Being from a Muslim background, Daniel hated his name. It did not sound like a good Muslim name. In fact, many of his fellow Muslims actually cursed him because of it, taken as it was from the Christian Bible. One day, distraught, he went to his father to ask him why such a burden had been given to him.
“It was during a time of terrible drought,” his father replied. “You had just been born, and we were not sure that you – that any of us – would survive. A man named Daniel, a Christian missionary, came to bring food to our village.
“He saved our lives,” his father stated. “We gave you his name to honor him, no more. We are Muslim; that will never change.” Yet it was because of his name that Daniel opened his heart to the Gospel.
Daniel had been paralyzed from the waist down since his early teens, from a back surgery that dd not go well. He was completely dependent on his father to support him financially, bring him food, and care for his personal needs. As he could not walk without assistance, he was rarely able to go anywhere, and it was an isolated, frustrating existence. So when, one day, Daniel was told of a church where his own Tuareg dialect was being spoken, he was curious. Aided by some missionaries, he went to the church where, incredibly, the sermon was on the story of the prophet Daniel. Afterwards, he approached the pastor, who welcomed his questions.
“I have never heard my name used in any positive way before,” Daniel confessed. “This is the first time I have not hated my name.”
This was the beginning of a series of encounters with the missionaries and pastor until, over time, Daniel became a follower of Jesus. When that happened, his father, family and friends immediately rejected him. Daniel was reduced to begging for food. Even so, God was with him: not only did he secure employment, he became a pastor who, through the years, brought many fellow Tuareg to Christ!
When Daniel died in November 2022, his wife and children and many, many others paid glowing tribute to this man who, like the prophet, had great integrity and courage. It was, they affirm, the right name for him.
