Persecution Blog

UN Report Critical of Iran

VOM's Todd Nettleton was interviewed earlier this week by Mission Network News after the release of a UN report last week criticizing Iran's human rights record, including repeated abuses of religious freedom. Here is the resulting story from MNN:

Iran (MNN) ―  Iran's regime has made stopping the spread of Christianity a cornerstone of its crackdown on religious freedom.

It's those actions and others like them that have drawn closer scrutiny from the United Nations. The UN's special rapporteur for human rights in Iran has said the country has shown "no sign of improvement" in human rights and "continues to warrant serious concern."

Spokesman for the The Voice of the Martyrs-USA Todd Nettleton says Iran dismissed the findings. "Their instant response was, ‘Well, this is biased. He doesn't know what he's talking about.' But the reality is: this is what we see happening inside Iran." 

There are estimated to be as many as 370,000 Christians in Iran, according to the most recent U.S. State Department report. The UN report noted Iran's "authorities continue to compel licensed Protestant churches to restrict Persian-speaking and Muslim-born Iranians from participating in services, and raids and forced closures of house churches are ongoing.... More than 300 Christians have been arrested since 2010, and dozens of church leaders and active community members have reportedly been convicted of national security crimes in connection with church activities, such as organizing prayer groups, proselytizing, and attending Christian seminars abroad."

Recent attempts to show a more moderate face aren't really convincing, adds Nettleton. "They're not going to fool the people inside Iran who know this is going on, and they're not going to fool the international community because the stories are just too consistent. Even though they would like for the information to stay locked in Iran, it does get out, and groups like The Voice of the Martyrs and others are able to say, ‘This is what's really happening behind the scenes.'"

In fact, a Voice of the Martyrs Canada report indicates Iranian Christians are requesting prayer following a series of arrests that took place about the time the government released some prisoners in an effort to appear more liberal. 

At least 20 Christians, mainly from Muslim backgrounds, were detained in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Tabriz. As a sign of being politically progressive, the government of newly-appointed President Hassan Rouhani pardoned and then released 11 prisoners of conscience on September 20. Two of them were Christians.

Meanwhile, Christian Solidarity Worldwide released a report that documented the sentencing of four Christian men to 80 lashes on Oct. 6.  The men were arrested in a house church after a communion service last December and charged with consuming alcohol in violation of the theocracy's strict laws. The group has ten days to appeal.

How does the new regime respond to international concerns? It's not really up to the administration, explains Nettleton. "Presidents will come and go. The Supreme Council is really where the power's at in Iran. They will decide what the human rights situation is in Iran, and as I said, they're Islamic mullahs, so they're going to go according to Islamic law which teaches that if you leave Islam to follow another religion like Christianity, you're an apostate. The call for that is the death penalty."

Young Iranians, who make up a majority of the population, are dissatisfied with both their religion and government. Why? "One of the real side effects of the human rights situation and the abuse of people in Iran is that it's being done in the name of the government, which is an Islamic government. The people identify that as being done by Islam, so they see the failure of Islam in their country, and they are very open to the Gospel."

That's resulted in a rapidly-growing Church in Iran, which cycles back around again to clerical rulers who see Christianity as a threat to Iran's majority ultra-orthodox Shiite Islamic religion, a crackdown, disillusionment, and more growth.

Persecution has intensified since 2005, with marked increases in 2011 and 2012. Authorities raid house church services, detain worshipers and threaten church members. The publishing, importation, or reprinting of Bibles or Christian literature is illegal.

VOM supports satellite TV and radio broadcasts that are instrumental in sharing the Gospel and teaching the growing church. Nettleton observes, "[The growth of the church] is the good news. It is coming with persecution; we believe there are 42 publicly known cases of Christians who are currently in prison in Iran, so that growth is coming with a price."

It's very difficult for us to truly understand the tremendous pressures Muslim converts face in a society that harshly opposes the Christian faith. The Voice of the Martyrs comes alongside this remnant. "One of the very significant ways that we're involved in Iran is to produce Bibles for the Iranian church and deliver them--get them into the hands of the Christians inside Iran," Nettleton explains. "Another thing that we're involved in is helping people to advocate and encourage some of those Christians who are in prison."

