Iran & the Bible

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IRAN & THE BIBLE

What the Bible Says About Persia and Persians ________________________________________

"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of The Lord

spoken by Jeremiah, The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a

proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: "This is what Cyrus king of

Persia says: "The Lord, The God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the

earth and He has appointed me to build a Temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.

Anyone of his people among you - may his God be with him, and let him go up to

Jerusalem in Judah and build The Temple of The Lord, The God of Israel, The God

who is in Jerusalem." (Ezra 1:1-3) ________________________________________

PERSIA:

• An empire which extended from India to Ethiopia, comprising one hundred and

twenty-seven provinces, (Daniel 6), Esth. 1:1;

• Government of, restricted by constitutional limitations, Esth. 8:8; (Daniel 6:8-12).

• Municipal governments in, provided with dual governors, Neh. 3:9, 12, 16-18.

• The princes advisory in matters of administration, (Daniel 6:1-7).

•

Status of women in, queen sat on the throne with the king, Neh. 2:6.• Vashti divorced for refusing to appear before the king's courtiers, Esth. 1:10-22;

2:4.

• Israel captive in, 2 Chr. 36:20;

• captivity foretold, Hos. 13:16.

• Men of, in the Tyrian army, Ezek. 27:10.

• Rulers of: Ahasuerus, Esth. 1:3.

• Darius, Dan. 5:31; 6; 9:1.

• Artaxerxes I, Ezra 4:7-24 .

• Artaxerxes II, Ezra 7; Neh. 2; 5:14.

• Cyrus, (2 Chr. 36:22), (2 Chr. 36:23), Ezra 1; 3:7; 4:3; 5:13, 5:14, 5:17; 6:3; Isa.41:2, 41:3; 44:28; (Isaiah 45:1-8), 13; 46:11; 48:14, 15.

• Princes of, Esth. 1:14.

• System of justice, Ezra 7:11-26.

• Prophecies concerning, Isa. 13: 17; 21:1-10; Jer. 49:34-39; 51:11-64; Ezek. 32:24,

25; 38:5; Dan. 2:31-45; 5:28; 7; 8; 11:1-4.

________________________________________

Of all of the human empires that affected the people of Israel, the Persians did

something rather unique - they permitted the return of the people of the southern

kingdom of Judah to Israel, by God's command (see above verses), 70 years aftertheir exile by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar.



At its peak, the Persian empire reached from the India to Greece, and from the

Caspian Sea to the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. The Persians are believed to

have originated in Media, which today corresponds to western Iran and southern

Azerbaijan. They settled in Persia, on the eastern side of the Persian Gulf.

Another Map of Persian Empire from 500 B.C.

Map of Sasanian Empire from 1994 Encyclopaedia Britnnica



Map of Current Iran

The Persians were Aryans, speaking one of the eastern Indo-European groups of

languages. Two lines developed from an early leader, Teispes, who had conquered

Elam in the time of the decline of the Assyrian Empire - one line in Anzan, the other

in Persia. Cyrus II, king of Anzan, united the nation, and conquered Media, Lydia,

and Babylonia. His son, Cambyses, took Egypt, which was later ruled by Darius, the

son of Hystaspes. Persepolis (see map) was an ancient city of Persia that served as

a ceremonial capital for Darius and his successors.

From a Biblical perspective, the Persians were a link in the chain of human empires

that molded - the Egyptians, from which the Exodus occurred, the Assyrians, who

conquered the "Lost Ten Tribes," the Babylonians who conquered the southern

Kingdom of Judah, the Persians who permitted the return to Jerusalem, the Greeks,

who covered much of the time between the Old and New Testaments, and the

Romans, who covered the time of Jesus Christ and beyond.

History of Christians and Christianity in Iran

________________________________________

A Brief History of Christianity in Iran

By: Massoume Price, December 2002

Christianity arrived in Iran during the Parthian (Ashkanian) period. In the book of

'Acts of Apostles' (chapter II, V.9) first century AD, it is mentioned that on "the Day of

Pentecost (part of harvest festival observed by early Christians) there were atJerusalem "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia".

Early Christian records mention that Peter and Thomas preached the Gospel to the

Parthians and men such as Thaddaeus, Bartholomew, and Addeus evangelized the

races of Mesopotamia and Persia, and that Mari, a noble Persian convert,

succeeded Addeus in the government of the Persian Christian communities. The

bishops, Abrjs, Abraham, Jacob, Ahadabuhi, Tomarsa, Shahlufa, and finally bishop

Papa succeeded him (end of the third century). Syriac documents also indicate that

towards the beginning of the third century the Christians in the Persian territories had

some three hundred and sixty churches, and many martyrs.



Arbela, fifty miles east of river Tigris (Dejleh), the capital of Adiabene a small Persian

border kingdom was the earliest center of Christianity in Iran (present day Iraq).

