Iran 01/10/2006
A Christian in Iran. Photo: Reuters/Stringer Iran
In recent months, international attention has been clearly focused on Iran’s nuclear programme and support of Hezbollah in Lebanon, but behind the public gaze, religious minorities continue to suffer gross human rights violations.
Around 97% of Iran’s population is Muslim and the Iranian constitution declares Islam to be the country’s official religion, with Ja’fari Shi’ism as the chosen doctrine. Other Islamic schools of thought are granted ‘full respect’ to exercise their traditions, but some minorities such as Sunni and Shia express concerns of state bias against them.
While political dissidence receives greater exposure in the media, two areas of discrimination go largely unnoticed: women’s rights and the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. Non-Muslim minorities do not tend to pose an actual threat to the political power of the government. Instead, the persecution of non-Muslim minorities is primarily due to the theological and cultural assumptions of Iranian society.
Evangelical and Pentecostal churches in particular are distrusted and even persecuted in Iran. Many church leaders have been arrested, imprisoned and executed on charges of apostasy from Islam or insulting Islam, both of which are punishable by death.
Indeed, the large number of converts from Islam to Christianity appears to have antagonised the Iranian government, and President Ahmadinejad is reported to have declared, “I will stop Christianity in the country.” Many Christian converts have to keep their faith a secret, or else experience pressure from the Muslim community to reconvert.
As the world closely observes the development of Middle Eastern politics and Iran’s own ambitions, now more than ever our brothers and sisters in Christ need our prayers and action. CSW is campaigning to ensure that the human rights of ethnic and religious minorities do not slip off the agenda in this crucial time.