Letter writing campaigns DO work. The knowledge that believers haven't been forgotten goes a long way to hope. Please pray for God's protection, strength and peace for those who are imprisoned in Iran for their faith--those who've bravely spread the Gospel message of Jesus Christ despite the great dangers posed to them. If you want to write notes of encouragement to imprisoned believers in Iran, click here.

Which One Is Bad?

“Hussein**” has seen God work miracle after miracle as an evangelist and house church leader in Iran. Miracles like Iranian secret police raiding a house church meeting that had just received a shipment of 500 Bibles in three large boxes, which were still sitting on the floor. Police pulled pictures off of the walls and searched the apartment so thoroughly they literally picked up a needle that had fallen into a crack between the floorboards. But they missed the 500 Bibles!

Or the miracle of being sent to death row and being made a part of the leadership core of the gang that ran everything in that section of the prison. Some prisoners who’d been there five years were still sleeping on the floor, but Hussein slept on a top bunk from his first night there.

Or the miracle of having the radical Islamic judge fill out Hussein’s court documents for him, then tell him exactly where to go to file them and who to talk to. The judge even gave Hussein his personal cel-phone number and told him to call if there were any difficulties with the case.

So when a VOM worker asked Hussein if he worried about more encounters with the police because of his Christian work, Hussein was confident: “I think one of two things will happen. [The police] will either kill me or there will be more miraculous events like these.”

Then he smiled and asked, “Which one of those is bad?”

YOUR TURN: Hussein isn’t the first Jesus-follower to have that attitude. Paul wrote to the Philippian church that, “…Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Is it bad if I continue to live and serve the Lord and see Him work miracles in my life and ministry? No. Is it bad if I die—even at the hands of the police or radical Muslims—and go to heaven? No. True followers of Christ cannot lose. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. Which one of those is bad?

**Name changed for security reasons.

Confirming the Call

Christ dramatically changed the life of “Hussein**,” a former Muslim in Iran. Once he had been a drug addict planning his own death, but now he was an on-fire believer in Christ who quit his job to pursue full-time ministry in the underground church. He was assigned to “shadow” a Christian couple in their ministry work as he learned and grew in his calling.

At one of the first houses they visited, the daughter in the house began to weep as soon as she saw the three Christians standing outside her door. They couldn’t understand her response, wondering if she’d just suffered some great tragedy or if in some way they had offended her.

Through tears she explained: she had wanted to see Jesus in her dreams. And just that week she finally had a dream in which Christ appeared to her. And in the dream Christ led her to a table and invited her to sit down with the three people at the table. And now, only hours later, those same three people—whom she had never met before—were knocking on her door!

She invited them in, and before they left she had committed her heart and life to following Jesus. Hussein was confident that God had called him into ministry work. But by the time he left that young woman’s house God’s amazing work had obliterated any shred of doubt left in his mind, and it wouldn’t return even when he was arrested and went to prison for his faith.

YOUR TURN: Sometimes God makes His will so plain it’s as if he’s written it on the sky with a neon magic marker. Other times, we “see through a glass darkly,” as Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. Raymond Edman, former president of Wheaton College, advised students to “Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.” Hussein saw clearly God’s call on his life, confirmed in neon obviousness by the girl’s dream. He hung on to that clarity, and remained faithful to Christ, even in police stations, solitary confinement cells and Iranian court rooms.

What truths has God revealed to you that you need to hold onto more tightly today?

**Name changed for security reasons.

Todd Nettleton has served the persecuted church and VOM 15 years. He has been interviewed more than 1950 times by various media outlets. He's the author of Restricted Nations: North Korea, and served on the writing team for FOXE, Extreme Devotion, Hearts of Fire and other VOM books.

Cuban Fellowship

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:3-6).

