by Raymond Ibrahim
In a speech before the United Nations on September 20, 2017, presumably equally a agency to back upwards his claim that State of Israel is "a rogue together with racist regime [that] trample[s] upon the most basic rights of the Palestinians," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani repeatedly portrayed his regime equally dedicated to "moderation together with honor for human rights," adding: "We inwards Islamic Republic of Iran strive to construct peace together with promote the human rights of peoples together with nations. We never condone tyranny together with nosotros ever defend the voiceless. We never threaten anyone..." One demand entirely await to Iran's Christians -- who shape 1% of its entire population -- to seek these claims. Unlike the persecution other Christian minorities sense inwards Muslim bulk nations -- which frequently comes at the hands of Muslim individuals, mobs, or professional person terrorists -- the primary driver of Christian persecution inwards Islamic Republic of Iran is the regime itself.
Iran is alongside the summit x worst nations where Christians sense "extreme persecution.” The 2018 World Watch List, compiled past times Open Doors (a human rights organisation that highlights the global persecution of Christians), makes this clear.
Whereas most persecution of Christians inwards the Arab Gulf portion comes from social club or radical Islamic groups, the primary threat for believers inwards Islamic Republic of Iran comes from the government. The Iranian regime declares the province to hold out a Shia Islamic State together with is constantly expanding its influence. Hardliners inside the regime are vehemently opposed to Christianity, together with create severe problems for Christians, peculiarly converts from Islam. Christians together with other minorities are seen equally threats to this halt together with are persecuted equally a result. Iranian social club equally a whole is to a greater extent than tolerant than their leadership, thank you lot inwards travel due to the influence of moderate together with mystical Sufi Islam.
Most of the Iranian regime's persecution seems directed against Protestant Christians together with Muslim converts to branches of Christianity, such equally the Evangelical, Baptist, together with Pentecostal strains. Because they are denied the correct to construct churches, Christians frequently resort to coming together together with worshipping inwards secret. Reports of Iranian authorities breaking into such house-church gatherings, arresting together with hauling off many, if non all, introduce Christians, bring transcend increasingly common.
Discussing this trend, Middle East Concern (another human rights organization) says:
"A smashing many Iranians bring been coming to Christ together with it's something which the authorities are clearly really unhappy about. So, in that location are periodic arrests, detentions, [and] imprisonments. There bring been a lot of charges lately which are suggesting an fifty-fifty greater clampdown—sentences of 10-15 years inwards some cases for Christians. And usually, the authorities volition propose that this [is] the trial of undermining the province or seeking to collaborate against the province together with volition exercise to a greater extent than political charges than state apostasy or blasphemy laws."
In June 2017, for example, iv Muslim converts to Christianity, who were arrested a calendar month before inwards raids on house-churches, were each sentenced to 10 years inwards prison:
"The iv men were officially charged with 'acting against national security,' a catch-all accuse frequently used past times the Iranian regime to punish unlike types of religious together with political dissent. The regime frequently uses it against converts instead of the accuse of apostasy, according to liberty of organized faith advocates, inwards an seek to avoid international scrutiny."
Most recently, some other convert to Christianity, Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh, inquired most the accuse for which he was convicted: "Action against national safety through the institution of theater churches." In an August 2018 open letter to the Iranian courtroom that sentenced him to x years inwards prison, he asked:
"...is the society of a few Christian brothers together with sisters inwards someone's home, singing worship songs, reading the Bible together with worshiping God acting against national security? Isn't it a clear violation of civil together with human rights, together with an absolute injustice to have a ten-year prison theater judgement exactly for organizing 'house churches'"...
Although the official argue Iranian authorities give inwards all these arrests together with convictions is that such Christian activities are tantamount to "crimes against national security," it seems that the existent argue is hostility to religions other than Iran's indigenous religious denominations. For instance, "[w]hile the regime is anti-Christian, it does grant some express freedoms to historical [non-Protestant] Christian churches," according to the World Watch List.
"They [indigenous Orthodox together with Catholic communities] are allowed to preach to beau countrymen inwards their ain linguistic communication but are forbidden from ministering to people from Muslim backgrounds. Members of these historic churches are treated equally second-class citizens, together with they bring reported imprisonment, physical abuse, harassment together with discrimination, together with jail terms, peculiarly for reaching out to Muslims."
Even historical, indigenous churches are targeted for destruction past times Iranian authorities.
Not entirely does Islamic Republic of Iran persecute its Christian minorities, but it besides tries to coerce them to comprehend Islam -- despite Rouhani's boasts before the United Nations that "Iran does non seek to... impose its official organized faith on others," because "[w]e are together with then confident inwards the depth of our culture, the truth of our faith together with tenacity together with longevity of our revolution..."
In 1 instance, the regime "ordered children belonging to families of 1 of the country's largest house-church movements to study the Koran together with Shi'a Islamic teachings or facial expression upwards expulsion from school," notes 1 report. The policy "deprives Christian children of primary together with secondary instruction unless they concur to religious instruction that does non adapt to their faith." As 1 Iranian Christian living inwards hiding had explained:
"Rouhani wants to bear witness that he is a practiced Muslim past times persecuting Christians.... Most of the novel Christians are onetime Muslims.... The authorities are trying to eradicate Christianity, exactly equally the Islamic State group, but smarter."
Many Christians who eventually escape Islamic Republic of Iran together with its prisons brand clear that pressuring them to convert to Islam was a touchstone tactic. An Oct 2017 written report says that it had "obtained confirmed reports of them beingness beaten inwards prison theater together with threatened that if they don't renounce their faith inwards Christ together with plow away from their Christian faith, they volition hold out forced to travel out the province or hold out beaten to death."
Similarly, piece recounting their experiences inwards Iran's jail system, 2 woman individual converts to Christianity said "they were asked repeatedly to deny their Christian faith," together with "were denied medical handling because of their faith together with that they were seen equally 'dirty infidels.'"
"We tin do anything to you lot together with nobody tin halt us," their Islamic interrogators regularly informed them. "Here nosotros are the constabulary together with nosotros tin do whatever nosotros want.... If you lot don't give us the data nosotros need, we'll musical rhythm out you lot till you lot vomit blood..."
"They treated us similar animals," recalled the women.
"If a prisoner's instance got [international media] attention, they stopped torturing or raping them because they knew the the world was watching.... We heard of many cases of prisoners who had no vocalization outside, together with many things happened to them."
The irony is that Rouhani himself hints that Iran's commitment to human rights does non include non-Muslims. At 1 signal inwards his United Nations speech, he said that "Human together with citizens' rights, along with the bespeak for judge together with Islamic values, bring constituted the most pivotal demands of the Iranian people ... peculiarly inwards the Islamic Revolution of 1979." Evidently, whatever Iranian who has "Christian values" does non count.
Elsewhere, Rouhani said:
"It is only impossible for anybody to aspire to achieve long-term stability, prosperity, together with development, piece Muslims inwards Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Myanmar together with and then many other places alive inwards misery, state of war together with poverty."
Why did Rouhani stress "Muslims"? Why non state "all people" inwards Syria, Iraq, etc.? Again, manifestly the "misery" of non-Muslims who alive inwards those countries does non warrant mention.
Until such fourth dimension that Islamic Republic of Iran tin demo that it cares most the human rights of all -- including non-Muslims who alive inside its borders -- all lofty speak most rights together with Palestinians must hold out seen for what it is: hypocrisy, lies together with a political agenda.
Raymond Ibrahim, writer of the novel book, Sword together with Scimitar, Fourteen Centuries of War betwixt Islam together with the West, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute together with a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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