This book was a page-turner for me. I found it so hard to put down! Some parts of Esther's story were difficult to read due to the cruelty that she faced as a convert but other parts were riveting, astonishing, inspiring, challenging and even educational all at once.

Definitely a must-read for those who want to see how God reaches out to people who seem unreachable, and how he always comes through for those who trust in Him.

"Defying Jihad" is written by Esther Ahmad. It is a nonfiction Christian very inspiring and traumatic story. Esther was raised in a very devout Muslim family. Her father was disappointed when she was born because she was not a boy. He never really valued her. The family had Muslim meetings in their house for many years. They followed all the Muslim practices each and every day. She was raised to believe the highest value was given to those who killed Christians for Allah. She lived in Pakistan which is a very strong Muslim country. She planned on leaving and training to be a jihadist and kill Christians. A few days before she was supposed to leave she had a dream with Jesus face to face confronting her. After various events she became a Christian. When her Dad realized she had become a Christian he forced her to be questioned by Muslim scholars for a whole month. Normally if a Muslim becomes a Christian they are killed and put in display in front of many people when they are killed. His Father told her if she did not win the debate she would die. If she lost the debates she would be killed. She was able to stand up to the Muslim scholars and win the debates! When the debates were held many people showed up to witness them. They were very dramatic and powerful. It is impressive that Esther was able to win every debate considering she was a new Christian and had not had a Bible for very long. After she won the debates her Father was angry and wanted her to marry a Muslim and not continue being a Christian. What will become of Esther with all these Muslim people wanting to have her killed? Will she continue to keep her Christian faith? This book was very eye opening to me about the intense persecution in the world for Christians and for those that have become Christians after previously being Muslim! I became aware of the many freedoms We have to practice our religion in America. This book was an incredible read and so amazing! Thank you to the publisher , netgalley and the author for allowing me to read and review this book. I have shared my review with facebook, Amazon, my blog , Goodreads, with pastors, friends . I hope the book is very successful and addresses the very real risks for Muslims that have become Christian. I am not obligated to give a positive review.

There are so many things I could say about Defying Jihad. I finished it just yesterday, and I’m still pondering over so much of it. This book has challenged me deeply, and also encouraged me. Esther’s story is one of intense sorrow, but also one of extreme hope. She knows the One she speaks of in a deep way, and her heart for encouraging others with her story shines from the pages.

Growing up in a Muslim home, Esther always had a heart for doing the right thing and getting recognition for it. Since her father rejected her at birth for being a girl, she always felt like she had to work extra hard to gain his approval. She also needed to gain Allah’s approval—and perhaps help to protect her own family somehow. She was a sincere girl, and when something came to shake her world, she didn’t know where to turn.

One of my most favorite things about this book is the fact that Esther is giving a voice to many of her fellow Pakistani believers, the ones that could never speak up because they would be in danger. Perhaps she, too, is in danger because of her story as well; I don’t know. However the case stands, she is sharing a story that I haven’t heard often, but one that I know is becoming more and more common in the world today: The one of turning from a life of darkness in Islam to the light of Christ. Seeing that journey is precious.

And, of course, my second favorite thing about this book is just how the Lord worked in her life to bring her to be His child. She was in such a dark, dark place and He reached down to help her in a special way. The journey after that, of course, has not been easy as she had to live the life of a secret believer and eventually flee because she would have been killed otherwise. But God was faithful, and helped her and her husband with each need.

In all, this was a great book. Highly recommended if you are interested in hearing a little about what God is doing in the Muslim world, want encouragement in your own faith, or want to live for the Lord even more.

(There are a few scenes that younger people shouldn’t read—she is threatened with death at different places, beaten others, and several people are mentioned as dying different ways. It’s still pretty clean, but with the subject matter, some of this is inevitable. I appreciated the way it was all handled.)

I requested a free advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley, and this is my honest opinion of it.

Loved this book!!!
It was easy to read and kept me engaged from the start. We who are western Christians cannot fathom what it’s like to be a believer in a Muslim country. The suffering this young lady endured is unthinkable to us.
Read this book! It will make you desire to be stronger in your Christian Faith!