Iran is the ninth most anti-Christian country in 2015
As is customary every year, the Christian organization Open Doors, which presents a list of fifty countries in January where Christians are persecuted, ranks Iran in ninth place and Afghanistan in fifth place among anti-Christian countries.
According to the news agency Voice of Christians of Iran, the Christian organization Open Doors (OpenDoors)
The publication of a new list of countries where Christians were persecuted in 2015 has placed Iran in ninth place out of fifty countries. Iran was in seventh place on the list in 2014 .
However, Iran, having climbed two places on this list, is still among the countries that extremely persecute Christians (red status) .
In this list, North Korea continues to occupy the first place on this list, as it did last year. An important point in this list is Somalia's move from second to seventh place, a rank that Iran held in 2014.
Afghanistan, which was in fifth place in 2014, has risen to fourth place, while the African country of Eritrea has risen from ninth place in 2014 to third place in 2015, indicating the worsening situation for Christians in the country.
Saudi Arabia, which was ranked sixth in this table in 2013, improved its situation in 2014 and moved to twelfth place on the list, and in 2015 it moved to fourteenth place. Despite these changes, it is still among the most disturbing countries. However, the orange status for Saudi Christians indicates a better situation than the Christians in Iran, who are in red.
The best change is for the Arab country of Oman, which moved from 39th place in 2014 to the last place, 50th, in this table in 2015.
The report indicates that persecution is growing rapidly in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In the Middle East, ISIS violence has increased in Iraq and Syria, and the exodus of Christians from the region has become a global crisis.
Dr. Ahmad Shaheed has consistently warned in his annual report about the violation of the rights of religious minorities in Iran, such as Yarsans, Baha'is, Christians, and Sunni Muslims, and has declared it to be a crisis.
Iran's position on the red line, which indicates extreme persecution of Christians, has not only changed, but has also worsened, given Hassan Rouhani's promises before the presidential election regarding the rights of religious minorities.
Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the Iranian government is one of the countries that has committed to implementing, states that everyone has the right to freedom of thought and religion; this right includes freedom to dissent, to change religion, and freedom, either alone or in community with others, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance, in public or private.
However, the Islamic Republic continues to refuse to implement what it has committed to, and religious minorities in Iran continue to be persecuted. It is clear that the Iranian government, by disregarding its commitment, has transformed the country's law into a mono-religious law of compulsory Shia Islam, and all rights and privileges are given to Shia Islamic worship. The violations of the rights of Christians, Baha'is, Jews, and Sunni Muslims carried out by extremist Shia Muslim elements are fully supported by the Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei.
One of the most well-known examples of Christian persecution in Iran is the Iranian/American priest Saeed Abedini, who has been subjected to the most severe persecution and beatings. Saeed Abedini is an Iranian-American priest who traveled to Iran in 2012 to build an orphanage and has since been arrested and transferred to prison.