There was a large concentration of Jews in Arbela and in Nisibis in eastern

Mesopotamia and while some Jews were instrumental in spreading Christianity

others opposed the new faith. The first century Jewish historian, Josephus mentions

that a king of Adiabene accepted Judaism about AD 36. Such a conversion made

Arbela a natural center for Jewish Christian mission at an early date. Nisibis another

major city of the area was also the seat of a Jewish Academy of learning. Christianity

spread in both Villages and cities and by the end of the Parthian period (AD 225),

Christian communities were settled all the way from Edessa, an important missionary

center, to Afghanistan. The Chronicles of Arbela report that by this time there were

already more than twenty bishops in Persia and Christians had already penetrated

Arabia and Central Asia.

Parthian Kings were tolerant of other religions and Christianity kept slowly butsteadily advancing in various parts of the empire. At the time of the persecution of

Christians in Rome many sought refuge in Iran and were given protection by the

Iranian rulers. Though thousands of Persians embraced Christianity, Persia

remained Zoroastrian with many adhering to the Cult of Mithra. There never arose an

indigenous Persian Church, worshipping in the Persian language. The Persian

Church was of Syrian origin, traditions and tendencies and for about three centuries,

regarded Antioch (in Syria) as the center of its faith and the seat of authority.

With Sassanian (A.D. 226-641), Christianity (and other religions) suffered

resentment. Its chief opponents were the Zoroastrian Magi and priestly schools, aswell as some Jews. When the Roman emperor Constantine made Christianity the

state religion in Rome (AD 312) and himself the sovereign of all Christians, the new

fate became associated with Iran's archenemy. Conversion of Armenians into

Christianly and defection of some Armenian army units to Rome made the matters

worse. Religious and national feelings were united and paved the ground for future

persecutions that continued in Persia for a century after they had ceased in Rome,

where they started in the first place.

The Sassanian kings in general championed Zoroastrianism, and though some did

not mind Christianity, the national feeling always clung to the ancient creed.Nevertheless Christianity kept steadily growing partly due to deportation of several

hundred thousand Christian inhabitants of Roman Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia by

Shapour I (240-270AD). The deportees wee settled in Mesopotamia, Persis (Pars)

and Parthia. The decision was based on economic and demographic reasons but

unintentionally promoted the spread of the new faith. New cities and settlements in

fertile but sparsely populated regions such as Khuzistan and Meshan were built.

Many Christians were employed in big construction projects and had a large number

of skilled workers and craftsmen among them. The city soon became a significant

cultural and educational center with the famous library and University of

Jundaishapour, home to scholars from all over including many Christian and Jewish



scholars. It also became the center of silk production in Iran with many Christians

involving in every aspect of silk production, management and marketing.

This period of peace and prosperity for the Christian community lasted until the reign

of Bahram II (276-293AD). First persecutions included that of Bahram's Christian

concubine Candida, one of the first Persian Martyrs. The persecutions weresupported and even promoted by the powerful high priest Kirdir who in one

inscription declares how Ahriman and the idols suffered great blows and continues

as follows: "and the Jews (Yahud), Buddists (Shaman), Hindus (Brahman),

Nazarenes (Nasara), Christians (Kristiyan), Baptists (Makdag) and Manicheans

(Zandik) were smashed in the empire, their idols destroyed, and the habitations of

the idols annihilated and turned into abodes and seats of the gods".

But these persecutions remained exceptions compared to the fourth century when

systematic harassment of Christians began. Originally Christianity had spread

among the Jews and the Syrians. But by the beginning of the fourth century,Persians in increasing numbers were attracted to Christianity. For such converts,

even during peaceful times, membership in the church could mean loss of family,

property, civil rights and even death. Some persecutions under Shapour II (309-

379AD) were as horrid as those administered by the Roman Emperor Diocletian who

used to burn or feed the Christians alive to wild beasts, or have them killed publicly

at the games by the gladiators.

Towards the beginning of the fourth century the head of the Persian Church selected

the city of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Empire, as his center of

authority (Ctesiphon metropolitan). Under his jurisdiction were several bishops, one

of them, Yohannan bar Maryam of Arebela was present at the very important Council

of Nicaea (325 AD) in Rome. In 340 or 341 AD, the new metropolitan (Archbishop) of

Ctesiphon, Shem'on (Simeon) bar Sabba'e, was urged by Shapour II, to collect a

special tax from the Christians to finance the costs of war against Rome. His refusal

was the prelude to the systematic persecution of Christians. In the Martyrology of

Simeon, Shapour is quoted of accusing the bishop of having political motives for his

policies. While the Persian sage, Aphrahat, the most important intellectual

representative of Christianity in Iran at the time in his Demonstrations compares

Constantine with good and the proud Shapour with forces of evil.

