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Iran imprisons Christians for “propaganda activities against the system and in favor of Zionist Christianity”

Aug 19, 2018 12:24 pm By Robert Spencer

Why “Zionist” Christianity? Because the Qur’an designates the Jews as the worst enemies of the Muslims (5:82), always scheming against the Muslims, so if there is something that the mullahs think threatens the Islamic Republic, well, then, the Jews must be behind it.

“House-Church Members in Iran Reportedly Sentenced to Year in Prison,” Morning Star News, August 17, 2018:

(Morning Star News) – A convert from Islam in Iran said he and 11 other Christians were sentenced to a year in prison for “inclination to the land of Christianity” among other charges, according to Mohabat News.

“Interrogations were obviously indicating that they were looking for confession to communications with [those] abroad, especially America, Britain and Israel,” the Christian, identified as Payam Kharaman, told Mohabat, which focuses on human rights abuses in Iran.

Mohabat reported last week that Kharaman and 11 other members of a church in Bushehr, a port city in southwestern Iran, were sentenced to one year in prison on charges of “propaganda activities against the system and in favor of Zionist Christianity through holding house meetings, evangelism, and invitation to Christianity and inclination to the land of Christianity.”

Kharaman and the other Christians were jailed for three years following their arrest on April 7, 2015, obtaining bail only last April, according to Mohabat.

Judge Abbas Asgari of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Bushehr issued the sentence earlier this year, saying the accused would be informed last June 20, according to the verdict.

Kharaman told Mohabat News that authorities began pressuring him in early 2012.

“I was repeatedly summoned by the Office of Police Monitor Public Place in Bushehr and interrogated about evangelism and communication with abroad, and I always insisted on the belief in Christianity for myself and not for promotion of Christianity,” he told Mohabat. “Because I had a boutique shop in Bushehr, a number of officers’ family members in the office knew me and informed of heavy sentences against me, and the case which was under investigation by the intelligence office.”

He said he took their statements as empty threats at the time.

On April 7, 2015, three plain-clothes security agents came to his house with a warrant shortly after 8 a.m. and seized his computer, mobile phone, flash drive, CDs, books and pamphlets and a private photo album, he told Mohabat. They took him to the intelligence office of Bushehr and interrogated him all day, he said.

Among those sentenced along with Kharaman was Shapour Jozi and his wife, Parastoo Zariftash.

“In the part of the verdicts issued,” Jozi, also a convert from Islam, told Mohabat, “[it] was hinted that many books and pamphlets, publications, CDs, banners, a lectern painted with a cross for holding prayer and lectures, the Holy Gospel, computer case, the boards painted with signs of Christianity, tablet, mobile phone and statue were discovered, all of which were seized in favor of the government.”

Mansour Borji of advocacy group Article 18 reportedly suspects that security agencies’ inability to stop the spread of Christianity in Iran has led them to try to eliminate Farsi-speaking churches “through unlawful pressures and false accusations in revolutionary courts and seemingly legal routes.”

“The harassment of religious minorities, particularly Christians, has been mandated for the Islamic Republic’s security apparatuses,” he said, according to Mohabat. “Many Iranian Christians have preferred to abandon their homes in the last two decades and leave Iran to avoid the securities and judges.”…

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Filed Under: Featured, Iran, Islamic antisemitism, Muslim persecution of Christians Tagged With: Bushehr


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Comments

  1. somehistory says

    Aug 19, 2018 at 12:29 pm

    The plan, the goal, the objective, is to eliminate Christianity…with whatever weapons they can dream up.

    In the end, they will suffer defeat.

    • Nadir Ahmed says

      Aug 19, 2018 at 1:04 pm

      I think given the free reigns, Christians would do the same to Muslims, unfortunately.

      • StellaSaidSo says

        Aug 19, 2018 at 1:14 pm

        No, they would not. More’s the pity, because Islam is a vile scourge which should have been eradicated centuries ago.

      • somehistory says

        Aug 19, 2018 at 2:49 pm

        Your “thinking” is way off base. Christians “do to others the way you wish to have done to you,” and not as others are doing. Christians don’t wish to be killed; therefore Christians do not kill.

        Christians leave Judgement and punishment to God and do not take matters into their own hands.

        moslims, on the other hand, have the idea that they have the right and authority to do as they please and since they hate Christians and Christianity, their goal is to kill all they can…because it pleases them.

        • Del says

          Aug 20, 2018 at 10:11 am

          Agreed. Following the “do unto others – ” idea we should then help Muslims with their death wish and assist them into the afterlife. They would be most thankful.

