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Persecuting Heating Up In Iran
By Samuel Ashwood | January 22, 2009
Christian pastor Reza Safa, founder of TBN Nejat TV, is seeking to increase awareness of a new apostasy law on the table in Iran. Safa, who was converted to Christianity from Islam, and currently pastors Fishermen’s House Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on December 8th sent a letter to the United Nations outlining some ninety incidents of persecution against Christians in Iran, including arrests, torture, and harassment.
Now, apparently Iran is considering stepping up the pressure on Christians within their borders. Safa has requested the United States Congress to pass a resolution condemning a proposed apostasy law in Iran, which would make conversions by Muslims to Christianity punishable by death. The act has passed the Iranian Parliament, and currently awaits consideration by the Guardian Council.
If the law passes, Safa’s prognostication is grim. He says, “The danger is, if this law passes through the Guardian Council, which acts like our Supreme Court, then it goes to the last level, which is the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. If he OKs it … then they start executing people. They have lists of thousands of people that they know their whereabouts, their home addresses. It can be a genocide. I think one of the things they want to do is create fear in the hearts to stop this phenomenal conversion [to Christianity].”
In spite of the persecution, Safa happily reports that converts are still coming into the churches, and he estimates Christians in Iran number somewhere around 2 million, far more than the Iranian government admits. Could it be that the old phrase “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church” will be proven true once again in Iran?
One thing is certain: Hostility to Christianity is heating up, and active persecution is heating up, not only in Iran, but also in countries such as Egypt, India, Pakistan, and China. It should be hoped that Safa’s efforts will bring attention to the much-neglected fact of persecution of Christians across the world.
One more thing is certain: ultimately, the persecutors will fail in their ultimate goal. There is a divine promise of that. “I,” says Christ, “will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18).
Topics: Social & Religious Commentary |