Hatun Tash: ‘Sometimes I get beaten. I keep going until Muslims hear the Gospel’

Hatun Tash has been beaten, stabbed and spat at. Her life has been threatened and her home broken into. She has been forced to live in a tent, moving from place to place in order to stay safe. For the past four years, she has had no fixed address. As she talks matter-of-factly about all of this, it’s hard not to think of Paul’s description of the suffering he also faced for the sake of the gospel in 2 Corinthians 11. Tash has not yet been shipwrecked, but the rest sounds strikingly similar.

Tash, a former Muslim, has dedicated herself to evangelising those whose faith she used to share. But her tactics (on one occasion drilling holes in an ornate Qur’an) have been controversial. Radical Muslims have literally tried to kill her because of it. In 2023, a Muslim convert was sentenced to 24 years in prison for plotting to shoot her dead at Speakers’ Corner – the area of London’s Hyde Park famous for free speech, open-air preaching and fiery public debates. The year before, Tash won £10,000 compensation from the police after they wrongly arrested her following an assault at the same location by a group of Muslim men. 

You might expect Christians to be sympathetic to Tash, but apparently she regularly receives “emails as long as PhDs” criticising her apparent lack of “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Tash is a polemicist – one of her most popular YouTube videos declares: “Muhammad is the most obvious false prophet ever”. Her method of evangelism is to ask questions of another’s belief system in order to expose the cracks in it, and this often results in heated debates and arguments. 

I’m exposing Islamic teachings to Muslims because people didn’t expose it to me. For 27 years, I was stuck in Islam

Tash’s approach stems from her upbringing: growing up in Turkey, she did not meet a Christian until she came to the UK aged 27. Despite being the daughter of an imam, it was only when she visited a British church “as a tourist” and was befriended by some Christians that she began to interrogate the Islamic teachings she had grown up with – Jesus was not God’s Son, he did not die on the cross and the Bible is corrupted – and find they were not true. This revelation led her to discover “the triune God” and fall in love with Jesus. 

While her style may feel combative to polite British Christians, it is undeniably effective. She’s seen more than 1,500 Muslims – including 20 imams – convert to Christianity in the UK alone. Two thousand more from around the world have responded to her online ministry.

Following Jesus has come at a cost. Not just physical attacks and threats to her safety, but a broken relationship with her family too.  Not that she sees it as a ‘cost’ at all. It is “a very good bargain”, she tells me. “What did I lose? Nothing. I gained eternal life.”

I hear those echoes of Paul’s words again: “Whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ…I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (Philippians 3:7-9). 

What made you leave Islam behind and become a Christian?

I grew up in Turkey as a Muslim. In Turkey, people come to churches as a tourist, to look around. So when I came to the UK to study, I was living in a beautiful British village, and it had a church. When I first entered, my intention was just to do tourist things. I was surprised that the lady at the welcome desk told me people worshipped there. I was introduced to the young adults’ group, invited to come and play games, practise my English. I started hanging out with them. I was surprised that group was a Bible study, which I wasn’t expecting. A couple of weeks after, I was [invited] to do an Alpha course. Then I was asked if I wanted to get baptised. I didn’t want to dishonour my friends. They were fun and helpful and friendly, and I thought that if I said no, they wouldn’t be my friends anymore, so I said: “Sure.” 

The Easter after my baptism, people were talking about Lent and fasting. One prayed and thanked Jesus for dying for our sins. I started thinking: Did Jesus die? How do they know? Because Islam teaches that Jesus didn’t die, Allah took Jesus to himself. So I asked them: “How do you know Jesus died?” They said: “Because the Bible says so.” 

I thought: They have the internet. How can they not know Jesus didn’t die? Or did I get it wrong? So, I checked Islamic sources: Jesus didn’t die. But it was Lent – I thought: If this is a lie, why would they stay hungry for that long? Of course, I’m used to proper fasting, as Muslims do. I thought we didn’t eat anything for 40 days. When I figured out they were fasting from chocolate or TV, that was shocking for me!

