Muslim extremists brutally beat a 21-year-old Christian woman in Isiolo, Kenya, until she was unconscious and also injured her 19-year-old sister and 18-year-old brother, Morning Star News is reporting.
Fozia remembers seven assailants approaching her and her siblings as they were outside their home fetching water around 7 p.m. on June 4.
“There were noisy shouts calling us infidels,” she told Morning Star News. “They said, ‘We know you do not belong to us. We have got hold of you today—we have no mercy on you people. You need to return to where you came from.’”
Originally from Somalia, Fozia and her family fled to neighboring Kenya more than 16 years ago, joining hundreds of thousands of other Somali refugees, most of whom are Muslim.
Most Somalis believe they are Muslim by birth and that any Somali who becomes a Christian can be charged with apostasy, which is punishable by death. Somalia’s constitution establishes Islam as the state religion and prohibits the propagation of any other religion, according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. It also requires that laws comply with Sharia (Islamic law) principles, with no exceptions in application for non-Muslims.
Unfortunately for Fozia and her family, this means they have experienced harassment from Muslims of Somali descent in Kenya for more than a decade simply because of their Christian faith.
Recalling last month’s attack, Fozia told Morning Star News, “They began hitting me with sticks and a blunt object, which injured my back and my right hand. There I fainted for five hours and regained consciousness at the hospital.”
Her sister, Asha, reportedly had two broken teeth after being slammed into a wall and her brother, Aden, sustained injuries to his hand and ribs from a blunt object.
Asha and Aden were able to hail a taxi to transport their unconscious sister to the hospital, where she was treated for the next two days.
Fozia reported the assault to police on June 6, using her medical report as proof. Two suspects, identified only as Jarson and Musambir Adullai, were arrested the next day. On June 8, the suspects were released on bond of 20,000 Kenyan shillings (US $185). A hearing is set for July 27.
But Fozia’s mother says the family has been receiving threats to stand down.
“We are receiving threats that my children should withdraw the case from police if we are to remain safe,” she told Morning Star News. “But we demand compensation for my three ailing children and medication for them. Three weeks have now gone by, and my children are constantly on painkillers.”
“Please, we need prayers that we shall receive justice,” she added.
Kenya is ranked 44th on the 2020 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian; Somalia is ranked 3rd.
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