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Iran and its overthrow of the Shah in 1979 ended its
friendship with the West and installed a Shiite Muslim government set on
crushing any deviating faith. The conservative mayor of Tehran, Mahmud
Ahmadinejad, was elected president in June 2005.
Religion: Muslim 99.02%, Baha’i 0.52%, Christian 0.33%, Other
0.10%, and Jewish 0.03%
Ideological Influence: Islam
Head of State: President Mahmud Ahmadi-Nejad
Persecution: Despite constitutional guarantees of religious
freedom, Shi’a Islam is the state religion, and all other deviations
from Islam are severely treated. Open witness to Muslims is banned, and
the government has sent spies to monitor Christian groups. Believers are
discriminated against in education, employment and property ownership.
Pastors have even been murdered.
Missionary Opportunity: The majority of the Christian community
is from the traditional Christian Armenian and Assyrian communities.
Pastors are forbidden to preach in Farsi (the official language) and can
only use the Armenian language. However, the Islamic Revolution in the
late 1970s promised much and delivered little, causing many Muslims to
seek alternatives to Islam. Iranians are more open to the gospel than
ever before. Mission organizations are not allowed to enter Iran, but
there are possibilities of evangelizing the millions of Iranians who
live abroad. |
Iran 