Tag: Iran

By Erin Rodewald // December 9, 2018

(This article was originally written for 21Wilberforce)

In the early morning hours of Christmas 2010, Iranian government forces arrested scores of Christian home-church leaders in surprise raids around the country. Among those arrested was a newly married couple, Yousef and Rozhin.*

Incarcerated in separate locations, Yousef and Rozhin were repeatedly told by their captors that the other had denounced their faith. In fact, both remained steadfast in their beliefs despite the harsh conditions. On day 23, Rozhin was taken once again to an interrogation room for questioning. This time, when officials removed her blindfold, she saw Yousef seated across from her. In the short time allowed together, the couple cried tears of joy and shared how God had been caring for them while in prison.

“They planned to break us,” says Rozhin of the guards’ strategy for arranging the brief meeting with Yousef. “But God used that time to bless us instead. Because of those few minutes together, we continued stronger than before.” Continue reading “A Faith Strengthened in the Face of Persecution”

Four pastors are among several Christians recently imprisoned in Iran for promoting their faith [Photo Credit: World Watch Monitor/Article 18]

 

By Erin Rodewald // August 21, 2018

(This article was originally written for and posted to 21Wilberforce)

As the 40^th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Iran approaches, there is growing speculation that the aging theocratic regime is on the brink. Since December, tens of thousands of ordinary Iranians have taken to the streets in protest of their government’s hardline policies and failing economic decisions. While the Iran nuclear accord of 2015 infused billions of dollars into Iran’s economy, Tehran’s power elite used that capital to fund foreign adventurism and regional terror rather than help its own citizens.

In May, the U.S. withdrew from the Iran Deal, and last week it reinstated strict sanctions, contributing to the free fall of Iran’s already unstable currency. Even tougher sanctions are on the way in November. Meanwhile, demonstrations across all sectors of Iranian society have grown larger and more insistent, including chants of “death to the dictator.”

“History is in the making in Iran,” writes Dr. Hormoz Shariat, founder of Iran Alive Ministries, a U.S.-based broadcasting network that delivers Christian programming to Iranians via satellite. “We are seeing the end of this regime. I believe we will see a major change in Iran soon and it will be in weeks, months, but not years.” Continue reading “ARTICLE: Iran’s Christians caught in the crosshairs”

(This article was originally written for and posted to 21Wilberforce)

In recent days, reports have surfaced that Aziz Majidzadeh, a newly converted Iranian Christian, has been detained at the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran. Aziz had gone missing for several weeks after Iranian security forces raided a Christian workshop he was attending on the outskirts of the Iranian capital. Though he has not been charged, Aziz has been arrested before for “activities related to his faith.” He is not alone.

Since 2010, more than 600 Iranian Christians have been arrested and detained by Iranian authorities. As of late 2016, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reports approximately 90 Christians remain imprisoned due to their religious beliefs and activities.

“Technically, it’s not illegal to be a Christian in Iran. However, in practical terms, policemen, Revolutionary Guards, judges, and every other authority in the country interpret the law for themselves and aren’t accountable to anyone,” writes Marziyeh Amirizadeh, who was herself imprisoned for 10 months in 2009 before receiving asylum in the U.S. “Though being a Christian [is] not a crime, converting from Islam to another faith and evangelizing on behalf of that faith [are] considered crimes of apostasy and punishable by death.”

Continue reading “ARTICLE: Satellites and sanctions: How the West can support Iran’s faithful”