Hamburg – In Search of a New God (Video)

In Hamburg’s city park, 80 refugees change their religion in a collective baptism ceremony.

According to FCN News, at this moment 80 refugees will participate in a baptism ceremony – these individuals have converted from Islam to Christianity. It quickly comes to mind: they are only doing this for a positive asylum outcome. But changing one’s faith requires a much greater sacrifice.

Germany is celebrating Father’s Day, or in other words, the day of Jesus Christ’s Ascension, or both. A clear blue sky without clouds covers Hamburg. People resting in the sun, those running, and those who came to the park with their dogs fill the entire Hamburg city park, and among them: 80 people are seen in white clothes. They are not holding beer glasses and celebrating Father’s Day, nor do they want to get a little tan in the sun; rather, the only thing that brought them there is “God”. Because on this day they are being baptized. 80 men and women from Iran and Afghanistan stand before a small stage and wait for their priest to baptize them. Friends, family members, and church members are beside them. Sounds filled with excitement can be heard, children are playing among the benches. Women wear white flowers on their heads and the smell of grilled kebab fills the air everywhere. Mehshad says with great joy: “Today is a big day for us”. Six months ago, this young woman came to Germany with her husband Amir from Iran. They currently live in a refugee camp in the city of Bielefeld. But they came to Hamburg for their baptism. Because “Alpha Omega Church (their current family) gave them refuge after their escape from Iran. And Mehshad eagerly says: “A new life is beginning for us.”

Hopeless and Disappointed with Islam

Like Amir and Mehshad, hundreds of refugees currently want to be baptized. Throughout Germany, many Christian churches report an influx of such refugees. According to Pastor Babaian, only in the Persian-speaking church in Hamburg, 196 Iranians and Afghans were baptized this year. And his wife Nasrin Babaian believes that this number could potentially reach 500.

According to Mr. Babaian, “the motivation for changing faith is the same for most of them: they are disappointed with Islam.”

As Shima from Iran said: “Throughout my life, I searched for peace and well-being and happiness, I did not find it in Islam. Being a Christian brings me happiness.”

Similarly, the young couple Mehdi and Solmaz found something in Christianity that they had never found in Islam throughout their lives: “love”. Solmaz says: In Islam, we always lived in fear. Fear of God, fear of sin and punishment for sin. But in Christianity, it is the opposite – God is love.

Is Converting to Another Religion to Get a Positive Asylum Answer?

And they celebrate this God today with the sound of harps and guitars and joyful hymns. People passing by stop and look at everything with disbelief and amazement.

An elderly woman in a corner says with disbelief: Who are they deceiving? Anyone who is baptized as a refugee is always faced with this accusation, that they only do this for a positive asylum answer. Because according to the latest legal news, changing faith has an impact on receiving a positive asylum answer, and they can thereby stay in Germany. For many who have changed their religion, returning to their homeland poses a mortal danger. In Iran and Afghanistan, they are called apostates and carry the death penalty.

But changing religion is a lengthy process. Legally, changing religion is only a subjective reason after fleeing, just like marriage in judicial laws. For example, marriage and changing religion can be considered reasons for allowing residence. These are reasons for fleeing that have even been created by refugees after their journey. According to the law, subjective reasons for fleeing are only recognized in the first asylum application if the person was active from the country of origin. For example, a refugee must have changed their religion from the country of origin.

Proving One’s Faith in Court

A refugee in this situation not only has to prove his faith in court, but from the church’s perspective as well, his faith must be proven. Baptism in the Persian-speaking church in candidates’ classes takes months. And even participation in these classes is not necessarily a guarantee of acceptance in baptism and Christian participation. Pastor Babaian (64 years old) says: “If I feel that a person does not have faith with all their heart, I will not baptize them. He specifically pointed out that I do not ask people to memorize a psalm or a way of praying. Rather, I ask how their life has changed. Because Christian faith transforms one’s way of thinking and worldview. And when someone tells me that at night they can again sleep easily, or that they can forgive their old enemy; that is when I know that the person is a Christian from the bottom of their heart.”

“Whoever does not believe will not be baptized.”

Pastor Babaian, an Iranian of Armenian descent, admits that there are many who come to him and try to improve their chances in the asylum process by changing their religion. Approximately 20 to 30 percent of people are truly seeking the good news of the Gospel. Those who only come for a certificate will be rejected. And I receive angry emails from people whose baptism has been rejected. And it is very easy for me to say, whoever does not believe will not be baptized.

It should be noted that changing religion alone does not prevent deportation. Pastor Babaian says that approximately ten percent of those who convert are nonetheless deported.

Muslim Refugees Threaten Christians

But in any case, Pastor Babaian is not the only obstacle that those baptized who want to change their religion must overcome. Those who have turned away from Islam must also be concerned for their safety in Germany. Amir and Mehshad, when they intend to go to their church on Sundays, leave the refugee camp in sports clothes. Mehshad says we pretend that we are going out to exercise. This beautiful young girl and her husband are afraid of their Muslim neighbors. We realized here that even in Germany, we cannot fully and openly admit and declare our Christian faith. And with some anger, she says that Muslims are stronger than Christians.

In the camp where they live, Muslim neighbors forcibly invite them to gather five times a day for prayer. And anyone who does not do so or fails to comply is threatened and intimidated. “And this is the same Islam that we also fled from.” She and her husband have received several death threats so far. “But we cannot even file a complaint because security officers and translators in the camp are also Muslim. And they also cover for their co-religionists. And 23-year-old Mehshad said this desperately.

Similarly, 24-year-old Sama from Afghanistan is afraid of her neighbors who lives in one of Hamburg’s camps. There they constantly face sexual harassment and insulting attacks. This young woman says: “Our environment is very horrific.” And the threats that come are not only from neighbors but also from camp security personnel.

Those who have changed their religion become apostates.

Pastor Babaian reports that from church members, he mostly hears that they are threatened in refugee camps. In recent months, there have even been cases where these verbal hostilities have turned into physical violence. “Many refugees who have believed in Christ have been beaten, and even one person was stabbed with a knife and seriously injured. Such people who have converted from Islam to Christianity are rejected. Even some are rejected by their own families and relatives. Like Amir and Mehshad. Turning away from Allah in their country carries a death sentence. Shima from Iran was also rejected by her countrymen and faced hostility. Shima complains, “If my old friends hear that I have become a Christian, they will not want to have contact with me anymore.” Yet when she was baptized in the park’s lake in the city, tears of joy were seen in her eyes. And she is not the only one who, trembling from the cold water of the lake, entered the lake for baptism, but 80 others were also baptized with her. Excitement, joy, and fear were seen in their eyes. It was rare images: small and large boats could be seen beside the lake. A blue sky over Hamburg and the shining sun gleaming on white skins. Those who were rowing slowly rowed with astonishment and passed by the baptized. People beside the lake celebrated with joy and songs for those being baptized. And those who had been baptized would not let themselves be distracted by onlookers. Even when a drunk man threw his beer bottle towards them and spat in the water. And one of the church members simply said: “It doesn’t matter.”

FCN News Room