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Iranians seek relief in Christmas celebrations
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/01/iranians-seek-relief-in-christmas-celebrations/
January 1st, 2013
12:38 PM ET
By Tara Kangarlou, CNN
(CNN)-Gold, red and green gift boxes decorated a large Christmas tree
in a popular food court in the Islamic Republic's bustling capital of
Tehran. Nativity scenes of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus added color
to the windows of shops across this lively city, a small symbol of the
growing number of Iranians embracing the Christian holiday.
Iran has a population that is 98% Muslim, and the government is widely
recognized for its repressive rulings, censorship and efforts to cut
ties with the United States and the West, but more Iranians are openly
celebrating Christmas and expressing their desires to be part of the
global celebration.
On Christmas, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad released a statement
praising Jesus as "the messenger of humanism and grace" and noted, "I
believe that the sole way to save the man from severe moral, social
and cultural crises is returning to the exalted teachings of the great
messengers of God."
While Jesus is recognized as a prophet in Islam, it is uncommon for
Islamic countries to celebrate his birth, particularly with Western
trappings.
`For us, Christmas may not really be about its religious symbolism,
but rather, we would take any excuse to celebrate and create happy
moments and go against the government's repressive orders,' said
Meshkat, a 29-year-old engineer who asked not to use his last name
because of the government's crackdown on those who openly criticize
the regime.
Meshkat and other Muslims said they perceive Christmas and other
Western holidays such as Halloween and Valentine's Day as a way to
bypass the confines of the regime and the economic toll taken on
Iranians by international sanctions.
The Iranian government is a `repressive theocracy which has an active
campaign of vilification and prosecution of any minority religious
activities,' said Katrina Lantos Swett, chairwoman of the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom. She commended Iranian
youth's efforts to blow the `siren on freedom of expression and human
rights in Iran.'
Iran is home to approximately 200,000 Christians, 90% of whom are
Armenian, according to Minority Rights Group international.
For 50 years, Gorgin Haghverdian has lived and worked in the same
neighborhood in Tehran. He has been a successful business owner for
more than three decades, selling refrigerators, and is an active
member of the small Armenian Christian community in Iran.
`Ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, regardless of the challenges,
the Armenian prelacy has created a mutual and respectful relationship
with the Islamic regime,' Haghverdian said.
Yet he suggests that despite the community's freedom in practicing its
faith, this minority group still faces some challenges in the
post-Islamic Revolution era.
`Even though our kids can go to universities and have the same
educational rights, we still can't be employed by the government or
any organization, company or entity that's operated by the government,
such as public banks, corporations and various agencies,' said
Haghverdian, who appreciates the community's freedom in a country
oftentimes accused of marginalizing religious minorities.
`People are warm and loving, no matter Muslim or Christian, I know for
a fact, if I go down the street to buy a Christmas tree, I'll see five
Armenian-Christians, but I can see eight Muslims who are as excited to
buy the tree. They just want to be happy and joyous,' he said.
Shoppers in Tehran look at a Nativity scene in a shop window.
Despite the expressions of Christmas celebrations, the Islamic regime
stifles acts of religious convergence or the spread of any other
beliefs than Islam, according to watchdog groups like U.S. Commission
on International Religious Freedom.
Lantos Swett pointed to `thousands' of cases of discrimination against
religious minorities like the Baha'is and others who express their own
beliefs or any belief besides what she calls the theocratic regime of
the Iranian government.
CNN's Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories
While people in Iran are freely purchasing Christmas trees and hosting
Christmas parties, the Iranian regime has shown zero tolerance for
apostasy, or renouncing and leaving Islam. It is subject to capital
punishment.
In late September, Saeed Abedini, a young U.S. citizen who is a
Christian convert, was arrested during a visit to Iran for openly
preaching his Christian beliefs.
In 2010, Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor who coverted from
Islam, was detained and sentenced to death, charged with `evangelizing
Muslims' and apostasy. Later, the country's semi-official news agency
Fars reported that Nadarkhani faced several charges of rape and
extortion. He was released in September.
Haghverdian emphasized that the arrests have nothing to do with the
Armenian-Christians and those officially accepted as Christians by the
regime. `The regime is against any person who suddenly decides to
create a religious following and most importantly renounce Islam,' he
said.
Touraj Daryaee, a Persian Iranologist and historian at the University
of California-Irvine, thinks many young Iranians are secretly
converting to Christianity in recent years as a way to distance
themselves from the regime's harsh Islamic practices.
`Christianity seems to be a peaceful religion with a message of love
and peace. That is so different from what they have experienced as
militant Islam right now, so it is effective,' Daryaee said.
Despite the volatile relationship between Iran and the West,
celebrating Christmas, even in its most basic secular forms, shows a
section of Iranians yearning to belong to the international community,
Meshkat said.