I [had been taught that] I couldn’t trust the Bible, that it was corrupted, so I did the next best thing and went to the internet. It told me that Jesus Christ died on the cross. I started looking into it more, and there was nothing to make me think that Jesus didn’t die. It’s a historical event. That means the Qur’an got it wrong. The author of the Qur’an is Allah, so that means the god of Islam, Allah, got it wrong. Then you start thinking: What else was I told that was a lie?

I went to a mosque in London and bought a Qur’an in Turkish, and some biographies of Muhammad. The one Muslims are told to love and respect was very different to what the biography was saying. Even if you have a gun to your head, you cannot love someone like that! The way he interacted with woman, with his friends, with non-Muslims, it was very disturbing to me. I ended up thinking: My moral standards are better than Muhammad. I cannot be a Muslim. 

I left Islam, but you can’t be Christian just because Islam is false. You need to figure out why you are Christian. So, I started reading the Bible. A year after my baptism, I got on my knees and asked the Lord to forgive me and accept me as one of his children. That was the moment I got beautified by the glorious God of Bible.

How did your family respond? 

Telling your loved ones that you are a Christian is not a good thing. You learn lots of things along the way. I didn’t know there is a death penalty for apostates in Islam. You don’t know your family might cut you off. You think: They love me. This might not happen to me. But it is not a choice for them. They have to be faithful to Islam.

Things have been interesting with family. They just need prayers.

That’s a big cost for you.

I don’t see this as cost. Jesus gave his life so that I can have life; that’s cost. I see this as a very good bargain, because what did I lose? Nothing. I gained eternal life. It didn’t cost me anything. It just made me richer. Now I have not only a mansion in heaven, but I am in the bosom of the Father. I find that mindblowing. 

Tell us about your ministry witnessing to Muslims.

I started praying in front of mosques, then going inside and talking to people. I started handing out leaflets saying: “Jesus loves you”.

Later, I started going to Speakers’ Corner. I was only hanging around with polite British people, and then [here, Muslims] are attacking and questioning Christians. They told me God was nasty. They were talking about references from Hosea – I didn’t even know Hosea was a book in the Bible! I left very discouraged. I didn’t know how to answer their questions. 

But I went every week, and the same Muslims would ask the same questions. I didn’t have enough time during the week to find answers to all of the questions, but I would improve every week. You’ve got to do lots of homework on Islam, because the people you are engaging with [at Speakers’ Corner] are not just someone who lives next door and goes to the mosque; they are specially trained to outreach to Christians, like Muslim missionaries. 

As I started digging into Islam, I learned more things that I didn’t know before. I’m like: Wow, no one should be Muslim! These are teachings that put the life of non-Muslims and Muslims in danger. It gives you serious concern. So, I started intentionally developing polemics, trying to keep Islam accountable, asking questions to Muslims. I remember first asking: “Your prophet married a six-year-old child. Is that OK?” Muslims had no idea.

How do Muslims not know these elements of their faith?

When Christians go to church, there is a Bible in the pew; the priest unpacks the word of God and you can follow from the Bible. The majority of Muslims don’t speak Arabic, so when you memorise verses of the Qur’an in Arabic you don’t even know their meaning. No one says: “OK, pick up your Qur’an.” The imam just talks about something. Whatever the imam says, you just take it. 

Churches do Bible studies and home groups. You don’t have these things in Islam. Their focus is not learning, it is memorising things that are polemic to the Christian faith. From a very early age, Muslims are indoctrinated with the things they believe against Christian faith. They recite surah 112 which states Allah doesn’t have a son. They know core doctrine, because they memorise these things, but they never study the Qur’an. Plus, in Muslim majority countries, no one says: “Let me ask you a question about Islam.” That doesn’t happen. 