Aphrahat was an Assyrian born in northern Mesopotamia in the region of Adiabene

and was a monk, probably a bishop. His only surviving work Demonstration contains

23 treatises, which he wrote between AD 337 and AD 345. The first ten chapters of

Demonstrations deal with ten specific aspects of Christian life and doctrine such as

faith, fasting, prayer and humbleness. In this he displays a very simple faith, firmly

centered on the Scriptures. For him a "Christian life must be a life of unrelenting

warfare between believers and the devil. The most dangerous instrument of satanic

temptation is a woman; the safest path for man, therefore, is to renounce the love of

a woman, and live alone for Christ. As for women, their highest calling is to espousevirginity and thus rob the devil of his tool for temptation. Since it was not possible for



all to remain celibate, Christians may marry, but if they do, it might be best to marry

before baptism". In his address to the monks he recommends that "if a monk

desires, that a woman bound by celibacy, should dwell with him, it would be better

for both parties to marry and live openly together" (Demonstrations VI.4). His ideas

were picked up over a century later when the church had to make a decision about

celibate clergy.

Shapour was not the only enemy; in the Chronicles of Arbela Christians blame Magi,

Jews and Manicheans for promoting hatred against Christians and calling them

Roman spies. In fact some Zoroastrian authorities such as mogbed and rad (titles in

priestly hierarchy) are named for being directly involved in interrogating and

convicting Christians at times of persecutions (Syriac Acts of Martyrs). Some

Christian accounts of martyrdoms show anti-Jewish tendency, and the same is true

of some writings of the Eastern Church fathers. Weather those Christians had

political motives or not needs more research, however surviving literature indicatesthat they indeed regarded their faith as superior. Their world was not divided

between Romans and Iranians but between 'people of God' and the 'outsiders' or

'non believers'. In their literature they identify themselves as 'pure ones', 'just ones'

or 'people of God'. Distinctions are made between ethnic Christians, nasraye and

deported ones and their descendants called Krestyane. They also referred to

themselves as misihaye (those who believe in Messiah (Massih).

Shapour's peace treaty with Emperor Jovian halted the persecutions for a while

(AD363). By this treaty, Mesopotamia and Armenia came under the control of Persia.

In AD 409, the Persian king Yazdegard I, by an edict of toleration brought an end, forthe time being, to the persecution of Christians. He had a Jewish wife and was well

disposed towards both Judaism and Christianity and in fact was called the 'Christian

King' by some. The edict allowed Christians to publicly worship and to build

churches. The peace helped the Christian community to re-organize its life. Tensions

eased further when Iranian Christians created their own ecclesiastical organizations

with its own hierarchy and eventually became independent from the Western

Church.

Though Rome and Constantinople were the centers of the so-called 'Orthodox

Christianity', many Christian groups particularly in Mesopotamia opposed theirpolicies and doctrines. In 410, a meeting of Christians was held at the Persian capital

under the presidency of Mar Isaac, the bishop of Ctesiphon. An independent new

Church was announced and the leader (metropolitan) was called 'Catholicos-

Patriarch'. The council confirmed Mar Isaac as the first Catholicos and Archbishop of

all the Orient.

The Synod (Ecclesiastical/Church council) also declared its adherence to the

decision of the Council of Nicea in Rome and subscribed to the Nicene Creed.

Though the church was not fully independent from Rome as yet, Yazdegerd

approved of the organization of the Persian church on this basis and issued an edictgiving recognition to the Catholicos as the head of the Persian church. Christians in



Iran received a definite standing among the population, with freedom to manage their

own affairs, but answerable to the state authorities through the Catholicos who

became a civil as well as a religious head. The decree also dictated that the election

of a Catholicos had to be approved by the king and he became king's nominee.

Early in Yazdegerd's reign Maruthas, a Mesopotamia bishop represented the RomanEmperor at the Persian Court. He was instrumental in re-organizing the Persian

Church and spreading Christianity further in Iran and Nisibis became a strong

Christian center. Later in the reign of Yazdegerd, the Persian bishop, Abdas of Susa

destroyed a Zoroastrian temple in the city; the king ordered the bishop to restore the

building at his own expense. Abdas refused and the result was the order by the king

to destroy all churches. Before long the destruction of churches developed into a

general persecution, in which Abdas was one of the first martyrs. When Yazdegerd

died in 420, and was succeeded by his son Bahram V, the persecution continued,

and large numbers of Christians fled across the frontier into Roman territory. Bahramdemanded the surrender of the Christian fugitives, and once again war was declared

against Rome in 422. Although the latter half of the fourth and the beginning of the

fifth century was a period of conflict in the Eastern provinces, the period was also a

time of expansion for the Christian Church and of literary activity. This literary and

ecclesiastical development led to the formation of a Syriac literature in Persia (Syriac

being the liturgical language of the Persian Church), and ultimately of a Christian

Persian literature. By 420 there were 5 metropolitans including two at Merv and

Heart and bishop Dadyeshu was elected Catholicos. He was imprisoned a year later

and internal divisions and disputes were intensifying at the time amongst different

Christian denominations.