Most of us have experienced the unique bonds that emerge when we share a meal with someone. It is a gift from God to be able to share this type of “fellowship” with another human.

I recently shared this type of communion with a dear family in Cuba. Their kitchen was rustic (see photo), but their hospitality was rich and warm. We began the meal by washing our hands with a bucket, because they did not have any running water. There was something distinctive about having to work together to wash our hands. As I stepped up to wash my hands, a friend gently poured water over my soapy hands. He was able to do what I could not. I was unable to complete this simple task without his help.

Then, we sat down to pray and dine together. The congri was warm, and the plantains were fresh, but they were both eclipsed by the richness of the joy we shared together. They had suffered much, but the Lord had been with them. And, now, as we reflected on their experiences, and the ways VOM had helped, they celebrated God’s care and provision for them.

Ellicott said, “It is a lovely thing when remembrance and gratitude are bound up together.”  Paul wrote that he prayed “with joy” every time he was reminded of his dear Philippian friends. Although they were over 800 miles away when Paul wrote this letter, the Philippian saints were still an active part of Paul's life and ministry. 

In Philippians 1:5, Paul used the word “koinonia” which simply means “fellowship.” There are at least two nuances to this word that we should think about. First, fellowship has the idea of “sharing together” in the sense of partnership. Ancient Greeks used it to describe business relationships. Secondly, it communicates “sharing with” in the sense of giving what we have to others. The Philippians were very giving people. They started giving early and didn’t give up!

Surprisingly, one of the best gifts we share with our sisters and brothers is simply letting them know that they are not alone. I remember talking with a Cuban leader and I’ll never forget what he said. He told me that as he heard about VOM and the way that we prayed for those who are persecuted around the world, he said, “I was so encouraged because I know I am not alone.”

The Philippian believers earned a special place in the heart of the Apostle Paul, and it wasn't because of anything spectacular they did, it was simply because they thoughtfully met his needs—they consistently put action behind their prayers. God will take our feeble attempts and turn them into masterpieces of love, for his glory!

Dr. Jason Peters serves in VOM’s International Ministries department, traveling frequently to meet with our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. He lived overseas for five years and has ministered in more than 30 countries as diverse as Cuba, Nepal, Iraq and Indonesia. He and his wife, Kimberly, along with their five children, count it a great honor to serve with the persecuted church.

The Blessings of Persecution (video)

While most US churches will “Remember those in bonds” (Heb. 13:3) during the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) in November, First Wesleyan Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma chose October 20 for their commemoration. The church’s pastor invited VOM’s Todd Nettleton—a member of the church—to bring the message in the morning services.

The church offers video streaming of their services, and we hope Persecution Blog readers will be blessed by the video.

  

VOM offers several resources to help your church commemorate IDOP Sunday. Visit VOM’s IDOP web page for more information. You can also learn more about VOM speakers coming to your area, or request a speaker at your church, at www.VOMMeetings.com.

Weng Walking (video)

Weng Goodluck Tshua was three weeks old in March 2010 when Fulani Muslims attacked his village of Dogo Nahawa and slaughtered 501 Christians. All nine members of his family, including his father and mother, were killed. He was rescued from his burning house, but not before the fire had consumed his feet. As Weng has grown over the past few years, he has been unable to run around or even walk. But a VOM prosthetics team is helping change that.

After studying his feet, the prosthetics team fashioned special shoes for both of his misshapen limbs. They returned several months later with specially fitted shoes that can be adjusted as three-year-old Weng continues to grow. Each shoe is made of three layers. As Weng grows, the inner layers can be removed as needed, to allow more room in the shoes. The team plans to provide new shoes for Weng before he grows out of the final layer of these shoes.

Recently VOM received new video of Weng, proudly walking around in is new, custom-made shoes. May it bless all who see it and encourage more prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Northern Nigeria.

 

You can give online to support blessings like this one to Weng and help provide for other Christians in need of medical care due to persecution by giving to support VOMedical.

"Because of His Grace and Your Prayers"

In yesterday’s post, we told you about two former prisoners in Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran. Today we bring word from a current Evin prisoner: Farshid Fathi.