From the very early stages of Christian history, people had to defend why they were Christian. You literally became dinner to the lions, so you had better know why you were making that choice! The Bible talks about providing a reason for why we are Christian [1 Peter 3:15]. It says: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). We are encouraged to learn more about our God. Muslims have a different culture.

That verse about “giving a reason for the hope within you” ends with an exhortation to do this with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). How do you respond to the criticism from some Christians that the way you engage with Muslims is the opposite to that?

When I used to stand in front of mosques, handing out leaflets saying: “Jesus loves you” I never had anyone come and say: “Oh, that’s very good. I want to become a Christian.” But when I say: “Muhammad is a false prophet, prove me wrong”, I have debates and discussions. People walk on with doubts. At my next meeting, some say: “I don’t want to be Muslim. I want to dig into Christianity.” 

I don’t think I am not gentle, compared to the ideology I am engaging with. I am loving enough to hand them the truth, to help them see there is an alternative. 

Also, the way we interpret social cues is very different. When a Muslim tells me Jesus is not the Son of God, and I say gently: “OK, let me find the Bible verse. Give me a minute. Oh, I don’t know. Let me come back to you next week.” That means: Yeah, this woman doesn’t even know what she’s talking about. 

But if I say: “Well, it is such a shame that your Allah is so physically disabled that he cannot even have a son, because he’s not handsome enough to get a girlfriend”, I get people’s attention. Then I can talk about why it makes sense not only that my God has a Son, but his Son gave himself for me and you. 

A Muslim is not going to become a Christian because Christianity is true. First, they have to have doubt: the Qur’an is a false book. Islam is a false religion. Muhammad is a false prophet. Break these barriers, then introduce the glorious gospel of our glorious God.  

I’m exposing Islamic teachings to Muslims because people didn’t expose it to me. For 27 years, I was stuck in Islam. No one ever said: “Let me tell you what the gospel is.” People are dying not knowing the gospel, and we are saying let’s do this gently!

We cannot simply say: “Oh, Muslims find it offensive that Jesus is the Son of God, that he died on the cross. OK, I won’t argue.” Christians give up their life for what they believe. The Son of God gave himself for us. These things are very serious. 

Christians send me long emails expressing how awful my approach is. When I talk to them, none can tell me how many people they have preached the gospel to or have seen walk out of Islam. But I can tell you that I know 1,573 Muslim-background believers who walked out of Islam – 20 of them imams – just in England. Outside the UK, from online ministry, I’ve got a list of 2,000 ex-Muslims living in Muslim majority countries. Currently, I’ve got 600 where there is no Christian who wants to disciple them, or there is no church or Christians around them, so I meet with them every week to do Bible study online. 

I have those numbers because I promised one person who became a Christian that I will pray for them every day for five years. It is my prayer list.

I can ask whether my approach is nasty or unkind or not gentle, but there is something my glorious God is using to get those people out of Islam. That’s not me. Every mess I make, he uses to draw people to himself. So, to the brothers and sisters who say I am nasty, not gentle, that I’m not following biblical instruction, I simply say: “Prayerfully consider how the Lord called you, and be faithful. Do evangelism however he wants you to.” 

I can spend my time justifying my approach, but my concern is to be faithful and preach the gospel. If I cause you to stumble, to pull away from evangelism, please drop me an email – I’ll ask your forgiveness – but my conscience is clear. 

I know my Lord loves [Muslims] enough to give himself for them, so, I’m inspired by his love. I don’t want them to go to hell, because I know my God doesn’t want them to go to hell. Debate and discussion are the language they will learn. 

What does outreach in a mosque look like? Presumably, they don’t much like Christians turning up and evangelising?

Well, people didn’t like Jesus either! I don’t want people to like me, I want people to fall in love with Jesus. I’m not there to build friendships. I’ve got more than enough friends. 