      • Indiana Tom says

        Aug 19, 2018 at 5:31 pm

        I am not much of a Judeo Christian Fundamentalist and actually I have some leanings towards the Alawite and Baha’i faiths.I actually am fairly tolerant of other faiths. But pure Islam is straight from the Heart of Darkness and it should be declassified from a religion to a terrorist organization. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were right about Islam.
        By their works, you shall know them.

      • Joe Felon says

        Aug 19, 2018 at 9:50 pm

        you couldn’t be more wrong…unlike islam, christianity has not been on a 1400 year mission of conquest and in majority christian countries in the west, freedom of religion actually exists. unlike christianity, islam is spread through conquest, slavery, murder and rape. get your facts straight and relax with the moral equivalence…

      • gravenimage says

        Aug 19, 2018 at 11:34 pm

        What crap from Nadir Ahmed. Christians are not imprisoning Muslims in the West for peacefully practicing their faith–but this is what Muslims do to Christians and all other Infidels.

      • FYI says

        Aug 20, 2018 at 5:53 am

        It is at least understood in Christianity{and in Judaism} that it is morally wrong to commit intentional homicide:that it is a sin against God.Anyone who does so commits MURDER and will be judged as such.

        This is not the case in islam:allah himself has no problem encouraging it k2:191.That it might be morally wrong and a sin against God appears to be something muslims don’t get.

        Consider the case of those foolish cyclists who were murdered by isis recently in Tajikistan.
        Innocent,unarmed civilians murdered by devoutly religious muslims who are followers of the sunnah of the “prophet” muhammed,a self-confessed terrorist and a mass-murderer:muslims who “pray” 5 times a day to the moslem god of murder and hate,”allah”.

        What would any morally good person do?what would YOU do?

        To murder or not to murder?To do evil or to refrain from doing evil?

        The difference between islam and Judeo-Christian religions is that allah teaches muslims to equivocate on God’s Laws.But you cannot do that:what was the point of God giving us commandments to obey(via Moses) only for “allah” to tell you that they can be broken?

        The morally right thing to do{as we see from those important 10+2 commandments… which allah himself doesn’t follow..}is to refrain from doing such evil.Anybody of any religion or none,who is a morally good person would see this.

        It is an evil and wicked thing to murder innocent,unarmed,defenseless people:no matter who does it,it is always wrong.

        Except it isn’t in ..islam.k2:191

        What moral choice do you make?

        1.islamic option :follow allah’s commandment-of-God violating teaching of k2:191
        And “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find him”:i.e commit MURDER and yet{incredibly!} expect allah to reward you for doing… EVIL?

        Or

        2.Make the right moral choice and choose to OBEY GOD’s 6th commandment which condemns intentional homicide and thereby refrain from doing evil?the Actual God{ of Moses doesn’t reward evil!}

        Isn’t obeying God’s official commandment the correct moral choice and isn’t violating this same law an immoral,sinful and wrong choice?

        The concept of obeying that 6th commandment{or ANY of God’s laws} appears to be beyond the capacity of the islamic brain to understand.

        Murder is murder:Jews and Christians who commit murder are guilty of this sin against God.

        muslims are not exempt:even though “allah” tells them that they can get away with it.

      • KWJ says

        Aug 21, 2018 at 9:50 am

        Nadir Ahmed, to jump in, no, Christians wouldn’t do what Iran and other majority Muslim countries do and haven’t in any recent times because Christians I how they govern have grown up while Islam has too many Muslims stuck in the past. Christians once did that to other sects of Christians – that’s why the Separitists moved to America and settled here – the Church of England persecuted them. The Puritans here persecuted the Quakers even lopping off some ears. Thus our Constitution has the right to practice one’s religion.

        Muslims don’t figure much in American history but the first mosque here is fairly old. The problem with Muslims is that when they are in bigger numbers they have changed and want to change our laws for Allah’s laws aka the Sharia. Thus they need to be repelled for THAT reason not because of how Muslims persecuted Christians just because they are Christians and follow the hateful Qur’an in the 21st century. A lot of Muslims lie a lot and imams will say we want to kill Muslims because they are Muslims rather than the reason I just told you.

        The OIC are big liars too telling the UN and people that they’ve always been tolerant of other religions living peacefully side by side. Nonsense, many don’t even do it now from Bosnia to Iran to Saudi Arabia to Egypt to Pakistan. The OIC demands of the EU to get on the case of Christian evangelists while Muslims proselytize constantly, again hypocrites. Islam wants to be dominant over other religions and countries and change their cultures and always have as mandated by Muhammad and used as an excuse to conquer.