`The Iranian people want to do anything to show that we go side by
side and step by step with the rest of the world, and we don't want to
be an isolated nation, and we would even celebrate their ceremonies to
prove this point,' he said.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/01/iranians-seek-relief-in-christmas-celebrations/
January 1st, 2013
12:38 PM ET
By Tara Kangarlou, CNN
(CNN)-Gold, red and green gift boxes decorated a large Christmas tree
in a popular food court in the Islamic Republic's bustling capital of
Tehran. Nativity scenes of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus added color
to the windows of shops across this lively city, a small symbol of the
growing number of Iranians embracing the Christian holiday.
Iran has a population that is 98% Muslim, and the government is widely
recognized for its repressive rulings, censorship and efforts to cut
ties with the United States and the West, but more Iranians are openly
celebrating Christmas and expressing their desires to be part of the
global celebration.
On Christmas, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad released a statement
praising Jesus as "the messenger of humanism and grace" and noted, "I
believe that the sole way to save the man from severe moral, social
and cultural crises is returning to the exalted teachings of the great
messengers of God."
While Jesus is recognized as a prophet in Islam, it is uncommon for
Islamic countries to celebrate his birth, particularly with Western
trappings.
`For us, Christmas may not really be about its religious symbolism,
but rather, we would take any excuse to celebrate and create happy
moments and go against the government's repressive orders,' said
Meshkat, a 29-year-old engineer who asked not to use his last name
because of the government's crackdown on those who openly criticize
the regime.
Meshkat and other Muslims said they perceive Christmas and other
Western holidays such as Halloween and Valentine's Day as a way to
bypass the confines of the regime and the economic toll taken on
Iranians by international sanctions.
The Iranian government is a `repressive theocracy which has an active
campaign of vilification and prosecution of any minority religious
activities,' said Katrina Lantos Swett, chairwoman of the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom. She commended Iranian
youth's efforts to blow the `siren on freedom of expression and human
rights in Iran.'
Iran is home to approximately 200,000 Christians, 90% of whom are
Armenian, according to Minority Rights Group international.
For 50 years, Gorgin Haghverdian has lived and worked in the same
neighborhood in Tehran. He has been a successful business owner for
more than three decades, selling refrigerators, and is an active
member of the small Armenian Christian community in Iran.
`Ever since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, regardless of the challenges,
the Armenian prelacy has created a mutual and respectful relationship
with the Islamic regime,' Haghverdian said.
Yet he suggests that despite the community's freedom in practicing its
faith, this minority group still faces some challenges in the
post-Islamic Revolution era.
`Even though our kids can go to universities and have the same
educational rights, we still can't be employed by the government or
any organization, company or entity that's operated by the government,
such as public banks, corporations and various agencies,' said
Haghverdian, who appreciates the community's freedom in a country
oftentimes accused of marginalizing religious minorities.
`People are warm and loving, no matter Muslim or Christian, I know for
a fact, if I go down the street to buy a Christmas tree, I'll see five
Armenian-Christians, but I can see eight Muslims who are as excited to
buy the tree. They just want to be happy and joyous,' he said.
Shoppers in Tehran look at a Nativity scene in a shop window.
Despite the expressions of Christmas celebrations, the Islamic regime
stifles acts of religious convergence or the spread of any other
beliefs than Islam, according to watchdog groups like U.S. Commission
on International Religious Freedom.
Lantos Swett pointed to `thousands' of cases of discrimination against
religious minorities like the Baha'is and others who express their own
beliefs or any belief besides what she calls the theocratic regime of
the Iranian government.
CNN's Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories
While people in Iran are freely purchasing Christmas trees and hosting
Christmas parties, the Iranian regime has shown zero tolerance for
apostasy, or renouncing and leaving Islam. It is subject to capital
punishment.
In late September, Saeed Abedini, a young U.S. citizen who is a
Christian convert, was arrested during a visit to Iran for openly
preaching his Christian beliefs.
In 2010, Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor who coverted from
Islam, was detained and sentenced to death, charged with `evangelizing
Muslims' and apostasy. Later, the country's semi-official news agency
Fars reported that Nadarkhani faced several charges of rape and
extortion. He was released in September.
Haghverdian emphasized that the arrests have nothing to do with the
Armenian-Christians and those officially accepted as Christians by the
regime. `The regime is against any person who suddenly decides to
create a religious following and most importantly renounce Islam,' he
said.
Touraj Daryaee, a Persian Iranologist and historian at the University
of California-Irvine, thinks many young Iranians are secretly
converting to Christianity in recent years as a way to distance
themselves from the regime's harsh Islamic practices.
`Christianity seems to be a peaceful religion with a message of love
and peace. That is so different from what they have experienced as
militant Islam right now, so it is effective,' Daryaee said.
Despite the volatile relationship between Iran and the West,
celebrating Christmas, even in its most basic secular forms, shows a
section of Iranians yearning to belong to the international community,
Meshkat said.
`The Iranian people want to do anything to show that we go side by
side and step by step with the rest of the world, and we don't want to
be an isolated nation, and we would even celebrate their ceremonies to
prove this point,' he said.