ICC Note: While there have been promises for reform in Iran, the reality has been that the crackdown on its religious minorities is increasing if anything. Despite this, the Iranian church appears to be growing. The intolerance and repression is driving many to look for a more meaningful belief system and they many are finding it in Christianity.
By Gary Lane
05/08/2014 Iran (CBN News) – Iran’s new president has promised to protect the country’s Christians, but attacks are intensifying.
As they work to survive, CBN News was given an exclusive, rare view that few outsiders witness: a secret meeting of new Iranian believers in a neighboring country, not far from the border.
The brand new followers of Christ received Bible teaching and participated in their very first communion.
After a few songs and prayers, several were baptized. Then they returned to more late-night Bible study and training before returning to Iran.
For the first time, these Christians learned how to look up and memorize Scripture. They’re Kurds, former Muslims who converted to Christianity.
If their identities and location were revealed to secret police, Iranian agents would have come to arrest them. Some may have been killed for being apostates.
One former Muslim — we called Daoud — knows the dangers all too well. Before he became a Christian, Iranian police caught him eating a sandwich instead of fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
That violated Sharia law. A judge ordered him to receive 70 lashes, a punishment similar to that imposed by the Taliban.
“I was tied down. A mullah held the Koran in his hand and recited a verse and then a soldier beat my back with a cable,” he explained.
“It made me feel deep hatred against Islam and the Islamic Republic of Iran. All I did was grab a sandwich and eat it. Why is that a sin?” he asked.
Later, Daoud met some Christians on the Internet who introduced him to Christ. He embraced Christianity after witnessing miracles of healing and deliverance.
Daoud keeps his newfound faith secret, while quietly and cautiously sharing Christ with others in his city.
“Right now, it is really scary because if the government knows about it, I’m pretty sure they will execute me,” he said.
Criminals and Apostates
Reza, another former Muslim-turned-Christian, says he shares his faith because he wants Iranians to live in the light.
While President Hassan Rouhani promises societal reforms, Reza said an aggressive government crackdown against Christians continues.
“Iranian agents come and arrest us saying that we are spies for Western countries. They say because of that, you are a traitor to your country and should be executed,” he explained.
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