SHACKLED: one woman's amazing triumph over abuse, persecution and a death sentence

Our Lord shines brightest in the darkness, as so many of the stories we post here display and trumpet. A new book by Sudanese doctor Mariam Ibraheem—while gut- and heart-wrenching—also proves a remarkable testament to the power of Jesus.

Born and raised in the same Sudanese refugee camp that her mother, a refugee from Ethiopia, had grown up in, Dr. Ibraheem’s life has taken far too many dark twists and turns. Her Christian mother had at 16 married a Muslim man decades her senior who promised to protect her from the horrors of camp life. Instead, he turned out to be an abusive bully who brought the horrors indoors. 

Incredibly, Mariam’s mother did her best to raise her children in the Christian faith. Against all odds in Islamic Sudan, her efforts bore surprising fruit. Young and determined Mariam grew strong in her faith, studied and became a doctor, married a Christian man she met at church, and had a baby boy.

Then, one day in 2013, Sudanese authorities insisted she was Muslim because of her father’s background … which meant she had broken Sharia law by marrying a Christian man. Authorities insisted she abandon both her marriage and her son and adopt Islam. Yet no matter how intensely they pressured her, Mariam repeatedly refused.

Ultimately a Sharia court sentenced her to 100 lashes and death by hanging. She received the lashings, but because she was pregnant her death sentence was postponed till after the birth.

Imprisoned along with her toddler son, mentally and physically tortured, she never accepted Islam or rejected the name of Jesus. She was forced to give birth to her second child while in chains.

Her book Shackled: One woman’s dramatic triumph over persecution, gender abuse, and a death sentence details the young doctor’s gripping story from life under Islamic law, through imprisonment and childbirth while shackled, to her remarkable escape from death following an international outcry and advocacy that included diplomats, journalists, activists, and even Pope Francis.

 “You will be encouraged to persevere no matter the circumstance you are facing and to have faith that God will work it will out as you trust in Him.”
Amazon reviewer, Naghmeh Panahi