Tweet
THE LAMB OF IRAN
Washington Times
Sept 27 2011
The mullahs prepare to execute a Christian for his faith
Yousef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old Christian cleric, is facing death
for apostasy against a faith he never held. The Islamic Republic of
Iran has accused Mr. Nadarkhani, a pastor of the evangelical Church
of Iran, of the capital offense of forsaking Islam.
Mr. Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht in October
2009 after he questioned Islamic control over religious instruction
of Iranian children. He was charged initially with illegal protest,
but that was raised to the more serious crimes of apostasy and
evangelizing Muslims. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Mr.
Nadarkhani~Rs wife was handed life in prison. His attorney, Iranian
human rights lawyer Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, was convicted separately
of ~Sactions and propaganda against the Islamic regime,~T sentenced
to nine years in prison and barred from practicing law for a decade.
There are about 300,000 Christians in Iran, most of whom are
Armenians. They trace their lineage back to the first century and
the introduction of the faith by St. Jude the Apostle. St. Jude was
martyred by the Romans in A.D. 65 and to Catholics is the patron saint
of desperate cases and lost causes. Mr. Nadarkhani has maintained
his equanimity in the face of adversity. ~SI announce the same as
Jude,~T he wrote in one of his prison epistles, ~Searnestly contend
for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. ~E What we are
suffering today is difficult, but not unbearable.~T
In the fall of 2010, a Revolutionary Tribunal affirmed the death
sentence, and the case was appealed to Iran~Rs Supreme Court. In June,
the high court asked the lower court in Rasht to review whether Mr.
Nadarkhani had been a practicing Muslim at the age of maturity,
which is 15 in Iran. Prosecutors acknowledged that he had never been
a Muslim as an adult but said that the apostasy law still applies
because he has ~SIslamic ancestry.~T Hearings are being held this week
to give Mr. Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant his faith and avoid
execution. On Sunday, when asked to repent his Christian beliefs, Mr.
Nadarkhani replied, ~SRepent means to return. What should I return
to?~T The court pressed that he should return ~Sto the religion of
your ancestors, Islam.~T Mr. Nadarkhani said, ~SI cannot.~T
Mr. Nadarkhani may face execution as early as Thursday. The U.S. State
Department has registered a protest, but Tehran has shown no response
to international pressure. Members of international church groups
are fasting and praying for Mr. Nadarkhani, who remains committed
to his beliefs even facing the gallows. ~SI don~Rt need to write
anything further about the basis of faith,~T he wrote to his supporters
earlier this year. ~SLet us remember that beyond beautiful or painful
feelings, only three things remain: Faith, Hope and Love. It is
important for believers to make sure which kind of Faith, Hope and
Love will remain.~T
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/27/the-lamb-of-iran/
From: Baghdasarian
Washington Times
Sept 27 2011
The mullahs prepare to execute a Christian for his faith
Yousef Nadarkhani, a 34-year-old Christian cleric, is facing death
for apostasy against a faith he never held. The Islamic Republic of
Iran has accused Mr. Nadarkhani, a pastor of the evangelical Church
of Iran, of the capital offense of forsaking Islam.
Mr. Nadarkhani was arrested in his home city of Rasht in October
2009 after he questioned Islamic control over religious instruction
of Iranian children. He was charged initially with illegal protest,
but that was raised to the more serious crimes of apostasy and
evangelizing Muslims. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Mr.
Nadarkhani~Rs wife was handed life in prison. His attorney, Iranian
human rights lawyer Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, was convicted separately
of ~Sactions and propaganda against the Islamic regime,~T sentenced
to nine years in prison and barred from practicing law for a decade.
There are about 300,000 Christians in Iran, most of whom are
Armenians. They trace their lineage back to the first century and
the introduction of the faith by St. Jude the Apostle. St. Jude was
martyred by the Romans in A.D. 65 and to Catholics is the patron saint
of desperate cases and lost causes. Mr. Nadarkhani has maintained
his equanimity in the face of adversity. ~SI announce the same as
Jude,~T he wrote in one of his prison epistles, ~Searnestly contend
for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. ~E What we are
suffering today is difficult, but not unbearable.~T
In the fall of 2010, a Revolutionary Tribunal affirmed the death
sentence, and the case was appealed to Iran~Rs Supreme Court. In June,
the high court asked the lower court in Rasht to review whether Mr.
Nadarkhani had been a practicing Muslim at the age of maturity,
which is 15 in Iran. Prosecutors acknowledged that he had never been
a Muslim as an adult but said that the apostasy law still applies
because he has ~SIslamic ancestry.~T Hearings are being held this week
to give Mr. Nadarkhani the opportunity to recant his faith and avoid
execution. On Sunday, when asked to repent his Christian beliefs, Mr.
Nadarkhani replied, ~SRepent means to return. What should I return
to?~T The court pressed that he should return ~Sto the religion of
your ancestors, Islam.~T Mr. Nadarkhani said, ~SI cannot.~T
Mr. Nadarkhani may face execution as early as Thursday. The U.S. State
Department has registered a protest, but Tehran has shown no response
to international pressure. Members of international church groups
are fasting and praying for Mr. Nadarkhani, who remains committed
to his beliefs even facing the gallows. ~SI don~Rt need to write
anything further about the basis of faith,~T he wrote to his supporters
earlier this year. ~SLet us remember that beyond beautiful or painful
feelings, only three things remain: Faith, Hope and Love. It is
important for believers to make sure which kind of Faith, Hope and
Love will remain.~T
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/27/the-lamb-of-iran/
From: Baghdasarian