During the rule of Bahram V (421-438) the third synod of the church introduced a

radical change. The Synod of Dadyeshu met in 424 under the presidency of Mar

Dadyeshu. The first synod of Isaac in 410 had decided that the Catholicos of

Seleucia-Ctesiphon be supreme among the bishops of the East. The Synod of

Dadyeshu decided that the Catholicos should be the sole head of the Persian church

with no one above him. In particular it was laid down that "easterners shall not

complain of their Patriarch to the western Patriarchs; every case that cannot be

settled by him shall await the tribunal of Christ."

This meant that their Catholicos was answerable to God only and not to Rome,

Antioch, Alexandria or Constantinople. Six metropolitans and thirty conventional

bishops from all over Persia elected Dadyeshu and he became the first Catholicos

equal in rank and authority to any western Patriarchate. This gave the Iranian church

the privilege of independent administration and freedom from outside jurisdiction. For

a while King Yezdegerd II (439-457AD) welcomed the move and sent the Patriarch

of the Persian Church on a mission to meet the Roman Emperor.

The king took a particular interest in the question of religion and studied all religions

practiced in Iran. But he remained a zealous Zoroastrian and at the end startedpersecuting both Christians and Jews. He tried to convert Armenians back into



Zoroastrianism; he was defeated once, won again and took hostage the leaders of

the Armenian Church and leading members of the local aristocratic families by

carrying them off to Iran. The next successor Peroz (459-84) faced many disasters

and wars and ended up a hostage. He persecuted the Jews and watched the

Christian community going through internal conflict and doctrinal divisions.

In 486 the church made a decision that went against the radical ascetic tendency of

the East and against the canon laws of the West. It rejected celibacy and affirmed

the rights of all Christians to marry including ordained priests or even bishops. The

texts mention social and cultural factors for this verdict. But the state also pressured

the church to change its stand on celibate clergy. Zoroastrians held the unmarried

clergy in contempt and considered celibacy as a cause of weakness in the empire.

The virtue of virginity irritated them and there are accounts of nuns forced out of

monasteries to be married and were put to death if refused. This movement against

the enforced celibacy of the clergy did not last and the decision was reversed in thesixth century.

Between 450 and 500 the Nestorians, followers of Nestorius the patriarch of

Constantinople who created his own brand of Christianity were persecuted in the

Roman Empire. They fled to Persia and received protection. Nestorianism had been

rejected at a meeting of Christians from all over at 431 in Ephesus (Turkey) and their

bishops were forced to flee to Iran. From 488 during the reign of Qubad, the whole

Persian Church adopted Nestorianism at the synod of Jundaishapour (Syrian Beth

Lapat) and henceforth the Catholicos of Seleucia became the patriarch of the

Nestorian Church of Persia, Syria, China, and India. Nestorians believed in thedoctrine of the two natures of Christ (human and divine) as opposed to

Monophysite's believe in one nature only. The Nestorian doctrine was popular in the

Persian border districts, in the 'Persian School' of Edessa and it was also a way to

eliminate the suspicion of conspiracy with the Romans.

The 'Persian School" was closed and transferred from Edessa now a Monophysite

stronghold to Nisibis and became very famous. The first rector was the leprous

Narses (Narsai) a prolific writer he enjoyed immense reputation. He was a great poet

and his gift for language made him a master of the Syriac idioms. His scholarship

helped the church to be built on strong biblical and theological foundations and waslater honored by the title Rabban the Great'. The central aspect of the school was its

spiritual discipline, Bible study and missionary work.

This university consisted of a single college, with the regular life of a monastery. Its

rules are still preserved. At one time it had more than 800 students. The fame of this

theological seminary was so great that it inspired the Italian Pope to establish the

Cassiodorus's monastery at Vivarium. Other less important schools existed at

Seleucia and elsewhere, some in small towns and another major one at

Jundaishapour. The most colorful Christian personality of the period was Barsauma,

who fought for the success of the Nestorian confession, founded the new school in



Nisibis and was very active politically. He also rebelled against the leader of the

Christian community Catholicos Babuwai.

Khosro Anoshirvan's (531-79) wars against Byzantium (540-545) and Emperor

Heraclius's victories once more prompted persecutions but peace was resumed

afterwards. The king once again guaranteed their freedom of worship and manycelebrated Christians such as the philosopher Paul the Persian and members of the

famous learned family Bukhtishu joined the royal court and Jundaishapour

University. His successor Hormizd IV (570-90) furthermore supported Christians. His

mother was the Byzantine princess Maria a Christian and his support created a

backlash amongst the Zoroastrian clergy with violent results against Christians.

