Mahmoud Alavi's remarks on the trend towards Christianity in some parts of Iran
Today, Saturday, May 4, 2019, Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Information of the Islamic Republic, spoke during a speech at a gathering of missionaries sent out during the month of Ramadan about the measures taken by the ministry to counter the trend toward "missionary Christianity" in some parts of Iran.
According to Human Rights in Iran, Mahmoud Alavi said, without giving details, that the Ministry of Intelligence, in cooperation with the seminary, invites individuals and institutions working to counter the propagation of Christianity and takes them to areas that are "affected by missionary propaganda."
The Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic continues, "Sometimes we are forced to take action ourselves, while this is the work of the seminary, because belief is shaken by doubt and strengthened by pressure. Therefore, the scholars of the seminary can shake deviant beliefs with their doubts."
According to Mr. Alavi, in one of the cities of Hamedan, some people who have "normal" jobs, such as selling sandwiches, had converted to Christianity and the Ministry of Intelligence had "summoned" them.
He added: "Some of these people said that we were looking for a religion that would give us peace... We told them that Islam is a religion of brotherhood and purity. They said that Islamic scholars constantly speak against each other. If Islam is a religion of intimacy, then first of all it must create purity and sincerity among its scholars."
In recent years, a number of evangelical Christians have been arrested and sentenced to long prison terms. In many cases, these individuals have been charged with “acting against national security by establishing and participating in house churches.”
Since the victory of the 2018 Bahman Revolution, at least six church leaders have been killed in Iran, and hundreds of Christians have been interrogated and imprisoned.
In addition, the printing of Christian Bibles in Persian has been banned, some churches have been closed, and church services in Persian have been prevented.
It is worth noting that despite the fact that Christians are recognized as a religious minority by law, the security services follow the issue of Muslims converting to Christianity with particular sensitivity and deal with activists in this field with force.
The suppression of religious dissent in Iran violates international human rights instruments, including Articles 18 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , adopted on December 16, 1986, which guarantees the right of individuals to change their religion and to practice their religion without fear and to freely propagate their religion without restriction.
Source: Human Rights in Iran