I go on Friday, just before prayer. I have a banner or I just stand and say: “Muhammad is a false prophet, prove me wrong.” So, they go inside, pray, and when they come out, we start having debates and discussions. 

Another way is, I go inside the mosque, find the imam and tell them: “I’m a Christian. I believe the Bible is the word of God. I believe in the triune God, that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for our sins. Do you have any objections?” They say: “Yeah, everything you just said.” I say: “Good, let’s talk about it after you finish your prayer”, and make my way to the ladies’ section. I’ll sit at the back and read the Bible or just pray. I don’t put on a headscarf. Most times, they come and say: “You need to cover up.” I’m just like: “Oh, I’m Christian. My hair is my head covering.” So, from that moment, they know I am a Christian. Once prayer finishes, all the ladies try to marry me off with their sons or brothers or relatives – they want to convert you to Islam – but I just make it very clear: “No, actually, I am here because I am concerned where you are going when you die.” Then you start having discussions. 

After that, I make my way to the first people I spoke with to have a discussion on the authority of the Bible, the identity and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and challenge the teachings of Islam. Sometimes I get beaten. Sometimes they kick you out. I just go back until they have heard the gospel, [until] they say: “We heard it. We understood it and we don’t want it.” We don’t worship a God who is a rapist. We worship a God who is caring husband, a caring father; he wants people to choose him willingly. So, I can’t force it. I’ll give it to you. You take it or reject it. You tell me, I’ll move on to the next mosque, the next person.

At Speakers’ Corner, you’ve been harassed, punched and stabbed. In 2023, a man was sent to prison for plotting to kill you. How do you find peace when you’re in constant danger?

I don’t see myself as being in danger. People around me are in danger, apparently, because of me. 

But, yes, people wrestled me to the floor. They tried to murder me. They broke into my place. They did lots of other nasty things. But they don’t know Jesus, so they don’t know any better. Muslims don’t know how to make the case for Islam, and therefore they find it easier to hunt people down. They try to shut down the debate simply by separating your head from your body.

I live my life by delighting in my triune God. I want everyone to delight in God as well. There is no other option for real joy. If you do not delight in God, you just mess up, and messed-up people don’t know any better. I’ll use every breath I’m given to make sure people hear the glorious gospel of my glorious God.

Do you ever feel scared, or tired of people rejecting your faith?

People are not rejecting my faith. People are rejecting Jesus. 

When I first wake up, I’m not thinking about who I’m going to argue with. I meditate on scripture, pray, go through my prayer list. 

There are moments you are so sick you can’t do it. Once I got beaten very badly. I was in hospital, and I was just thinking: I’m gonna miss my appointment with this imam. There are the times I lived in a tent, because I didn’t have a safe place to live. It’s raining, you are in a sleeping bag, you are wet. Outside it is muddy. Do I want to go outside and argue? My first thought is: Where can I get my coffee and shower?

I don’t see it as a job. It’s a lifestyle. You just get on with things. I know many imams who have become Christians. I had the privilege of sitting down with a Muslim who, after he become a Christian, brought all of his family to Christ. So, my day is not all about arguing. I am given the opportunity to preach the gospel. And God is good, because those ex-Muslims are my beloved brothers and sisters who I’m going to spend eternity with. That’s how I think, not like: Oh yeah, another day. Go and get shouted at. 

Would you say you are a confident person?

No, I’m not confident at all! I’m an introvert. If I was God, I would never create humans. They are so…not good. I prefer dogs. Give me a dog and baklava, and I will be in heaven!

If we sat down for a cup of coffee, after five minutes, you’d get bored. I wouldn’t have anything to say unless the topic is religious things. I’m just confident in the gospel, because I know the thing I am passing on is so effective. It changes the world. Plus, I don’t have much to lose. If I die, I gain the bosom of the Father today.  

To hear the full interview listen to Premier Christian Radio at 8pm on 12 April or download ‘The Profile’ podcast premierchristianity.com/theprofile