Khosro II, Parviz (579-90) regained his thrown from Bahram Chobeen with help from

his father-in law Emperor Mauritius and remained loyal to Christians. He paid honor

to Virgin Mary and to a number of saints popular among the Syrians. His wife

remained a devoted Jacobite and was immortalized in Persian literature as QueenMaryam in the love story "Khosro and Sheereen". However Khosro Parviz soon

turned against Christians when new wars broke out once again.

Khosro Parviz sacked Jerusalem in 610, his Syrian troops looted the city for 3 days,

massacred thousands of Christians and religious relics including a piece of the true

cross (the one Jesus died on) were carried off to Iran. The cross itself became a

center of dispute amongst Byzantium and Iran and eventually was returned as part

of a peace treaty. The official teaching of the Nestorian Church at the time of Khosro

II is preserved in the treatise "De Unione" composed by the energetic monk Babai

the Great.

In the next century the Persian Church kept steadily increasing with a hierarchy of

230 bishops. Christians were scattered over Assyria, Babylonia, Chaldea, Arabia,

Media, Khorasan and Persia proper, Turkestan, Merv and both shores of the Persian

Gulf. The figure, 'Catholicos of Seleucia' became a powerful entity and the extent of

his jurisdiction rivaled the Byzantine patriarchs. On the whole Christian missionaries

were successful amongst all groups including high-ranking Iranians. There are

accounts of Christians among the landlord classes in Mosul and the surrounding

mountains. Khosro III (630) was killed in an insurrection headed by a Christian

whose father had been the chief financial officer of the realm. Some of the patriarchsof the Nestorian Church were converts, or sons of converts, from magi priesthood.

Monasteries were introduced in Mesopotamia by monks from Egypt in fourth century

and spread quickly. Accounts by Mar Awgin relates that his monastery near Nisibis

contained three hundred and fifty monks, while seventy-two of his disciples

established each a monastery. Their numbers must have been very high, in addition

to the numerous monasteries in Mesopotamia and the regions north of the Tigris,

there were scattered monasteries in Persia and Armenia. Besides the cenobites,

living in large communities, there were numerous solitaries living in caves or rude

huts. Christian mysticism spread through monasteries and greatly influenced Islamicmysticism that emerged in the area after the Muslim conquest .



While numerous, however, the Iranian Christians were not organized into a national

church. They differed from the Nestorians farther west but not enough to gain

ecclesiastical independence from Nestorianism. Syriac was the ecclesiastical and

theological language and even in Persia proper little Christian literature was

produced in Persian and the Scriptures had not been translated into Persian either.

A few works were produced in Middle Persian mainly to clarify the legal status of

Christians In Iran. The Corpus Iuris by the Metropolitan Mar Ishobukht, dating from

8th century is one that has survived in Syriac translation. Other Christian legal books

survived in Syriac are a text by the Metropolitan Mar Simeon and one written under

Mar Aba in the reign of Khosro I, Anoshirvan (531-539). Mar Aba was a convert from

Zoroastrianism, and had studied Greek at Nisibis and Edessa and intended to

prepare and publish a new version of the Old Testament, a task he did not finish. He

died in prison and his successor was put to death. In 567 Ezechiel, a disciple of Mar

Aba, was appointed Catholicos of Seleucia, under whom lived Bodh the periodeutes,

the translator into Syriac of the Indian tales "Kalilah and Dimnah". The Indianliterature was made popular in Iran through Jundaishapour University's translations

of Indian texts.

With the growth of church many differences arose between different confessions,

and this probably is one more reason why the church did not evolve into a national

Iranian church. The differences, conflicts and rivalries were significant and created

many problems amongst the Christians and eventually helped their downfall and the

total defeat of the Christian Church after the Muslim and Mongol conquests both in

Iran and outside. Matters were further complicated when some converted from the

Church of the East to the Roman Catholic denomination. This group was calledChaldeans who rejected Nestorianism at the AD 451 Council of Chalcedon near

Constantinople. They adhered to their separate Patriarch in Syria and created a

massive rift between Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Rome. Supported by

Byzantine Emperors they started persecuting other Christian sects and took control

of many local churches.

Armenian and Assyrian churches made the matters worse. Owing to the war with

Persia, the Armenian Church did not have a delegate at the Chalcedon council

nevertheless they took side against Nestorians. The Nestorians of Persia were

quarreling with the Orthodox Church of Persia, which was in communion with theChurch of Armenia and asked for their help. Armenians responded and their

Catholicos Babgen called a meeting not only of his own bishops but also those of the

neighboring Christian countries of Georgia and Caucasian Albania.

They assembled at the headquarters of the Armenian Church in Dvin in the year

506. After long deliberations they officially proclaimed their adherence to the

Ecumenical Council of Ephesus and rejected both Nestorians and Chaldeans. The

result was the unintentional separation of the Armenian Church from the rest of

Christendom, that is, of Greco-Roman Christianity.



