Iran: Crackdown Continues
Iranian officials
recently closed one of only four remaining churches in Tehran that offered Farsi-language
services. On June 5, the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence branch ordered an
Assemblies of God (AOG) church to cease all activities and threatened to
confiscate church facilities if the church did not comply.
Leaders of the
church had previously received permission from authorities to use their church
building in Tehran’s northwestern district of Janat-Abad to serve Assyrian-background
church members. Over time, a Farsi-language service on Sundays began to attract
more people. The church began to grow rapidly, which drew the attention of
authorities. Farsi is Iran’s official language, and
almost all of the population speaks Farsi.
“Due to an increasing number of Farsi-speaking
believers — mostly [Muslim background believers] — it has become a cause of
concern for the authorities, and they now ordered it to shut down,” Iranian
Christian human rights advocate Monsour Borji told Compass Direct News.
Only three churches that provide Farsi-language
services now remain: the AOG Central Church of Tehran, Emmanuel Protestant
Church and St. Peter’s Evangelical Church. Two other churches that provided
Farsi services were closed in February.
Many in Iran report an increase in the
government’s efforts to eradicate Christianity, with authorities targeting both
house churches and the relatively few officially recognized Protestant
churches. Last month, the AOG Central Church of Iran yielded to years of
government pressure and asked its members to voluntarily submit their names and
ID numbers. Several members have since been arrested or lost their jobs.
A former member
of Iranian intelligence recently confirmed that the government specifically
targets Christian converts. The regime hopes to suppress Christianity by
identifying pastors and active Christians, arresting them and torturing them in
prison.
Sources: Mohabat News, Present Truth Ministries, Middle
East Concern, Compass Direct News