| FrontPageMag.com | By Robert Spencer | By Hugh Fitzgerald | Books | Jihad Watch | Islam 101 | Qur'an Blog | Raymond Ibrahim | Robert Spencer |  |
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|
Hamid Pourmand update from Religion Journal "Iranian Christian Faces Death Penalty for Apostasy," with thanks to Nobody:
An Iranian church leader, who is already in prison, faces the death penalty if he is found guilty by a shari'ah court.Hamid Pourmand, 47, is scheduled to go before a shari'ah court in Bandar-i-Bushehr next week on charges of apostasy from Islam and seeking to spread the Christian gospel among Muslims. The former charge is punishable by death.
Pourmand, who was a Colonel in the Iranian army, was also a lay leader of the Assemblies of God church in Bandar-i-Bushehr, a southern port city in Iran. He was arrested along with 85 other church leaders at the annual meeting of the AOG church in Iran on Sept. 9, 2004 in Keraj. According to Middle East Concern and Compass Direct, he was the only one not to be released shortly after being arrested.
On Feb. 16 he was charged before a military court with deceiving the Iranian armed forces about his conversion nearly 25 years ago. Non-Muslims are not allowed to become officers in the army, but Pourmand provided evidence to the court that his superiors knew about his faith. This evidence was rejected as false and Pourmand was sentenced to three years in prison with the loss of all benefits. This meant losing his 20-year army pension and home and now his wife and two children have been evicted and have no source of income.
He is currently in a group cell at Evin maximum security Prison in Tehran. He is the first Iranian convert to be charged with apostasy since 1993. CSW is working with other NGOs to raise his case with the UK Foreign Office, the UN and the EU.
"Hamid Pourmand has already been stripped of his freedom and his job, and his family has been made destitute," said Stuart Windsor, national director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide. "He now faces a death sentence if the shari'ah court finds him guilty. CSW calls on the international community to do all it can to put pressure on the Iranian authorities to safeguard his life."
Let's hope the Mullahs hear strong words from Secretary Rice about this.
Posted by Rebecca at April 24, 2005 9:34 AM
Print this entry
| Email this entry
| Digg this
| del.icio.us
Essay question:
Compare and contrast the Christian holiday, Christmas (the birth of Jesus), with the birth of Muhammad. Compare the type of gifts and their meaning.
200 words minimum.
20 points
![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 24, 2005 10:23 AM
What kind of religion has to enforce its edicts under penalty of death?
Sounds like a death cult to me....
Posted by: CrazyFool at April 24, 2005 10:46 AM
Here is an email link for Amnesty International:
newsamnesty@amnesty.org
Let's save this man's life.
at April 24, 2005 10:51 AM
Friends-
I have already contacted Amnesty International's Urgent Action Network and Middle East Regional Action Network - no further contact is necessary.
If you like, pass this info on to Human Rights Watch or Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom.
at April 24, 2005 11:41 AM
The smug self satisfied saps who announce that Islam is misunderstood -- it is a religion of peace....! Despite the slaughter and never ending horror of Islam their lips keep moving.
Isaiah 5:20
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!"
Posted by: Kemaste at April 24, 2005 11:47 AM
"Any religion that needs to kill those who don't agree with it needs to die itself."
-SAYINGS OF THE HIDDEN IMAM.
Posted by: BigSleep at April 24, 2005 2:11 PM
"You can check out any time you like... but you can NEVER leave"
The Eagles
Posted by: Just_Linda at April 24, 2005 5:30 PM
The West must grant immediate asylum to all Christians that live in Muslim countries, while simultaneously deporting all Muslim scum back to the Middle East, Malaysia, Albania, Pakistan, and the rest of the Muslim stans.
After this, any crazy Christian who wants to commit suicide by trying to proselytize Muslims---well, he's on his own.
Why, God, why did you bless these sand savages with so much oil? Why?
Posted by: angry_kafir at April 25, 2005 12:11 AM
(Note: The Comments section is provided in the interests of free speech only. It is mostly unmoderated, but comments that are off-topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying stand a chance of being deleted. The fact that any comment remains on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Jihad Watch or Dhimmi Watch, or by Robert Spencer or any other Jihad Watch or Dhimmi Watch writer, of any view expressed, fact alleged, or link provided in that comment.)