I Dared to Call Him Father: The Miraculous Story of a Muslim Woman's Encounter With God

by Bilquis Sheikh with Richard H. Schneider
Available from Amazon
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Bilquis Sheikh describes her journey, beginning with her initial interest in spirituality. She tells of her search for the truth, studying her Koran and the Bible she had requested, and struggling to know which book was God’s. She humbled herself to visit a missionary to ask questions. She knew how to pray; prayer had been a ritual performed five times a day. However, she was startled by the new thought of praying to God as a father. In which of the two holy books was God a father? She decided to accept the Bible. She studied it, and began to spend time with the missionaries. She listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and became convicted about so many things: baptism, her temper, her responses to other people. Christ gave her the strength to defy her family when they insisted she have nothing to do with Christians, as well as the courage to live calmly when her life was threatened. It was such a hard decision, even after she knew in her heart that she believed, and had become a Christian. Her family was close, and she enjoyed so many tender relationships cut off by her choice to follow Jesus. Her family, who had shared such love with her, even tried to kill her for rejecting Islam.

In this book, she chronicles this process. It is precious to see the Lord at work in hard places, like South Asia. We see that He is not limited, only we are. She also gives us insights into her own culture, and values of family and community which are remote from the individualism of the West. It is enlightening to glimpse into a Muslim family, and how she continued to live among her relatives after her conversion. Most of all, it is encouraging to read of another sister’s journey to live before God in communion with Him as He has called us all to do. It brings reflection on our own lives, and the depth and closeness of our own relationship with our heavenly Father.

At the end of the book, there is an epilogue of Bilquis’ life after the conclusion of the book. Then another perspective is added by Synnove Mitchell, the missionary to whom Bilquis first spoke about the Lord.

Written in an easy manner, this book can be read in an afternoon. Bilquis was open and honest about matters of the heart, and I did not find her to by dry at all. Who should read it? Those interested in this kind of conversion and culture, those wanting to know how God can be a Father, and Christians who want to understand this sister and those like her, and Christians who want to deepen their own relationship with our heavenly Father.