Iran

How are Christians harassed, discriminated against and persecuted?

When the Shah fell in 1979, an estimated 500 Muslims had converted to the Christian faith. Following the Islamic Revolution, Muslims who convert to Christianity and share their faith with others have faced harsh persecution, including arrest, interrogation and imprisonment. Since 2017, leaders of the underground church have risked up to 10 years in prison. Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, eight priests have been martyred, the last in 2004.

Muslims who have converted to the Christian faith are forced to meet secretly in private homes, while ethnic Christian groups such as Armenians, Chaldeans and Assyrians can have church buildings and are represented in parliament. However, ethnic Christians are finding that freedom of belief in Iran has a limit if they proactively share their faith with the majority Muslim population. For example, the authorities closed an Armenian church in Tehran when it held services in Farsi.

Many Muslims become Christians - despite persecution

Despite the persecution, there is a revival in Iran. Church growth has even become a phenomenon that is the subject of research. For example, Sara Afshari, PhD, has written about the importance of Christian television, while Duane Miller, PhD, estimates that up to 500,000 Muslims may have become Christians, although the number is likely even higher.

One explanation for the rapid growth can be found in the nature of clerical rule - Iran is the only country in the world ruled by clerics on the basis of Shia Islam, so the clergy must answer for how it is practiced. And when the people, who enjoyed great personal freedom under the relatively secular rule of the Shah, are now experiencing economic decline and being subject to strict Islamic rules, it creates resistance, not only against the Ayatollahs, but also Islam itself. This frustration is causing many Iranians to protest and seek alternatives, not only in the Christian faith, but also in neo-religion and atheism.

See timeline of the evolution of the persecution here...

Read facts about the church in Iran here...

What does the Danish European Mission do

• Some Christians are sentenced to five and ten years in prison in Iran. The prisoner of conscience is unable to contribute financially to his family, who are therefore in a difficult financial situation. Through the Danish European Mission, you can provide food, medical care and support to cover the cost of rent, water, electricity and heating to families in Iran where one spouse is imprisoned for their Christian faith.
• Iranian Christians have a burning desire to share the Gospel with their countrymen, which is why Danish European Mission donors ensure that New Testaments are printed, smuggled and distributed in the country so that the church can continue to grow.