Assyrian Christians were also divided into different confessions. Assyrians (Assori)

are one of the oldest surviving Christian groups and currently there are around

550,000 left and almost half still live in Iraq. They are descendents of the ancient

Assyrians, a major Mesopotamian Empire from 2000BC, destroyed in 612 BC by the

Babylonians and Medes. After this collapse the remnant of the Empire was called

Urhai and later Edessa. Many Assyrians fled to the secluded mountains of Kurdistan;

some settled in Urumiah in northwestern Persia, and others scattered throughout

Asia Minor. Presently they occupy the mountains and plains of southern Turkey,

Northern and northwestern Iran and many have emigrated to Europe and North

America. They speak various dialects of Aramaic a Semitic language and have kept

Chaldean as their religious language. According to their chronicles, they embraced

Christianity in the first century A.D. Up till the 16th century, prior to penetration of the

Jesuit and later Protestant missions in the Middle East, the Assyrians belonged to

two ancient Christian denominations: The Church of the East and The Syrian

Orthodox Church, popularly known as Jacobite. The split into two differentdenominations occurred in the 5th century A.D. and appears to have been politically

motivated to secure a measure of safety for the Assyrian minority which was caught

between two rival empires: Persian (the locus of the Church of the East) and Roman

(the locus of the Syrian Orthodox Church). During Sassanian era majority of the

Assyrians in Iran adopted Nestorianism and this created a division between them

and the Jacobite Assyrians.

Christianity spread in Iran and affected other sects such as Manicheans (Manavi)

and persecutions eventually ended. Despite all improvements, Christians of Iran

denied the Sassanian their support once the Arabs attacked the Empire. The motivemight have been a feeling of affinity with Christian Arab tribes. However once

conquered, Christians like Jews became second-class citizens.

The conquest of Islam in seventh century put an end to freedom of religion through

out the area. All polytheistic and pagan religions were banned all together with all the

other Near and Far Eastern religions. Islam does not recognize these as true

religions. All major and minor deities were eliminated as false gods. The house of

Kabah contained many such deities (including Christian sacred items), all were

banished. The followers of all local gods became 'kofar' and were given the choice to

either convert or die. Allah a term used by local Christian tribes, meaning god and a

local deity, became the only sovereign god, the almighty. Islam was the last and themost superior of all religions and Muslim males were made superior to all others

including Muslim females. Christianity and Judaism were accepted as the only other

true religions and their holy scripts were accepted as such. However despite a large

number of Christian and Jewish tribes in Arabia, their freedom was substantially

restricted and their legal status lowered.

They were given the right to practice their religion if they paid a discriminatory

religious poll tax called 'jizya'. In Quran, these people are called dhimmis (ahle

zimmeh); later Zoroastrians of Iran were included as well. Quran prohibits Muslims

from becoming friends with Christians and Jews and the two are forbidden from anyparticipation in building Mosques and none other than Muslims can visit Mecca, once



a multi-fate center. They could not marry Muslim women while Muslim men could

marry all. Muslims could not become slaves but all others were subjected to slavery

as purchased slaves or war booty. However they were exempt from military service

and forced labor. Later on Christians and Jew were banned from riding horses while

carrying arms and could not increase their numbers through conversion of others.

They were segregated and their houses should have not exceeded those of the

Muslims in height (the Jewish quarter in Kirman is an example) and church bells

were not to be heard. Dress codes were assigned to them and most ended up in

segregated neighborhoods.

Courts of 'Shariat' became the only legal vessel between the Muslims and non-

Muslims and Quran gave Muslim males superior legal status. For instance if a Jew

or a Christian kills a Muslim, there is both 'Ghesas' (Physical punishment) and

'Diyeh' (Monetary compensation). If a Muslim kills a Jew or a Christian, there is no

ghesas and they only pay diyeh, which is half of what the Jew or the Christian has topay. There is no punishment for killing kofar (non-believers) or mortad (converters

from Islam into other faiths). In short all except the Muslim males became second-

class citizens (dhimmis). The so-called 'Covenant of Ummar' made religious

discrimination an institution. Ummar believed Arabia should be purely Muslim and

Arab. The large Christian and Jewish communities of Arabia mainly in Najran,

Khaybar, Hijaz and Medina were expelled to the conquered territories and their

properties confiscated. His bias, brutality and discriminatory actions contributed to

his assassination by a Persian Christian slave (Nasrani).

The situation worsens by the time of Harun Al Rashid in eight-century AD. Theoverwhelming population of the area at the time was Christian, Zoroastrian and

Jewish. Their houses of worship were destroyed, they could not build any new ones

and jizya was increased substantially. Payment of the jizya was furthermore to be

accompanied by signs of humility and recognition of personal inferiority. On payment

of the tax a seal, generally of lead, was affixed to the payee's person as a receipt

and as a sign of the status of dhimma. By the time of Caliph Al Motevakel in ninth

century, non-Muslims were all excluded from employment in government sectors,

banned from Muslim schools, had to live in closed quarters and were forced to wear

distinct clothing and colored ribbons to indicate they were non-Muslims.

