- Nobody knows am I doing enough.

There is no guarantee,there is no assurance.

This limbo is always, always

is in your mind as a Muslim.

- [Narrator] Born in Iran,raised in a strict Shia family,

Mohammad Faridi was taughthe had one purpose in life.

- My goal as a Muslim was to satisfy

a God that I didn't know,

a God that I couldn't get to know.

So everything I did,everything I read, studied,

it was about to fulfillthat particular goal,

to keep him satisfied with me,

to have his approval.

(man singing in foreign language)

- [Narrator] From childhood,he prayed and fasted

and memorized the Quran.

- Because the belief is thatif you memorize the Quran,

you cannot be burned in hell

because the verses of the Quraneternal and they are pure.

When it's in your mind,

that mind cannot be burned in hell.

I was always in constant fear.

- [Narrator] Then as a teenager,

he started ritual flagellationsto earn Allah's approval.

- We have chains.

We have swords that webeat ourselves with it

to punish ourself inorder to pay for our sins,

to show how sorrowful we are.

- [Narrator] But there was only one way

he could secure his place in paradise.

- The only guarantee accordingto chapter five of the Quran

is jihad and being a slay orslain for the cause of Islam.

That's the only guarantee you will find

in the doctrine of Islam.

- [Narrator] Mohammed hopedto get his chance in battle

when he served his two years

of mandatory militaryservice after high school,

but war never broke out,

and when his army career came to an end,

Mohammed grew frustrated and depressed.

- I knew as a Muslim if I commit suicide,

I will definitely end up in hell.

At this time, I'm living in hell.

If I kill myself, I'll end up in hell,

so I had this dilemma.

I was stuck, I really was stuck.

- [Narrator] Then one day,he met up with a friend

that he hadn't seen since high school.

Right away, Mohammed noticedsomething different about him.

(gentle music)

- He was very mellow, very peaceful,

and it bothered me tothe point that I said

what is going on with you today?

There's something very different today.

And then he said thathe became a Christian,

and he started explainingabout the goodness of God.

He talked about the love of God

and how his relationship with God

that is through Jesus Christhas changed their lives.

I tried to defend myself.

I tried to prove him wrong,

but after two hours of intense arguments,

I was an echo of what theimam in the mosque told me.

I had nothing that Icould stand on as a Muslim

because I didn't know God,

but the way my friendwas talking about Jesus,

it was like talking about a friend of him,

the personal guy that he actually knew.

Out of desperation,

I fell on my knees and Iasked him what do I need to do

to receive Him?

Everything that I had todo on my own as a Muslim,

to beat myself, to bruisemyself, to shed my own blood,

to become a sacrifice,

he said it's already done inthe person of Jesus Christ,

and if you believe in Him,

you will have eternal life,

and it was simple, but it wasthe most amazing good news,

the true good news, I'veever heard in my life.

- [Narrator] Finally, Mohammed discovered

the personal relationship with God

that he had always desired.

(gentle music)(birds chirping)

- Something within me thatwas always in war with me,

always restless.

It was like a cancerthat always bothered me,

never was satisfied.

That moment when I made that commitment,

when I prayed that prayer,

it was like yanked out of me,

and for the first timein my life, I felt peace.

- [Narrator] Mohammed was excited,

but worried about telling his family.

According to Sharia law,

they would have every right to kill him.

- So I had to choose between my family

and my heavenly family,

and at that time I counted the cost,

and I said I will choosemy heavenly family,

regardless of what's gonna happen.

- [Narrator] When he dideventually tell them,

his family tried topersuade him back to Islam,

but Mohammed was convinced thatJesus was the one true god.

- The more I read this NewTestament, the Gospels,

the more it connected tome, the more it spoke to me.

The Gospels showed thehypocrisy of Islam to me.

- [Narrator] For the next two years,

he attended undergroundchurches and grew in his faith.

Eventually he fled toTurkey, fearing for his life.

After three years ofinterviews and waiting,

he was granted religiousasylum in the United States.

- God is a good god,

and what He has donethrough Jesus Christ for us

will change our livesfor good and for eternity

to put us in a right standing with God

in a relationship withour Heavenly Father.

- [Narrator] Today, Mohammednever misses a chance

to share the personalrelationship he has with God.

- I was a very uncertainperson as a Muslim.

When I came to theknowledge and understanding

of who Jesus is andwhat He has done for me,

that love, that hope,

you cannot find it in any other places,

especially in Islam.