Former Revolutionary Guard member describes the crackdown on Christians in Iran

ICC Note:

Former member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Reza Kahlili, said the regime has ordered Iranian intelligence to infiltrate church groups in major Iranian cities because “Iran's ayatollahs are frustrated with the large number of Muslims who are now embracing Christianity,” CBN reports.

5/29/2012 Iran (CBN) – According to the Daily Caller, the regime has ordered Iranian intelligence to infiltrate church groups in major Iranian cities.

Agents are identifying pastors and other Christians, targeting them for arrest and torture in prison.

Former member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Reza Kahlili, verified the crackdown. He said Iran's ayatollahs are frustrated with the large number of Muslims who are now embracing Christianity.

Kahlili is author of A Time to Betray. He wore a disguise to protect his identity as he talked to CBN News. Below you read the transcription of the interview:

Q: Reza Thanks for joining us. What can you tell us about this latest crackdown? How extensive is it?

A: It’s been an order to the Iranian intelligence apparatus  specifically the guard’s intelligence to monitor the activities of Iranians for converting to Christianity, to suppress them, make arrests, terrify them and finally to torture them. And according to a source within the guard’s intelligence, they have tens of thousands of files for Iranians for converting to Christianity. This is a big concern for the government. They don’t know how to handle it. In one city, just the city of Shiraz with over one million population, according to the source, they have thirty thousand files of Iranians who they have confirmed that they have converted to Christianity. But the source says that tens of thousands more are unknown to the intelligence apparatus.

Q: How is this recent effort different from the ongoing attacks that Christians have faced from the Iranian government over the years?

Well, let me make one thing clear. Before the Islamic revolution, many in Iran, the youth, the elderly, though they did not adhere to the Islamic rules or practice Islam, they respected Islam. But today, that respect is visibly gone and they oppose the religion and what it prescribes. They are very outspoken about it.  People are joining the move to convert to the Christianity.

Q: Give us some examples; can you say specifically what is happening against the Christians there?

A: Well, according to this source, who himself was in the intelligence unit, and he saw and he witnessed some of the tortures being done. What they do they raid homes where teachings are taking place, they arrest them, they are taken and sometimes they beat their wives in front of their eyes to break them down, to force them to come before television and make false confessions. The source says that one of those arrested, a male, after three months in total darkness, and then he was all of a sudden brought to the courtyard, where he immediately lost his eye-sights. So, it is unimaginable what they do with the Christian converts. Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader ordered the guards to burn ten thousand of confiscated Bibles, saying that it is not a holy book and therefore, it is legal to burn them in order to stop the conversion.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 at 12:01 am and is filed under Countries, Iran, Middle East, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.