Iran being part of the Greater Muslim Empire was subjected to the same rules. Since

non-Muslims were forced out of the government institutions, they went into trade and

banking. A wealthy class of Christian merchants emerged with cash but little political

influence. Christian artisans, including goldsmiths and jewelers, would find

employment in the large cities. In his account of the mission of the Nestorian monks,

Thomas of Marga relates that the Patriarch Timothy sent his missionary with a

company of merchants who were journeying together to Mugan (the plain of

Mugan?) on the River Aras (Araxes). Muslim treatment of the religious minorities

varied in accordance with the policies of the caliphs and attitudes of different

governors.



While the Umayyad governor of Iran Hajjaj was ruthless and extremely biased others

were more lenient and did not follow all the discriminatory rules. There were many

Christian, Zoroastrian and Jewish Philosophers, physicians, scientists, engineers,

musicians and court administrators in the first centuries of the Muslim Empire. Later

on they all gradually converted or were forced out of government services. The

coming of Abbasid improved the position of dhimmi for a while especially during the

reign of Al Mansur. He was a devoted follower of the sciences and supported the

great translation movement of the 8th century AD. Initiated by the Syriac, Greek, and

Persians to preserve the ancient knowledge, the movement started in Syria and

flourished in Baghdad. Scientists and intellectuals from all over got together centers

of learning were created and thousands of books were translated into Arabic from

Greek, Hebrew, Persian and other languages. Bukhtyishu and Masuya (Masawaih)

learned families were amongst such people. Both families had served at

Jundaishapour University for generations and were instrumental in setting up the

Adudi Hospital in Baghdad. Iranian Jews were writing dari (new Persian) in Hebrewcharacters, Christians used Syriac script to write Persian. The position of non-

Muslims varied with time and is shown in the surviving Christian works and

chronicles.

John of Damascus (ca. 675-749) and Nestorian Patriarch Timothy I (779-823 or 778-

821) are amongst Christian scholars whose works have survived. John wrote the

Fount of Knowledge, a massive work that contained a section "On Heresies." In this

chapter he views Islam not as a new religion but as a heretical schism from

Christianity. He also viewed Islam as a threat, pointing out while writing Fount of

Knowledge; a nearby bishop was executed for preaching against Islam. He callsMuslims Ishmaelites and calls the new religion a forerunner of the Antichrist. He

concludes that the Christian veneration of the cross is no more an idolatry than the

Muslim veneration of the Kabah; and criticizes polygamy practiced by Muslims.

Patriarch Timothy's dialogue with Abbasid caliph Mahdi has become a classic. Mahdi

asked him how intelligent people like him could believe in God having a son. He

coolly agreed that the statement was a blasphemy: "Who would say such a thing?"

Nevertheless, he continued, "Christ is the Son of God"-not, however, "in the carnal

way." And the debate went on for two days. Such literature indicates the doctrinal

differences between the two, which added to the military and political conflictscreated by conquering the entire Eastern Christendom by the Muslims.

Conquest of Jerusalem in AD 640 resulted in the control of the holiest

Jewish/Christian city by the Muslims and has caused never ending feuds ever since

between the Jews, Christians and Muslims. While some sites were preserved other

major Jewish and Christian holy sites were occupied to build Mosques and stories

about Prophet Muhammad's Ascension (Miraj) in Jerusalem were used to justify

such actions. The results were centuries of Crusade wars between European

Christians to defend Christendom and Muslim rulers of the area and occupation of

the city by the Crusaders in AD 1099 and Muslim retake of Jerusalem in 1187.



Muslim rule of Christian territories ended missionary works in the area and

compelled Christians to expand into India and the orient.

Nestorian Church became the dominant one in Iran, though it did not grow in Iran

they gained many converts in India and China. Ctesiphon the Persian capital was

totally destroyed during the Arab invasion and the Catholicos seat was moved in 762to Baghdad. The fate of the Christians in the Muslim territories depended on the will

and the mood of the ruling Muslim dynasties. While many rulers were tolerant others

were harsh and intolerant. At the turn of the millennium the Caliph al Hakim, turned

against Christian and Jews, torturing and killing thousands of people (and Muslims

too). He forced all Christians to strictly follow the dress code imposed earlier, and to

wear a five-pound cross around their neck. He forced Jews to wear a heavy bell

around theirs', and dismissed all non-Muslims from administrative offices. Al Hakim

turned loose the Egyptian mob to demolish Coptic Churches and Jewish

synagogues, walled off a Jewish street, leaving all inside to die of starvation, andalso walled and sealed the doors of a public bath for women, entombing alive all

those who were inside. He banned all women from appearing on the streets of Egypt

for any reason. At Caliph al Hakim's death, toleration returned, the center of Coptic

