The day Isik Abla planned to end her life became the day everything changed. Once a successful Turkish executive who fled her violent Muslim husband and later fell into suicidal depression, Abla now reaches over 700 million people with her message of hope. She recently shared her remarkable transformation with Rabbi Rami Goldberg on Israel365’s Biblical Money podcast.
“It is definitely a miraculous divine providence of God,” Abla told Rabbi Goldberg, describing how a Jewish rabbi from Israel and a former Muslim from Turkey could find themselves in conversation. “I was programmed to hate Jews especially, Armenians, and infidels—Christians. I grew up very anti-Semitist in an environment that was so racist.”
Abla’s early life in Turkey was marked by violence. Growing up during civil war years, she witnessed bombings and killings firsthand, developing complex PTSD and living in constant fear. Later, she found herself in an abusive marriage to a Muslim man.
“He was beating me up, so I fled to America for freedom,” she explained. “But I wasn’t free internally until God touched and changed my life.”
That life-changing moment came when Abla was at her lowest point—contemplating suicide. Through what she describes as a “supernatural, miraculous way,” God revealed Himself to her. “I surrendered my life to Jesus at that time, and from that moment on, my life has been transformed.”
Today, Abla’s ministry reaches more than 200 nations and over 700 million people through television and social media. Her programs are currently available in six languages, with four more in development.
Perhaps most remarkable is how her encounter with faith completely reversed her ingrained prejudices. “God changed my heart with anti-Semitism and all of that the moment I put my foot in Israel,” Abla shared. “I cannot tell you—it was another like salvation experience for me. I was weeping. Something happened in my heart towards Israel and towards Jews.”
Having overcome her own trauma, Abla now focuses on healing others. Her ministry isn’t about simply converting people or “changing their football club,” as she puts it. Rather, she aims to address the root causes of suffering.
“I’m not interested in converting people like just converting money. The point is the transformation of life—their life quality,” she emphasized. “Woman beaters become woman lovers. Addicts are freed from their addiction. But there are so many trauma layers and fragmented minds involving rooted false beliefs and hatred.”
Beyond trauma healing, Abla is passionate about developing next-generation leaders, particularly women in the Middle East and North Africa. She believes in teaching biblical leadership principles that balance influence with traditional values.
“In the Western world, it’s feminism—women fight for equality. But there’s a godly way of doing everything,” she noted. “You can still be a leader like Deborah, but there’s a seasoned and mature spiritual maturity in that for women.”
Rabbi Goldberg observed the remarkable symmetry in their paths: “We both draw inspiration from similar biblical sources despite our different backgrounds.” He pointed to their shared appreciation for wisdom literature, with Abla noting that she learns “probably 90% from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.”
As the conversation concluded, Rabbi Goldberg offered a blessing that God would continue to guide Abla’s work in uplifting those in need—a mission she has embraced fully since her own experience of being lifted from despair.
“We don’t need broken souls to just switch teams,” he noted, to which Abla heartily agreed. Her focus remains on creating whole, healed individuals who naturally gravitate toward God.
With her ministry now reaching millions globally, Abla continues working to help others find the healing she discovered in her own life.
