Christianity CRACKDOWN in Iran: Callous regime detains DOZENS of innocent believers
IRAN is ruthlessly clamping down on the Christian faith in the Islamic Republic after the regime arrested more than 100 believers in a week, a charity has claimed.
Iranian speaks out on imprisonment over being Christian
Many of the 114 incarcerated were converts to Christianity from a Muslim background. Iran accused the evangelised believers of “proselytising”. The term means they were trying to enforce their views on others through evangelisation.
The Christians were forced to report the history of their Christian activities and were ordered to cut ties with any Christian groups, Christian advocacy group Open Doors has reported.
Zoe Smith, head of advocacy at Open Doors told the Daily Telegraph: “This spike in arrests is highly concerning.
“It follows an established trend of the Iranian government – as the number of converts to Christianity increase, so the authorities place greater restrictions on churches.
“The restrictions are worse for churches seen to be attended by Christians who have converted from Islam.
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“Not only that, but the government is asking unreasonably high bail amounts and seeing longer prison terms for Christians.”
Open Doors speaks out against persecution of Christians abroad.
In a statement, the group said: “Iran is an Islamic Republic, and leaving Islam to follow another faith is illegal.
“Sharing the gospel with a Muslim, owning a Bible in the Farsi language, or leading a secret church meeting for believers from Muslim backgrounds are all punishable offences.
“Believers from Muslim backgrounds make up the biggest group of Christians in Iran – but they must keep their faith completely secret.”
While Christianity has existed in Persia since Christ’s death, many believers left the nation after the Islamic revolution of 1979 saw Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini installed as leader.
Under Khomeini's rule, Sharia (Islamic law) was introduced in Iran, with the Islamic dress code enforced for both men and women by Islamic Revolutionary Guards and other Islamic groups.
Khomeini's presence and all-pervading ideology made it increasingly difficult for Iranian Christians to uphold their faith in public.
Approximately one percent of Iran’s total population - 350,000 people - are estimated to be Christian, with a growing trend towards converting to the faith.
Christian advocacy groups have reported a surge in underground evangelical movements in the beleaguered Middle Eastern nation, where they claim more people are becoming curious about the minority religion.
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But Sara, an Open Doors expert on Iran, explained the current situation made it difficult for Iranian Christians to practice their beliefs and keep their faith.
She said: “Imprisonment takes a high toll on believers.
“I’ve met believers whose drive to share the gospel had almost disappeared after their imprisonment.
“There seemed to be little ‘space in their head’ for anything other than the trauma they had faced.”
An anonymous leader, an evangelist, said: “Many believers in Iran are wounded and tired, without consolation.
“They need to be refreshed in their faith.
“And, due to the bad economic situation in our country, many believers are emigrating.”
Christian worship is permitted under the Islamic Republic’s constitution but conversion to Christianity can be a crime meriting a sentence of more than 10 years imprisonment.
Iran’s powerful mullahs are committed to expanding the influence of Shia Islam and blame “foreign influence” for the conversions.
Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, told the Daily Telegraph: “There are many reports that this has contributed to the government’s ever-increasing dependence on hardline Islamic ayatollahs, who naturally see Christianity as a threat to their power.
“For this reason, it’s not surprising that we’re seeing an increase in Christian persecution.”