Learn how Christ transformed a Muslim teacher in a Liberian prison.
Gebah remembered the man in his dream vividly and was still shaken the next morning while leading other Muslim inmates in prayers.
Gebah had been visited in the night by a figure who took the Quran from which he was teaching a class of children and replaced it with a Bible.
Gebah was a highly educated Muslim leader, known as an imam, who fought against Christianity. Then he was sentenced to time behind bars in Monrovia Central Prison.
What do you understand from this? This is good, the figure told him. For you and the children.
Gebah asked his name.
I am the light, the figure told him. I want your friendship.
When Gebah woke, he was still in his cell bed at Monrovia Central Prison in Liberia, put behind bars for phone fraud. He was still the lifelong Muslim who’d hated Christians and had taught 50 children daily to do the same. In prison, he’d been the Muslim teacher to the inmates.
Confusion gnawed at him.
“I had an encounter,” he told the other Muslim prisoners. “Jesus took the Quran from me and gave me a Bible.”
The men looked at him with concern.
During his incarceration, Jesus Christ began to change Gebah’s heart.
“Imam,” one said, “that’s just a dream.”
Two days later, he dreamed again.
I am the light of the world, the figure said. If you can accept my friendship, I will get you from darkness.
Previously, Gebah would have nothing to do with Christians.
“I hated Christianity. I hated Christians,” he said, recounting the story.
But what he experienced had changed his heart. That evening, he visited the mosque again and told them.
“I said: ‘Gentlemen, this dream is not a dream. So today I am leaving everything. I am no longer Muslim. Christ asked me to be His friend.’”
He did just as he said, and, for safety, he was transferred elsewhere in the prison.
Dreams and visions have opened many Muslim eyes to Christ, and for Gebah the dream meant giving up his status, safety, and family for friendship with his Savior.
That’s when he met two Christian pastors in the prison.
The Hope Project
For several years now, Samaritan’s Purse has been working alongside church partners at Monrovia Central Prison, providing clean water systems, food assistance, and vocational training. The pastors that Gebah met were partnering with us to lead people through the Bible as part of the Hope Project.
After his encounter with Jesus Christ, Gebah joined other inmates to learn more about his Savior through the study of God’s Word.
Through many prayers, our practical programs, and the partnership of churches, we have seen the spirit of God take hold in one of Monrovia’s darkest places.
Through the Hope Project’s Alpha course, Gebah began to learn about the figure for whom he’d given up everything. “The Hope Project is actually transforming lives,” he said. “I’m experiencing grace and peace and joy.
“The discipleship class taught us who Christ is and how to be a follower of Christ. Christ is the only way to salvation.”
The clear teaching he’s received directly from God’s Word has given him a firm foundation of truth on which to build. Otherwise, he would have been floating without clear direction.
During his six-month imprisonment, Gebah grew as a believer and, through our water, sanitation, and hygiene program he learned the skills for maintaining a well system, which Samaritan’s Purse installed at the prison.
When he was released, he was able to take these skills and make an income. For several months after leaving, we also provided for his housing, food, and healthcare. A partner church took him in, and he continued to grow and to serve in Christian community.
A New Mission
Looking back, Gebah sees God’s hand even in his imprisonment. “This was not a punishment,” he said. “God brought me here to gain my senses. God himself arrested me.”
When he was released from prison, Samaritan’s Purse and local churches provided Gebah with resources and community to thrive outside the prison walls. He saw his imprisonment and new life of freedom as gifts from God.
The man who had once wanted to kill himself on his first night in prison now understands that even his circumstances had served God’s purpose. “He had a special plan for me,” Gebah said.
He later returned to Monrovia Central to celebrate The Hope Project graduation with other inmates.
Today, Gebah still faces rejection in his Muslim-majority community, even from his own family.
But he has found a new family. “I have no regrets on becoming a Christian,” he said. “I’m actually dwelling in peace now.”
Gebah’s transformation from imam to evangelist represents something remarkable—a man uniquely equipped to reach Muslim communities because he knows both the Quran and Bible by heart. He considers it his responsibility and calling to go back and tell the truth to those whom he once led. Many are dying of ignorance, he said.
The man who once hated Christians now says, “Christians are the best people to be with.” Being reconciled to God and others has been worth it all. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10, KJV).
“I have 100 percent belief that with Christ my salvation is sure,” Gebah said. “I’m on the right path.”
He even returned to the prison for a day of celebration, joining inmates for a Hope Project graduation ceremony.
