10/18/2024 Iran (International Christian Concern) — Decades of fierce government oppression have failed to eradicate the church in Iran.
Introduced in 1979 after a bloody revolution, the modern-day theocracy ruling Iran is consistent in its violence against all who dare disagree with its radical interpretation of Islam. From its founding, the government has enacted a draconian system of laws. It enforces this system with police, an ideological judiciary, and an extensive penal system known for its cruel treatment of religious prisoners. In Iran, loyalty to the state requires adherence to Twelver Ja’afari Shia Islam, the official state religion. Any other belief is immediately suspect and, when acted upon, is often punishable by death. Still, reports from the country show that the Christian church is thriving, with some experts calling it the fastest-growing Christian community in the world.
Quick Facts
Population: about 87.59 million (2023 estimate)
Religions: Muslim 99.6% or about 87.24 million; Other .4% or about 350,000
Ethnicities: Persian 61%; Azeri 16%; Kurd 10%; Lur 6%; Arab 2%; Other 5% (2016 estimate)
Types of Persecution
Government Restrictions — Government policies hinder both corporate and private religious practice.
Government Violence — The Iranian government keeps an extensive security apparatus authorized to violently repress minority religious expression.
Social Pressure — Many Christians in Iran — especially those converting from Islam to Christianity — face pressure from friends, families, and neighbors.
Summary
One of only six theocracies in the world, religion and politics are deeply intertwined in Iran. Its constitution, finalized soon after the 1979 revolution, is a religious manifesto that quotes the Quran extensively and mandates the military to fulfill “the ideological mission of jihad in Allah’s way; that is, extending the sovereignty of Allah’s law throughout the world.” For religious minorities, there is no escape from the extremist policies of a government fueled by an extremist interpretation of Shia Islam that leaves no room even for Sunni Islam, much less religious minorities like Christianity.
Though the Iranian constitution claims to protect all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, these rights are granted conditionally on “conformity with Islamic criteria,” rendering them effectively meaningless in the Iranian political context.
The government often tramples on citizens’ rights in favor of Islamic customs, even deploying “morality police” on the streets to ensure strict adherence to various Islamic customs like mandated coverings or various hairstyles for women.
Minority religious thought is outlawed and vigorously prosecuted by a wide-ranging penal code that punishes blasphemy with death. Torture, amputation, flogging, and even stoning are used to penalize religious and political dissidents, and the regime holds an unknown number of prisoners of conscience in a network of prisons known for their severely inhumane conditions.
Though the government does allow small, isolated communities of religious minorities to exist and even participate politically, conversion from Islam to these faiths is strictly prohibited. A 2021 law outlaws insulting “divine religions or Islamic schools of thought” and committing “any deviant educational or proselytizing activity that contradicts or interferes with the sacred law of Islam,” according to the U.S. Department of State. Sharing one’s faith with a Muslim is punishable by death.
In addition to its human rights concerns, Iran also presents a severe threat to international geopolitical stability with its efforts to develop nuclear weapons capability and counter Western interests in the Middle East.
In this context, western governments have struggled to instigate meaningful improvements for Iran’s religious minority population. Though the United States and others regularly highlight the issue, the U.S. does not maintain diplomatic relations with Iran and is limited in the direct effect it can have on the topic. Iran is already heavily sanctioned on account of its broader military and human rights issues, negating one potential potent avenue of pressure from the U.S.
Despite the lack of outside aid, the Christian church in Iran is one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world, according to experts familiar with the issue. Though still a tiny part of the population, Iranian Christians are proving resilient to the government pressure that surrounds them every day.
ICC in Iran
Government repression makes any open work in Iran impossible. International religious NGOs are not allowed to operate in the country, and any work they do has to be done in secrecy. Citizens found working with an international NGO, particularly on religious causes, are considered enemies of the state and subjected to degrading treatment in Iran’s penal system.
Consequently, any International Christian Concern (ICC) work on Iranian issues must be conducted with great discretion and little publicity. Though growing rapidly, the church in Iran is in dire need of outside training and encouragement. In addition, ICC has been able to conduct U.S.-based advocacy on human rights in Iran over the years and has seen significant interest among the international community in supporting the repressed people of Iran where possible.
To read our coverage of persecution-related news from Iran, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email [email protected].
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