Bet Kolia: I am ashamed of my Christianity because of Western behavior!
This member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly has claimed that the expenses of Iranian Christian congresses are funded by the Islamic Republic government. He said that reading the Bible is free in Iran but is prohibited in America.
According to a report by the Persian-speaking Christian news network citing the Farsi News Agency, yesterday Jonathan Bet Kolia, one of the representatives of religious minorities in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, told this news organization affiliated with the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps: Religious minorities in Iran have 5 representatives in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, while the population of religious minorities (various followers) in total is less than the quorum required for having one representative in the parliament according to the country’s laws.
He added: Assyrian Christians in Iran live with complete freedom and comfort alongside their Muslim brothers and sisters, and while they have freedom in performing their religious ceremonies, they are also free in their cultural activities. He further stated that the budget of Christian congresses is funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran government!
The representative of Assyrian Christians in the Islamic Consultative Assembly emphasized: The behavior of Westerners has absolutely nothing to do with the religion of Christianity, and I do not consider these people as Christians, and I am ashamed that they commit anti-human actions throughout the world in the name of Christianity.
Regarding America, he also said: On the other hand, how can a country like America that does not allow the Bible to be read in its schools be considered Christian, while the Bible is read and even taught in schools in Iran for Christians.
Bet Kolia stated: American and Western officials boast about human rights while terrorist groups attacked Christian churches in Iraq with gunfire, and American and European military personnel who were present there were merely spectators to this inhumane act.
He added: The question is why those who claim to support human rights and constantly talk about human rights in Iran remain silent about the beheading of a Christian priest by takfiri terrorists and show no reaction.
Jonathan Bet Kolia has previously been presented by the Iranian government, as a witness to religious freedom in the Islamic Republic, to the world during sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council several times. There he had stated that Christians in Iran have a better situation than Muslims and enjoy more freedom compared to them!
According to some Assyrian compatriots, this member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly is considered to be a representative and monitor selected by the government in the Assyrian community before becoming their representative in the Islamic parliament.
He made his anti-Western statements to the Revolutionary Guard Corps news agency while being accused by Iranian Christians of involvement in the plundering of church properties and assets in Iran for the benefit of the “Executive Headquarters of the Imam’s Decree” under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic.
Bet Kolia, who is a civil engineer and a skilled land broker, constantly speaks negatively about the West and America while his children are studying and living in America.
