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A new report from the U.K. government corroborated what persecution watchdogs have long warned: Iran is a dangerous place for Christian converts and those embracing biblical faith.
The report noted that the vast majority of Iranians—99.6%—are Muslim, with just .3% embracing other religions, including the Christian faith.
Iranian Christians are generally placed into three categories. The first, ethnic Christians, include Armenians, Assyrians and Chaldeans, who tend to be Orthodox or Catholic. While generally protected by the state, individuals in these groups are considered second-class citizens.
The second group, non-ethnic Christians, are typically Pentecostals, Presbyterians and Anglicans who speak Farsi.
The third group, Christian converts, are more recent converts from Islam, typically embracing biblical faith after 2005 or 2006. The Iranian government’s handling of these three groups is not equitable, with Christian converts purportedly facing the most restrictions and abuse.
“Ethnic” Christians are considered to not be “at real risk of persecution of serious harm from the state.” This is the same for “non-ethnic” Christians who converted before 1979 and through 2005 and 2006, though the situation is different for Christian converts, Fox News reported.
“In general, a person who is found to have converted to Christianity and who seeks to openly practice their faith in Iran, are likely to be subject to treatment or discrimination by the state that is sufficiently serious, by its nature or repetition, to amount to persecution,” the report reads.
Of course, Christians generally face more restrictions than those in other groups, as churches and Christians are forced to register with the government, and proselytization is precluded.
“Churches are monitored by security officials to ensure Christians of a Muslim background do not attend and those that do not comply with these restrictions have been closed down,” the report reads.
Some experts wonder if the outrage reverberating throughout Iran will be enough to threaten the restrictive regime. Read more about the story here.
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