SEMPORNA – Celebrity Muslim preacher Ebit Lew has expressed jubilation in how he led 157 Bajau Laut folk to embrace Islam after only a brief preaching session during his visit to Pulau Tatagan here yesterday.
In a Facebook post yesterday, he was exultant over the conversion of the non-Muslims, claiming that he was in tears of joy when a whole village of Bajau Laut people here recited the verse of the shahadah as a declaration of accepting the Islamic faith.
The religious activist has gained a huge following for his charitable exploits, which he posts on his Facebook account regularly.
He claimed that the Bajau Laut people, also known as sea gypsies, have no source of food now and are desperate for help, and that this encouraged him to visit them to distribute donations.
He added that they live in water huts and boats, and their children are only named after they become one year old as many of them die before they reach that age.
“I saw the children and I cried; they all rushed to approach me. Suddenly, a lot of them asked me: ‘Who is god? What is god?’”
“I was holding back my tears. With the help of a translator, they told me that no one had ever taught them about religion. So, I gathered them around a boat (and started explaining about Islam),” he said.
“They believed (in Islam) straight away. I taught them to say the shahadah. This is the saddest and happiest day of my life. Thank you, Allah,” Ebit shared in his post.
He added that he is now working on setting up a school and having a teacher of Islam to educate the people there, while he continues to channel food assistance to other water villages.
Earlier, Ebit met with a transgender community in Lahad Datu who work as wedding and event planners and are badly affected by the pandemic. He said many of them cried when he prayed for them and gave them donations.
Ebit started a 10-day mission last Tuesday to distribute donations in Sabah’s southeastern coast districts of Tawau, Lahad Datu, Kunak, and Semporna. – The Vibes, February 1, 2021
