Religious
Freedom in
Iran
Virtually Non-Existent for Christians, WEA Reports
WEA: ''Religious
freedom in
Iran
continues to be virtually non-existent for Christians and other minority
groups.''
Sunday, Apr. 10, 2005 Posted: 1:45:58AM EST

Religious freedom in
Iran
continues to be virtually non-existent for Christians and other minority
groups, according to a global network representing more than 335 million
Christians from 121 nations and over 100 international organizations.
In a recent document on international religious freedom presented to the
UN Commission on Human Rights, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)
reported that while the Iranian Constitution guarantees a few recognized
religious minorities – including Christians – the freedom to
practice their religion, these rights are frequently withheld.
The WEA, which recently participated in the work of the 61st UN
Commission on Human Rights, stated in its report titled “A Perspective
On Global Religious Freedom: Challenges Facing The Christian
Community” that numerous accounts come out of
Iran
describing Christians facing harassment, intimidation and imprisonment
because of their religious beliefs.
“The violation of religious freedom specifically contradicts
Iran
's international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights,” the WEA stated in its report.
“Non-Islamic minorities live in constant fear of arbitrary abuse or
arrest; many are even afraid to emerge from their homes. Authorities are
known to confiscate property, drive families from their homes and
farmlands, and deny harvesting rights to farmers. Non-Muslim women who
violate Islamic laws or customs are subject to monetary fines,
harassment, and even flogging or death. Non-Islamic holy sites and
places of worship, as well as homes of non-Islamic minorities are
commonly destroyed or occupied in attempts to restrain Christians from
proselytizing. In some areas, non-Muslim business owners are required to
indicate their religious affiliation in their business entranceway.”
According to the WEA, members of evangelical Christian congregations
have been required to carry membership cards, photocopies of which must
be provided to the authorities. Apostasy in
Iran
, specifically conversion from Islam, is punishable by death as Islam is
the nation’s official religion.
Recently, religious liberty intercessors have been following the plight
of 47-year-old Hamid Pourmand, the Iranian army colonel and Protestant
lay pastor, who was arrested in the Islamic Republic of Iran on Sept. 9,
2004.
Sources say Pourmand will be brought before the
Sharia Court
some time between Apr. 11 and 14, to face charges of apostasy from Islam
and proselytizing Muslims, both of which are punishable by death.
“The threat of execution is very real as the Islamic Republic of Iran
has previously martyred Christians,” stated the WEA Religious Liberty
Commission in its Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, released today.
According to the WEA, video footage offers documentation of some of the
forms of torture that the Iranian government inflicts on its own
citizens.
“This documentation includes footage of a fully conscious prisoner
hearing his sentence read aloud and then having his eyes torn from their
sockets by an official,” the WEA reported.
The global ministry said that stoning also continued to be a relatively
common state-sanctioned practice against non-Muslim religious
minorities, especially in apostasy cases.
Kenneth Chan
kenneth@christianpost.com
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