CHRISTIANS IN IRAN: THREATENING SITUATION

Iran Press Watch

July 29 2009

Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh-July 29th, 2009

The regime in Tehran is sending out mixed signals as to whether Iran’s
Criminal Code will now impose the death penalty on Muslims who forsake
Islam to convert to Christianity. A final decision on the question
should finally be taken this autumn. The bill’s first reading in the
Majlis last September passed by a large majority: 196 representatives
voted yes, seven voted no, and there were two abstentions.

Now, supposedly, the Majlis has excised this intended change to the
Criminal Code. According to media reports on June 27, the Chairman
of the Majlis Legal Affairs Committee, Hojatoleslam Ali Schahroki,
said that the regulation on "renunciation ofIslam" wouldn’t even be
mentioned in the bill. According to the Farsi Christian News Network,
Christians in Iran are surprised and irritated by this statement,
because the truth is that the Council of Guardians and the Supreme
Leader have the final say on this unsettled question.

The disputes within Islamist factions over this element of the Criminal
Code are increasingly visible, and there may be a connection with the
protests that followed the disputed presidential election. Joseph K
Grieboski, President of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy
in Washington, sees no sign that this debate indicates an opening up,
but only the regime protecting itself. "If the regime were to uphold
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency and then push through a restrictive
penal law, international pressure on the Iranian regime would be
unbearable." According to the International Society for Human Rights,
the announced withdrawal of the bill is a "purely cosmetic move." There
is still the possibility of being executed for renunciation of Islam
under Iran’s Islamic laws.

Up to now, punishment for renunciation of Islam – also known as
apostasy – has been practiced arbitrarily in Iran. Once it becomes
part of the Criminal Code, every Iranian court would be bound to
enforce it. It’s certain that Christians who convert from Islam
will continue to be arrested and convicted. This doesn’t include
so-called ethnic Christians – members of the Armenian and Assyrian
churches – but specifically evangelical Christians who actively
pursue missionary work. The independent online Persian news agency
Rooz, which is critical of the regime, reported on July 15 that two
Christian women, 30-year-old Marsiye Aminsadeh and 27-year-old Mariam
Rostampur, had been arrested in Tehran about four months earlier. The
pair are social workers who without pay, help people in trouble
regardless of race or religion. The two Christians were charged
with apostasy and violations of national security and are being
held at the notorious Evin Prison. Interrogated on a daily basis,
they are held under very harsh conditions with no access to legal or
medical assistance. According to Rooz, there are currently at least 50
Christians in Iranian prisons in Tehran, Schiras, Maschad and Urumije,
among others.

Recent political events in Iran have ushered in a new phase in
the emergence of a totalitarian dictatorship. Pressure on Iranian
Christians is growing just as foreign powers are being blamed for
rioting that broke out due to the electoral fraud. The argument on the
influence of foreign powers is well known to Iranian Christians. Under
the Islamic regime, they are regularly accused of embracing Western
influence. The narrative of these allegations is this: that Iranian
Christians are often in touch with European or American churches and
associate themselves with their networks. The regime focuses on this,
even accusing them of spying for foreign powers. Time and again,
Iranian Christians are held hostage to the regime’s problems with
the West.

Of necessity, collaboration with Christian Web sites or Christian TV
channels that transmit their programs via satellite, takes place in
secret. Christians in Iran are dependent on the flow of information
from precisely these media, because with the help of modern technology,
this is how the Persian-language bible, Christian children’s books
and prayers are disseminated. The Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN)
– a central source of news about Christian communities in Iran –
reports that there are hundreds of thousands of Iranians who would
embrace the message of Jesus Christ. Accordingly, Iranian Christians
can expect a new wave of oppression and persecution.

It’s interesting in this context to assess how Iranian Christians
behaved during the recent presidential election. The agency says
that a majority of those who participated in the elections voted for
presidential candidate Mir Hussein Mussawi because they hoped, "bad
would be better than worse." But the elections have clearly shown
that the political system of "Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists
[Velayat-e-faqih]" doesn’t allow opposing political positions to
have a serious chance. Those who believed that there was a "minimal
democracy" in Iran have now been disabused, according to FCNN.

In another report by FCNN, clear positions are staked out.

"There is a political power struggle between two elements, both
of which are despotic and repressive. There is no struggle between
despotism and freedom. Therefore, we have to expect even more pressure
put on churches. We know that difficult times lie ahead. Nevertheless,
under no circumstances will Iranian Christians give up their new
faith."

However, following the recent riots and repression, more and more
Christians are abandoning Iran. Since the first government of
Ahmadinejad came into office, the situation of Iranian Christians
has worsened significantly. It’s not yet clear what the nature of the
future threat will be. But at the same time, FCNN has reported on an
increase of interest in Christianity among Iranian young people. At
least 70 percent of Iranians support more freedom for religious
minorities and support the separation of religion and state. The more
people are impacted by the violence of despotic rule, the more they
will be drawn toward Christianity.

Josef Hovsepian, son of Iranian Bishop Haik Hovsepian Mehr who
was kidnapped and murdered in 1994, told FCNN in a conversation on
July 4 that, "in times of crisis, the unity of our communities is
strengthened." In particular, "young people are looking for a religion
that isn’t being forced on them."

In another conversation, a Christian woman remembers the period
before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when she lived happily in the
town of Schiras among other Christians, Jews, Bahai and followers
of Zoroastrianism. But one day in the 1980s, two of her girlfriends
were taken from their classroom by strange men. Later she learned
from their mother that their father, a Bahai, had been arrested and
executed. In her family, it is now assumed that the situation for
Christians will worsen in a similar fashion.

In the midst of these threats and persecution, there are a number of
events that reflect a touch of humor. The story goes that one day the
satellite dish of an Iranian priest was stolen from the roof of his
house. The thief had taken a good look at some Christian broadcasts
and, as a result, became a member of an illegal home church.

The home church movement remains fragile and underground, since in
the official churches people aren’t even allowed to hear prayers
in Persian. This is because Iran’s rulers fear that if they were,
more people would be drawn to Christianity. As recently as May of
this year, a home church in Karadsch was discovered and raided by
paramilitary units of the Basij. The home church members were arrested.

[Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh is a Senior Fellow
with the European Foundation for Democracy. This
article was first published on July 23, 2009 in German at:
ion=com_content&view=article&id=13484& catid=4&Itemid=22
and an English translation was made available at:
ion=com_content&view=article&id=13488& catid=4&Itemid=22.]