Pictured above: Christians of Muslim background cannot meet in church buildings, only secretly in private homes. Model image.
I asked Mojtaba Mohammedi about this. For security reasons, he uses this alias because he is a leader in the church in Iran and has experienced first-hand how the Iranian clerical regime has tried to curb his ministry.
For Recently, Christian converts have received prison sentences of up to 10 and even 15 years, whereas previously they received shorter prison sentences. What is the reason for this tightening?
That's true, replies Mojtaba. In the last six months, Christians involved in church planting and leadership training have received long prison sentences. This is surprising and yet not surprising, as the authorities have been arresting, interrogating and imprisoning hundreds of Christians for many years. Until six months ago, the longest prison sentences were given to Farshid Fathi, who received five years, and Maryam Zargaran, who received four years.
To answer the question, I need to give some historical background: In the 1980s, the Iranian government killed church leaders, such as Hussein Soodmand. Over time, however, the authorities realized that this strategy resulted in bad media coverage in the West, so they began to suppress churches that held services in Farsi for the Muslim majority. For example, churches had to provide the authorities with lists of believers. If some of the ethnic Armenian or Assyrian Christians, who have some freedom in Iran, held services in Farsi for Muslims, they were forced to stop them - and so they formed underground churches.
Iran wants to promote Islam in the world
Iranians are very open to the gospel. There are many coming to Jesus right now who are willing to go to prison. Every Iranian knows how terrible it is to fall into the hands of the country's prison authorities, but when it comes to faith in Jesus, it's different, they are willing to pay the price. Iranians not only recklessly choose a different faith because they know the cost, but if the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus to them and they see God's plan of salvation, they are willing to die for him. And if Iranians are taught the Christian faith at the beginning of their faith walk and are baptized, they become very devoted. Then the gospel is fully revealed to them and they will never turn back.
Every Iranian knows how terrible it is to fall into the hands of prison authorities, but when it comes to faith in Jesus, they are willing to pay the price Mojtaba
Pictured right: Iranians don't just recklessly choose the Christian faith because they know what it can cost.
Until now, when authorities have caught Christians, they have tried to instill fear in them by putting them in prison, but now they realize that short prison sentences don't work.
The authorities have interrogated thousands of Christians, violently and in solitary confinement, and obtained much information from the inmates. Now they don't need more information, but want to punish Christians severely. The government has now changed its strategy and realized that the shorter prison sentences do not create fear in Christians, as people keep coming to Jesus.
Is the government's new strategy working?
It sounds like a cliché that persecution fuels church growth, but it seems even more people are coming to faith now than before. The 80 million Iranians are the only people in the world led by priests. Young people do not know the revolution, but only see the corruption, police state and government oppression and injustice. Iranians are not turning to the Christian faith because of our good evangelism, but because they see how the country is led by Islam and they see Islam as Islam really is.
If the regime starts killing Christians again, even more will come to believe in Jesus. Iranians who come to Europe also want to accept Jesus, the only difference is that Iran is a police state.
How to cowmmer Iranian Christians in church?
Today we have good satellite TV and social media, and many come to Jesus through these media.
Is there any, who don't go to the underground church but only get spiritual food through TV and social media?
The Christian faith is lived out in community. The Trinity is a community and Paul speaks of the church as a body. New believers typically share their faith with family and friends, and before you know it, a house church is formed. Some travel abroad where they are baptized and receive leadership training [including from the Danish European Mission's partner Elam, ed]. Therefore, all Christians in the country are part of a community in one way or another. The church in Iran works just as the church did in the first century.
In recent years, Iran has gained a lot of influence in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Gaza. Do the thousands of converts in Iran counteract this regional influence in the Middle East?
It is embarrassing for the ayatollahs that hundreds of thousands of Iranians are now Christians. They don't want to admit it, but if all Iranian Christians came out in public at once and it was on TV, we would have a whole new scenario in the Middle East. The Ayatollahs know this, but outwardly they show power, are anti-Israeli and anti-American, but internally their regime is collapsing. There is nothing to stop the revival - the longer prison sentences are an attempt to do so.
It is embarrassing for the Ayatollahs that hundreds of thousands of Iranians are now Christians Mojtaba
Two years ago, Iran signed an agreement with the West regarding its nuclear program, and some tradesanctions have been eased. Has this agreement led to better conditions for minorities, including Christians, As an advocate of the agreemente claimed it would?
The clerical regime knows that governments in the West serve short terms and are dependent on public opinion. Iran therefore makes sure it looks good in the media, but continues the same policy internally.
The clerical regime puts Islam before people, which legitimizes people becoming suicide bombers, where Islam lures with paradise to kill hundreds of people. A human life is not worth much in Islam. Therefore, you have the terrible situation where the West doesn't understand Islamic terrorist attacks because the West doesn't understand the ideology behind it.
The Iranian clerical regime sees itself at war with the infidels. The government knows that the West prioritizes the economy and has a strong desire to export its goods to Iran, but Iran has different priorities. Iran was as surprised as anyone that they got the deal that Obama made with the clerical regime for some reason.
Iran's nuclear deal with the West has given the regime the courage to persecute Iranian Christians even more than before. The West won't stop them and doesn't care how many years in prison a Christian gets, Mojtaba concludes.