        I noticed that Hizb-it-T-shirt said the Crusades were about Christians wanting to spread Christianity when the Crusades were fighting off the conquering Muslims in their lands from Spain to India. They lie too. Of course some Christians follow the Bible to spread the Good Word but that wasn’t the reason for the Crusades.

        I’m an atheist so obviously Muslims who want to institute Allah’s laws are a problem. I certainly don’t want to live under their totalitarian rules, supremacy attitudes, and archaic practices, no less their propaganda about history. If Muslims just practiced Islam within our country’s laws and values and freedoms, it wouldn’t be an issue. It is Muslims who create the problem with Christians, Hindus, atheists, Zoroastrians, etc. and always have. Saudis don’t even let non-Muslims be citizens and aren’t even embarrassed over it while spewing OIC propaganda. Are you not embarrassed that Islam is still this way? You ought to be if you have any conscience and desire for peace and equality. Muslims need to stop lying. They also have a problem with Judeo-Christianity and thus the Bible, some Muslims are mental about crosses…grow up! It’s no wonder non-Muslims think Muslim countries are so backwards and unproductive…the mindset is archaic. Iran also keeps a close watch on Sunnis there. Not even Muslims can get along with other sects of Islam!

    • Mac-101 says

      Aug 19, 2018 at 1:27 pm

      Only after Satan’s NWO Beast’s 42 month rule from the Temple and Christ returns with ALL those who were beheaded for refusing to renounce Jesus Christ as Lord and Savoir and refuse to take the Mark of the Beast!

  2. pemba says

    Aug 19, 2018 at 12:37 pm

    During the time of Shah Raza, there was not Imprisonment of Christians.

  3. Notmoron says

    Aug 19, 2018 at 12:43 pm

    Christianity is been attacked by both sides, in Western & in islamic countries. That is why I favor Israel being a jew state, it Will lead the fight against EVIL.

    • Mac-101 says

      Aug 19, 2018 at 1:30 pm

      Revelation is NOT so kind about the Tribulation.

  4. Walter Sieruk says

    Aug 19, 2018 at 1:31 pm

    There are many Muslims who strongly dislike Christians. Some Muslims even hate Christians so much that they even become violence against them and burn their Bibles. One reason for this is that in the mosques and madrasas the Muslim clerics, as the mullahs of Iran,who speak many awful and unproven terrible things against Christians and Christian doctrine. So much so the many Muslims get all worked up against Christians and Christian teachings and some those Muslims commit violent actions against Christians. Such false religious teachers, as those mullahs, who speak to people unfounded and invalid evil things about Christians and Christian doctrines have been described in the Bible. For the Bible informs the reader in Second Peter 2:12. “They speak evil of things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption.” [N.K.J.V.]
    It also should be make clear that in this specific above Bible verse, as well as in John 3:16. The word “Perish” does not mean loss of being but loss of well-being. As in going to ruin by ending up in languishing in torment in a terrible place of suffering that the Bible calls hell. Luke 16:19-31.

  5. Indiana Tom says

    Aug 19, 2018 at 5:21 pm

    Why “Zionist” Christianity? Uhhhmmmm because it is much more sane than Islam?

    • mortimer says

      Aug 19, 2018 at 11:16 pm

      No… it goes the other way around: ‘CHRISTIAN ZIONISM’ means the support Christians give to the idea of a Jewish homeland in Israel where Jews will be a ‘national ethnicity’ living where their ancestors clearly lived for thousands of years.

      One needn’t be Jewish to be a Zionism supporter. One can be an atheist and still support Zionism.

      There is nothing ‘extreme’ about Zionism, because many ethnicities have their own homeland.

  6. mortimer says

    Aug 19, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    PSYCHOLOGICAL PROJECTION means denouncing in others what one is guilty of. The mullahs are obsessed with and involved in national and international politics. Whereas Christian churches divide between what they owe to Caesar and what they owe to God.

    Christians separate the church from the state largely if not entirely. There is no such separation in Islam.

    It is Muslims who try to introduce Sharia in Western countries.

    Since there is NO Christian equivalent of discriminatory Sharia law, Christians do not want their own laws (non-existent), but Christians in Muslim countries want the removal of DISCRIMINATORY LAWS that discriminate against non-Muslims. There’s supposed to be equality between religions.

  7. gravenimage says

    Aug 19, 2018 at 11:36 pm

    Iran imprisons Christians for “propaganda activities against the system and in favor of Zionist Christianity”
    …………………..

    Just appalling.

    And where is Christianblood to tell us that persecution of Christians is fine in Iran because all the Christians are really “American spies”?

  8. Mary says

    Aug 20, 2018 at 3:38 am

    With Islam there is no freedom of religion, of thought, for women and homosexuals, there is only bondage.

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