Earlier this week our friends at Elam Ministries released a new letter written by Farshid in prison. The letter was written after he heard of an internet story that he'd written a letter complaining about the “agony” of his suffering in prison. In fact, Farshid has never complained about the persecution and suffering he has endured, even to friends and family. He wrote this new letter to set the record straight:

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Recently I heard about a letter which was published on the Internet on behalf of me about a part of my suffering that I went through during the time since I was imprisoned in December 2010. Although I did not write the letter, it tells the truth. But I would like to tell you that after all the things that have happened to me it would be a shame for me to speak about my suffering.

How can I complain about my suffering when my brothers and sisters are paying a high price for their faith all over the world? I recently heard about many people killed in front of a church in Pakistan. I also heard a young sister in Christ sharing about how she lost her family for the sake of the Gospel and still she is willing to return to share the good news.

How can I complain about my suffering when our dear brother Haik gave his life and was killed with more than 20 knife-stabs to preach to sinners like me? And what about our dear brother Dibaj who spent 9 years and 27 days in prison and was finally martyred after that much suffering?

How can I complain about my suffering when I think of our lovely brother Soodmand who had four precious children (and was martyred)? And dear brother Michaelian and Ravanbaksh, whose blood is still crying out from the land of Iran to heaven? And finally what about the apostle Paul who was many times in prison, suffered countless beatings, was stoned, and often near death, but served the Lord with all of his heart? But after all this Paul says: ‘This light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.’

So when I look at all these heroes of faith, how can I complain about my suffering?

Thank you so much for your prayers and for your support and for your love.

And I am sure I have this joy in my heart here because of His grace and your prayers.

Your brother in Christ,

Farshid

Praise the Lord for His sustaining grace for Farshid. Please continue to pray for him and other Christians imprisoned in Iran. You can write letters of encouragement to Farshid and others through www.PrisonerAlert.com.

Source: Elam Ministries

Iran: Overcoming Fear

“[We were] trying to appear confident on the outside but [were] petrified with fright on the inside.”

Imagine coming home from a dental appointment on an ordinary day in March. You have the apartment to yourself since your good friend, who is also your roommate, has been asked to go down to the police station about a problem with her car’s registration. You feel tired from the medication you were given and your mouth is still feeling numb from the dentist office, so you turn on the TV and start to doze on the couch. A knock at the door startles you. As you answer the door, you realize that it is your roommate, but she is outside with three others — police officers.

On Mar. 5, 2009, this is the way that Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirzedeh started their afternoon. It was a day like most others for the young women, though the women are not like most Iranian women. These women shared their faith in Christ boldly in a highly restrictive Islamic society. While Iran’s constitution says Christians and other religious minorities are allowed to practice their faith and meet, it is illegal to convert from Islam or promote one’s faith. 

As the officers dragged them to the police station to be interrogated, Maryam and Marziyeh wondered if they would face torture, a lifetime in prison or even death. They prayed that they might be given strength to continue to stand for Christ and not to reveal the names of other believers
under pressure.

In their book, Captive in Iran, Maryam and Mariziyeh recount their 259 days in prison. Most of their time was spent in Evin Prison, a place equally notorious for holding political prisoners and its squalid conditions. The women endured severe illnesses without proper medical care. Food was scarce, often inedible or laced with formaldehyde. Guards mistreated them, prisoners shouted at them.

Even as abuses were piled on, both Maryam and Marziyeh took opportunities to befriend those that seemed unapproachable. They used it as a chance to listen to the stories of both inmates and guards and took every chance they had to offer prayer and then pray with those that wanted prayers. They shared their reason for believing in Christ.

The women acknowledge being scared and frightened by the situation beyond what they even expected. Yet, Marziyeh said of the experience, “The power the Lord gave us helped us to overcome these fears; just as when we prayed in the police station, God banished our fear and renewed our strength.”

