Rev. Majed El Shafie
Born in Cairo, Egypt into a prominent Moslem family of lawyers and following in the footsteps of his father and uncles, Majed too chose to become a lawyer. Through the witness of his best friend, Tamir, he experienced the love of Christ and made the decision to give his life and service to the LORD.
He began the mission to bring the Christian community all of the same legal rights as the Moslem community in Egypt. He began a ministry which in just two years grew to 24,000 Christians. His ministry built 2 churches inside mountains, a bible school and medical clinic. He established a newspaper to request from the Egyptian government the same equal rights to the Christian community. The Egyptian government did not tolerate this and Majed was arrested and taken to the torture section of the Abu Zaabel prison in Cairo.
During his time in prison, Majed underwent severe torture for seven days in the underground prison. He experienced everything from having his head shaved and placed under hot and cold water, being hung upside down, being burned with cigarettes. He experienced a miracle when the attack dogs were silenced and did not attack him. He was crucified during the last two and a half days with a mixture of salt and lemon to anoint his wounds. He went through all of this because of his new faith in the LORD Jesus Christ.
He eventually escaped through a whirlwind journey, fleeing to Israel, where he was jailed for over a year because the Israeli government did not know what to do in his circumstance. Legally he could not stay in Israel, but if they sent him back to Egypt, he would be executed.
Through the intervention of Amnesty International and the United Nations, Majed was released from prison and became a free man in Jerusalem, Israel. Since then he has relocated to Toronto, Ontario, where he has actively started his own ministry and is now the President and Founder of One Free World International. Rev. El Shafie became a Canadian citizen on May 29, 2006.
Along with One Free World International, Majed also has a Christian Arabic radio program, “River of Love” reaching the Middle East and North Africa. He has started a second Arabic radio program called, “Encourage Iraq” to help encourage the Iraqi people in this time of unrest and to introduce them to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.
Majed’s passion is to help the persecuted Christians around the world and be their voice when their voices are not heard.
The story of Majed is not only a story of violence and persecution but a story of Glory and Victory. It’s a story about fighting the darkness by the light of Christ.