As part of our family digital detox, we are trying to provide more “real” books for our children to read. My daughter Amy (13) recently read this book and here’s the book report she wrote afterward.
Converted to Christ through a friend, Rifqa practiced her Christianity in many wonderful ways. Her parents noticed a change in her ways of praying to Allah and made her go to more and more Islamic classes, which she hated. Rifqa saw so much violence in her life. Her book gives us an insight into some aspects of Muslim culture.
Eventually, Rifqa had to run away to save her own life. She stayed at a Christian friend’s home. Her parents tried to track her down by taking many Christians to the police and having them interrogated. The police soon found her and she was taken to jail.
Fighting court cases against her own parents and family made her so aware of how badly they needed Christ. Watching how fake her father was out in public made her feel terrible because she knew at home he was a cruel abusive father.
Being released from jail, Rifqa started a whole new life traveling from foster home to foster home. Wonderfully, in the end, she found herself in a Christian foster home. These loving Christian people taught Rifqa the ways of the Christian life. Blessedly, Rifqa is still following the Lord to this day. This book is an excellent read for ages 12 and up.
I would recommend parents to look it over once to decide if it is appropriate for their children as Rifqa’s uncle assaulted her. There was no description, but a brief mention.
Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus