In this episode of the Release International Voice podcast, Tom Hardy continues his conversation with Sharif, a former radicalised Muslim from a family of imams who encountered Christ while in prison.

Release International UK is a sister office of VOM Australia

In this episode, Tom Hardy of the Release International Voice podcast speaks with Sharif, a former radicalised Muslim from a family of imams who encountered Christ while in prison.

Born into a family of imams and radicalised in the Muslim Brotherhood, Sharif never imagined he would meet Jesus in a solitary prison cell. In Part One of this two-part conversation, he shares how jihad, political activism, and imprisonment led him to a series of mysterious encounters and a long, painful journey through the Koran that ended at the feet of Christ.

Release International UK is a sister office of VOM Australia

Brother Wybo served persecuted Christians for decades through Open Doors alongside Brother Andrew, author of God’s Smuggler. Andrew was known for his passion for distributing Bibles and his willingness to take risks to bring God’s Word into hostile and restricted nations. During his time with Open Doors, Wybo developed the World Watch List, which tracks the countries where Christians experience the most persecution. He has now helped create the Bible Access List [Home | Bible Access List], a new initiative measuring how difficult it is for Christians worldwide to obtain Bibles. The list highlights both nations where governments restrict Bible distribution, such as Afghanistan, and places like India where Bibles are legal but scarce due to economic barriers, supply issues, or other challenges. Wybo hopes the list will inspire Christians to pray and support Bible access efforts. Drawing on decades of experience, he also shares lessons learned from persecuted believers and the encouragement he witnessed while distributing Bibles in Ethiopia.

In this episode, Tom Hardy of Release International speaks with Lazarus Yeghnazar of the organisation of Transform Iran.

Inside Iran, protests are met with brutal crackdowns, yet something extraordinary is happening beneath the surface. In this powerful episode, Lazarus shares stories of courage, persecution, and a growing underground church, with over a million turning to Christ – many through dreams. As fear of famine and further devastation looms, he calls for prayer, hope, and attention.

Release International UK is a sister office of VOM Australia

God Answers Prayer that a Fellow Pastor Would be Arrested

After spending months in prison for sharing the gospel with Hindus, Pastor Paul’s health began to deteriorate. In desperation, he prayed that God would allow another pastor to be arrested and sent to the same prison so they could encourage one another. Four days later, Paul read in the newspaper that a pastor had been arrested. Two weeks after that, the pastor arrived at the prison and brought Paul great encouragement, telling him that his church had been praying for him.

With renewed faith, the two pastors prayed together regularly. Other prisoners soon began asking them for prayer, and even prison guards noticed their devotion. When asked what they were doing, the pastors replied that they were praying for the guards as well. Eventually, around 70 prisoners came to them seeking prayer and wanting to learn about Jesus.

Go to www.PrisonerAlert.com to learn how you can pray for other persecuted Christians still imprisoned for their faith.

Write to and encourage Christians imprisoned for their faith and their families.

Pastor Paul was doing gospel outreach in northern India when police arrested him and accused him of forcing Hindus to convert, even though he was only sharing with people who wanted to hear the truth. When officers arrived, Paul and his co-workers were simply eating a meal, but they were still taken into custody.

Paul and three fellow Christians suffered greatly in detention. Police repeatedly threatened them and promised freedom if they renounced their faith in Jesus. They were placed in a filthy cell used as a latrine and even allowed a mob of radical Hindus to beat them.

Despite the suffering, Paul prayed for courage and asked God to help him not fear. During his imprisonment, he found opportunities to share the gospel with other prisoners, demonstrating the hope he had in Christ even as some of his co-workers eventually renounced their faith.

Isaac Santiago, Regional Leader for The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) in Latin America, describes the growing challenges Christians face in countries such as Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Colombia. Since 2018, Nicaragua has introduced laws and government pressure that heavily restrict the church, similar to persecution seen in communist countries like Cuba and China. As a result, Nicaragua is now listed as a “Restricted Nation” in VOM’s 2026 Global Prayer Guide.

Many Nicaraguan Christians are struggling to adjust to these new restrictions, while believers in Cuba have lived with similar limitations for more than 60 years. Santiago also discusses Venezuela, where recent leadership changes have coincided with a spiritual revival, and in the past two years, he has seen the gospel spreading and churches growing in many parts of the country.

Click here [https://vom.com.au/about/persecuted-christians/] to view VOM's Global Prayer Guide.

This week, listen as John Burrough, CEO of Partners International, shares how taking a mission trip completely changed his outlook and how that experience could impact and change your perspective in every area of life.

John will share how Partners International invests in local ministries and church networks advancing the gospel in the 10/40 window, and how they come alongside locals to help them go further and faster in achieving the mission God has given them. "All missions begin with prayer", John says, and shares how the Lord is mobilising prayer for the unreached in restricted nations and hostile areas.

Listen for the amazing story of a former Boko Haram member in West Africa who came to Christ while spying on a Christian leadership training session. The former terrorist is now advancing the gospel among the people he used to work with.

In Part 2 of our interview with Pastor Hassan Abduraheem Taour, he shares how his heart remained upbeat, even as the judge pronounced him guilty and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. He'll talk about how reading the Bible is different inside prison than when you're free. Hassan says he experienced persecution as a blessing from God – a blessing that brought him tears of joy. "It is really a privilege to be persecuted," he says.

Pastor Hassan recounted how fellow members of the Body of Christ in Sudan encouraged him in prison with faith that the Lord would release him. His prayer life also grew in prison, as he became a prayer warrior, quoting Bible verses as he prayed with tears.

Pastor Hassan Abduraheem Taour helped train Sudanese pastors to be ready for persecution. He didn't know that he was also preparing himself for the day he'd be arrested in Sudan, charged with aiding espionage alongside VOM's Africa Regional Director, Petr Jasek, and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

There were difficult days in prison, yet Pastor Hassan experienced the joy of the Lord—joy so powerful it brought tears to his eyes. It is because of that joy, and because of the ministry God gave him in prison, that Pastor Hassan looks back on those long months as "one of the best times of my life."

Click here [https://soundcloud.com/vom-oz/petr-jasek-10th-anniversary-of] to listen to Petr's interview on the Front Line Report