Today, it is reported that at least 42 Christians are being held in Iranian prisons and 45 are awaiting trial.  They need encouragement to stand strong for their faith.  To send a letter to a Christian in prison for his or her faith, go to www.prisoneralert.com.

YOUR TURN: When has God helped you overcome fear to remain confident in Christ?

“Ann Kay” is a writer for VOM. She learned about VOM five years ago when she read Tortured for Christ and began receiving the newsletter. She is passionate about reaching the world for Christ and sharing stories of the persecuted church.

IDOP: Less Than Two Weeks Away

With less than two weeks to go before this year’s International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) on November 3, is your church planning to “Remember them that are in bonds” (Hebrews 13:3) on this significant Sunday?

The Voice of the Martyrs has created a short film to invite and inspire your church to pray for our persecuted family around the world. This year’s film focuses on Christians in Northern Nigeria, and was shot on location in that nation with help from Christians there.

 

VOM will send you—FREE of charge—a DVD of this powerful film to share with your church congregation or Sunday School class. You can also purchase additional resources to remind your church to pray for persecuted Christians, not only on IDOP Sunday but throughout the year.

Order today in order to insure delivery in time for November 3.

ISLAM: A Hidden Agenda

Last night we had dinner with a Syrian pastor. This man lives and serves full-time in Syria. He hasn’t left the country because of the war, and he’s experienced the full effects of the war, personally and through his congregation.

One of the effects of the war that he’s lamenting deeply is the destruction of historic Christian churches and other sites. He told me that one mosque is host to an ancient New Testament manuscript. They’ve preserved it for years, but with the rebels’ animosity toward all things Christian, he’s afraid that manuscript will soon be lost. UNESCO has also expressed concern over the state of various World Heritage Sites throughout Syria, including many historic churches.

Christianity has a more-than-2,000-year history in Syria, going back to the time of Christ. But as this pastor expressed, the Islamist fighters, and Islam in general, seem to have an agenda to erase that history from memory. They want Syria to be remembered only as a Muslim nation, and they intend to drive out all Christians from Syria.

After the rebels destroyed a Christian village recently, they ransacked homes and then posted a sign at the entrance of the village. Beneath the sign, they placed one of the Bibles discovered in the village. The sign read, “The Bible is the biggest threat to our cause.”

This strategy of ridding the region of Christians isn’t limited to Syria. Muslim extremists in Egypt are pursuing a similar approach. Egypt also has a long tradition of Christianity – something the world seems to have forgotten. Alexandria was once one of the great centers of Christian teaching and culture which produced one of Christianity’s great thinkers, St. Augustine. But today in Egypt, Muslims are systematically driving the ancient Christian population out – attacking Christian villages, Christian homes and churches.

According to my Syrian friend and many of The Voice of the Martyrs contacts living in these countries, this agenda is at the core of Islam.

In a method of applying this agenda that hits closer to home, another worker in one of the hostile nations where VOM works told us she sees Muslims literally trying to change history—online. Muslims are logging on to Wikipedia, the user-edited web encyclopedia, and rewriting entries for basic historical concepts, such as who developed the first hospitals and which thinkers came up with the scientific method.

Do we notice? Do we as Christians have the necessary understanding of the details of history to prevent this from happening? The VOM worker I spoke with spent four days of intense research in order to rewrite one of the critical entries. She believes this is important because Wikipedia will influence a new generation. But she cautioned that it had to be done in a thoughtful, intelligent and unbiased way.

I write about this hidden plan not to make us fear, but to make us aware. The only real solution to this creeping Islamic agenda is to bring Christ into the heart of each person who subscribes to this philosophy. Our greatest calling is to share the gospel, but in the meantime we also need to speak up against the destruction of Christianity in Syria and Egypt and be wise enough to share the facts of history in season and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2).

Dory P. has worked with VOM for six years. She grew up in Ecuador, met her husband while working with another mission organization, and now lives in Oklahoma. Between Dory, her husband and two-year-old son, they share five passports. Dory helps tell the stories of the persecuted through VOM's newsletter, and her husband serves with VOM's international department.