What it's like to be a Christian in Iran

[FrodosPet]

http://www.dw.com/en/what-its-like-to-be-a-christian-in-iran/a-19002952

25.01.2016
Author Stefan Dege / kbm
Deutsche Welle

~ snip ~

The situation for Christians of any denomination in Iran is "very dramatic," according to Markus Rode from Open Doors. In particular, individuals who have converted from Islam to Christianity are subjected to "extreme persecution."

Many have been imprisoned, tortured, or threatened with death. Armenian and Chaldean churches are allowed to hold services, as long as they are not conducted in Persian, and they are observed by the police. Distributing Christian literature in Farsi is strictly forbidden, in order to prevent evangelization.

~ snip ~

Muslims who choose to become Christians are threatened with prison sentences and even death. Many Iranians believe that Muslims remain Muslims even after converting and that Muslims are not permitted to enter a Christian house of worship.

~ snip ~

"Iran is a totalitarian state, a surveillance state, and a police state that tries to protect the population from anything outside of the Shiite or Islamic culture," according to katholisch.de, the website of the Catholic Church in Germany.

~ snip ~

[hrmjustin]

1. A member of my congregation fled Iran 2 years ago when he converted to Christianity.

he and his wife were beaten for it.

[SheilaT]

2. Unfortunately, this is simply one more example

of how religions are intolerant. No one religion has a monopoly on the intolerance, and no one is exempt from it.

[AngryAmish]

6. I agree. Those fucking unitarians....

Please. Think. For once.

[SheilaT]

8. I regret that I didn't express myself clearly.

I don't mean all members of all religions are invariably intolerant. What I mean is that since each religion claims to have a lock on The Truth, it's all too easy, especially when they are a huge majority, to start running roughshod over others, insisting on orthodox thinking, enforcing standards of behavior. Or dress. Certainly of belief.

These things have been happening for a very long time. Usually, in this country, if you don't dress in a way that sets you apart, you slide under most people's radar. But we see too many who absolutely do not understand the separation of church and state thing ("Are you sure? It's in the Constitution?" asked one woman running for the Senate a while back. Christine O'Donnell), or who honestly think that a Protestant version of a prayer is purely non-denominational, and should be acceptable to all, when we shouldn't be having public prayer in secular situations to begin with. Or they way college football teams like to enforce some version of Christianity on the players.

Not everyone.

But for someone who is as thoroughly a non-believer as I am, even the Unitarians are more religious than I can tolerate more than once every six months.

[valerief]

3. What it's like to be an atheist in the U.S.

What it's like to be a non-Christian running for U.S. president.
What it's like to be a woman in a man's world.
What it's like to be a dog person who lives with a cat.
Someone, stop me!

[randome]

10. Stop.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Aspire to inspire.[/center][/font][hr]

[valerief]

11. Whew! Thank you. nt

[JI7]

16. in the US it's not as bad as in Iran

[valerief]

18. Yet.

[NightWatcher]

4. So, what, should we bomb them because they don't want your religion?

I can't wait till we as a species evolve past the need for religion and all the problems that come with it.

I'm not just anti christianity, I find them all to be archaic, violent, ignorance delivery systems that oppress the gullible to benefit the powerful.

[Nye Bevan]

5. Sorry, I re-read the OP twice and I don't see any mention of "bombing" anyone.

Surely it is OK to criticize events in other countries without being accused of advocating for military action?

[NightWatcher]

7. Many Christians are using the treatment in Iran to further the call for a war there

I don't think you were doing this but you should be careful not to further their pro war argument.

No, I'm not calling you a war monger but some Christian war mongers do use this as another reason to advocate bombing Iran.

[leftynyc]

13. Until somebody here does it

Perhaps we can just comment on this story and talk about that before someone jumps in and accuses everyone of being warmongers. Just a suggestion.

[Bradical79]

14. Seems like we would run out of issues to discuss

if we censored ourselves on every issue that might make a particular group angry.

[FrodosPet]

9. I am not anti-Christian. I am not anti-Muslim.

I am pro-not-being-a-murderous-asshole-especially-to-the-frail-and-unempowered.

Many Muslims and Christians want peace and love and tolerance and growth and healing. Unfortunately, some are not. And their messed up interpretations of some messed up scripture is responsible.

We have to be willing to point this out in order to try and stop it.

[PufPuf23]

12. One wonders what would be the case now had the USA and UK not couped

the nascent democracy in Iran and installed the Shah as a dictator to steal their natural resources?

The Ayatollahs took over in Iran and their government and society because a strict theology.

This was followed by the USA backing Saddam Hussein in the Iraq-Iran War, a nine year war of attrition.

Going back in history, the Ottomans were Muslim but one could readily argue it was better to be Christian or Jewish in the Ottoman Empire than Muslim in a Christian nation of western or northern Europe for centuries. The Ottomans welcomed (and actively relocated) the Jews from Spain when Queen Isabella forced the Jews in Spain to convert, flee, or die.

The Catholic Church is a hypocrite in being the religious institution bearing the largest burden of cultural genocide in recorded human history.

It may not immediately solve a problem to look at history but does help in an understanding of the present and give ideas to better the future.

Demonizing Iran is non-productive because it strengthens the Ayatollahs and religious conservatives.

I am not saying that the religious situation in Iran is good and not in need of change.

[ronnie624]

15. Good post.

Without the history of Western intervention, the Middle East would surely be a very different place than it is now.

[Arugula Latte]

17. Whenever I see stuff like this I think: All this fuss, violence, stress and killing over

two stupid, primitive, nonsensical mythologies that have zero relation to reality. It's sad these idiotic stories are still believed by modern humans.