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A Muslim man who had a sudden brain aneurysm that left him in a coma has converted to Christianity following a near-miraculous recovery.Karim Shamsi-Basha was in a coma for a month in 1992 but when he woke up, he began a 20-year journey that lead to him becoming a Christian.
His neurosurgeon told him he had seen very few people in his condition go on to make a full recovery and suggested that Mr Shamsi-Basha find out why he survived.
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Syrian-born Mr Shamsi-Basha (left) wrote a book called Paul and Me, (right) which talks about the 20-year journey that lead to him becoming a Christian, following the brain aneurysm that put him in a coma
Syrian-born Mr Shamsi-Basha wrote a book about his journey, called PAUL AND ME, which includes chapters about Paul - one of the Bible's best known figures - whose conversion to Christianity took place in the city of Damascus.
The author and photojournalist grew up in a closely-knit Muslim family in Syria who were tolerant of all faiths, with a best friend who was a Christian, but he did not seriously consider changing religion before his illness.
Mr Shamsi-Basha told the Christian Post that he practiced Islam as a teenager.
'I prayed five times a day. I walked to the mosque before sunrise. I fasted the month of Ramadan,' he said.
When he was 18 he left the country, ran by the first Assad regime, to study at the University of Tennessee in the U.S. before working as a photojournalist at a local newspaper in Birmingham Alabama, getting married and fathering a son.
It was in 1992 when he was covering a fire at Independent Presbyterian Church for his local newspaper, that Mr Shamsi-Basha collapsed in its car park where he suffered a brain aneurism that could have left him paralysed, The Marietta Daily journal reported.
After months of therapy, Mr Shamsi-Basha made a full recovery which he describes as 'miraculous'.
On the road to recovery, Mr Shamsi-Basha, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, began to read the Bible and was baptised in 1996, but he said it took the end of his first marriage, the death of his father and homelessness, until he fully believed in Jesus.
Mr Shamsi-Basha told the religious publication that God takes 'credit for my conversion. It was the grace of God that saved me.'
Syrian-born Karim Shamsi-Basha was in a coma for a month in 1992 but when he woke up, he began a 20-year journey that lead to him becoming a Christian. Pictured is St. Serge Armenian Orthodox church in the foreground and the Eastern Gate Mosque further back, in Damascus
His sister lives in Damascus, while more of his relatives are based in Homs, one of the Syrian cities that has been worst hit in the ongoing civil war.
Mr Shamsi-Basha said: As far as my family goes, we're terrified. Who knows who is dead and who is alive.'
KARIM SHAMSI-BASHA'S TEENAGE YEARS AND HIS FAMILY
- Mr Shamsi-Basha said that the city of Damascus, which is mostly composed of Muslims with 15 per cent Christians, was known for its religious tolerance when he was living there as a child, despite being ruled by a dictator.
- As a teenager, he described himself as a devout Muslim who prayed five times a day, but envied his Christian friend's faith as they would talk for hours about religion.
- He told The Marietta Daily Journal that as a teenager, he wanted to believe in a 'God of love'.
- His father encouraged him to explore his faith, but Mr Shamsi-Basha did not tell his father that he had converted to Christianity before he died, as he was frightened of hurting his father's pride.
- Mr Shamsi-Basha said his family is fine with his change of religion and stresses that his novel does not say anything negative about Islam.
- While Mr Shamsi-Basha has become a Christian, his two sisters (one of whom now lives in New York City) are still practicing Muslims who wear hajib - the scarf that covers a woman's hair, the journal reported.
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