Israel might have received the short end of the stick in the peace agreement recently reached between the United States and Iran, but it appears Christians in Iran could be open to greater hostility by the Islamic Regime than ever before.
And this is not because Christians played any particular role in the war, instead the Islamic Republic seems to fear that more Iranians who have gotten disenchanted with the regime are turning to Christianity in their historic numbers.
According to the CBN News, the regime considers the Church in Iran as a threat to its survival, as the underground community of Christians continue to expand, prompting the Iranian authorities to persecute the communities, especially those converting from Islam to Christianity.
According to the CBN News Middle East Bureau Chief, Chris Mitchell, “I talked to an underground church leader. He’s not in Iran right now; he’s in another country. But he says the church represents the real threat to the regime. It’s why they continue to shutter churches, arrest Christians en masse.”
Despite the clampdown, it is reported that the people of Iran who seem to be caught between the devil and the deep blue see, continue to seek for answers, as the underground church continues to operate. Many Iranian Muslims are getting converted and joining the church online, where they cannot meet physically.
Also speaking on CBN News, Mariam Wauda of the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies, noted that the Islamic regime is taking out the war against Iran by the U.S. and Israel particularly on Iranian Muslims who are converting to Christianity, and not necessary Christians of other ethnic groups.
According to her, the Iranian Christian converts are viewed as traitors by allegedly aiding those they described as Zionists.
“The regime is looking for scapegoats here. They are looking for somebody to label as traitors, as enemies of the state and, as they really call it, enemies of God. And the Persian community Christians end up being that scapegoat, and end up being prosecuted as what they call Zionist traitors,” she said.
Indeed, this says a lot about the Islamic Republic’s perception of the Christian church in Iran. Wauda explained that since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the regime has carried on, “on the principle that it is the highest authority, as the connection between the Iranian people and God.”
She added, “And when we see a growing Christian population; when we see a population that is turning away from Islam, turning away from Shia Islam, turning away from the regime, it’s telling of just how much control the regime has on the population.
“It’s why they continue to shutter churches, arrest Christians en masse and come up with new and creative ways to persecute both the indigenous communities of Iran and the converted communities of Iran; how churches have become target.
“And these are all signs that the regime is losing control not only on its tactical control of the population but really on the spiritual control of the Iranian people.”