali, West Africa, has been one of few predominantly Muslim countries offering some degree of religious freedom, but the opportunity has been seldom utilized by servants of Christ.

So, others have seized control of the country. In January of 2012, an alliance of fierce Tuareg separatists (another mostly unreached people group) and Al-Quaeda affiliated rebels, armed with Qaddafi’s left-over weaponry, took control of the northern two-thirds of the country, renaming it Azawad. The provisional capital was Gao, but the intended one was Timbuktu (yes, it does exist!). The few Christians who had moved to the area from the south were forced to flee—a Bible school in Gao was closed.

France has continued to help its former colony over the years, and when the rebels crossed their own boundary in January of this year, it was too much to take. French military units assisted the Malian army in driving rebel forces into the mountains, where they continue to mount guerilla attacks.

Despite the uprising, methods of evangelism and discipleship are still available—radio broadcasts, literature distribution (alongside of literacy work), even street evangelism. About 75% of the population is illiterate, so audio cassettes, MP3 players, and SMS cards for mobile phones—all are useful tools in telling the Story.

Not too long ago, one of our workers was traveling with a Malian pastor, visiting individual believers in the wide, sandy diaspora that is typical for the Sahel zone. They visited a little group and began to study the Scriptures. ‘Safwan’  was keenly interested, so ‘Stephan’ (a ReachAcross worker) gave him some Bible study helps, which he devoured. But where had Safwan got his Bible from? There aren’t any bookstores in his tiny village, and even if there were, the Bible certainly wouldn’t be available.

The mystery was soon solved as Safwan told his story: His father had become a committed Christian during his stint in the Malian army. Service completed, he had returned to his home village, where nobody else knew about his new-found faith. He remained the only Christian in his village until the day he died, but some time later, his son brought his father’s old Bible to our meeting. The seed that had lain dormant for a few years began to bear fruit.

With the equivalent of a fourth-grade education, Safwan had trouble reading some passages, but his comprehension is improving. He likes listening to cassette tapes of Bible portions—especially when he can follow along in his New Testament—the Old Testament isn’t available yet (a team of translators is working on it). God is working in the life of this soldier’s son.

Please pray for Mali. Safwan himself gathered in a good harvest of peanuts last year—most families are not so blessed, and if the rainfall isn’t sufficient in late summer, famine will again be just around the corner, as happened in 2012. More important still is the spiritual harvest that is just as meager. Neither type of famine—peanuts or the Bread of Life—is necessary, if God’s people will respond to His call.

Pray that God’s Kingdom will prevail in Mali.

Translated, with additions and revisions, from the German.