Christianity shifted from Alexandria to the new capital, Cairo and churches were

rebuilt. The Turkish invasion of Iran and the latter Seljuk and Ghaznavi rule was

detrimental to the Christians. The Turks were fighting Christian Byzantium and

suspected Christians in their territories of having affiliations with Byzantium. The

conquest of the eastern territories of Seljuks of Iran by the invading Qara-Khiatai

from Northern China made the situation easier for Christians in Balkh and

neighboring areas. The Chinese ruler of this group Gur-Khan was a Manichean andas such he had sympathies for Christians, since Manicheans incorporated many

Christian elements including Jesus himself in their religion.

On the whole life for Chrsitians was not very different under Turks and all regulations

with respect to dhimmis (Zames) were still applied. There were many Christian

communities in all the major cities, notably Baghdad and Nishapur. Benjamin of

Tudela who traveled in Iran after the death of Sultan Sanjar, the Seljuk ruler,

mentions Christian and Jewish communities throughout the Iranian territories.

The Crusades made the situation worse for the Christians in general. LocalChristians were caught between two equally hostile forces during the twelfth and

thirteenth centuries. Muslims came to hate all Christians in the Muslim world, while

Latin Christians despised the Eastern Christians as heretics. During the Crusades,

Latin Christians came to control the Holy Land, but prevented the local Christians

from going on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Saddi the grand master of Persian prose

and poetry was at one point taken a prisoner during the Crusade wars and ended up

as a slave/war captive. A friend who bought him and then forced him to marry his

daughter rescued him. Saddi complains a lot about this woman in his writings.

In 1258 the Moguls conquered Baghdad the center of the Muslim Empire. Thischange was for a time favorable to Christianity, as the rulers openly declared



themselves Christians or were partial to Christianity. However under latter Mongol

rulers and also due to Tamerlain's (Taymur) invasion of Persia many churches along

with mosques were destroyed and thousands of Christians and Muslims were killed.

The early Mogul rulers before embracing Islam were a lot more tolerant towards all

religions and employed many Christians including a Chinese Nestorian, Yabh-alahaIII, who eventually became the Catholicos of the Syrian Church in 1281. The new

Patriarch was a native of Western China; he ruled the Church through a stormy

period of seven reigns of Mogul kings. He had the joy of baptizing some of them and

there were many Christian women, wives and children of the Khans in the royal

court, and for a time he hoped that they would form an alliance with the Christians of

Europe against the Muslims. The conversion of the Mogul rulers into Islam ended

such expectations.

Some of the Il-Khan leaders were also favorable towards Christians. One of the

leaders Arghun in late 13th century in his wars against Mamluk rulers of Egyptsought a military alliance with Christian West. In 1285 he sent a letter to Rome and

later an emissary to Pope along with a Nestorian Christian called Isa Kelemechi to

start negotiations. How the Christians were treated depended on the politics of the

day. The scholar Ibn Taghribirdi praises the last Il-Khan ruler, Abu Said for

demolishing Christian Churches. This was partly due to the establishment of the first

archbishopric of Sultaniyeh by Pope John XII. Francis of Perugia was the first

archbishop and was succeed in 1323 by William Adam, who amongst other duties

protected the Christian Armenians against their Muslim neighbors.

During the last five centuries Christianity in Iran has been a tolerated but oppressed

and despised faith. From the invasions of Tamerlaine until the accession of Shah

Abbas, the Safavid ruler (1582), a period of two hundred years, its history is almost a

blank. In 1603 some Armenian chiefs appealed to Shah Abbas for protection against

the Ottoman Turks. The Shah invaded Armenia and devastated the area to stop

Ottomans from gaining access to provisions. Armenians were driven before the

Persian soldiery to the banks of the Aras River, near Julfa. Their cities and villages

were depopulated and were allocated in forced settlements. Convents were

plundered, and their inmates driven out. Thousands of captives were forced to cross

the Aras without proper transports. Thousands died and two Armenian chiefs werebeheaded to hasten the progress and their beautiful women were carried off to

Persian harems.

Only around 5000 made it to Julfa in Isfahan, where they were granted protection

and privileges, such as the freedom to practice their faith in their own segregated

neighborhoods. More were followed and there were also some Georgians who were

forced to settle in Iran as well. Both Armenians and Georgians were scattered

through Central Persia, and some of their descendants still live in villages and towns

in Isfahan and in the Bakhtiyari region. A colony of seven thousand was planted at

Ashraf, in Mazanderan, where majority were destroyed by malaria; the survivingpopulation was sent back to Armenia later on. The Armenians were master



craftsmen and artists and their colony at Julfa prospered and became wealthy,

though they were not given any political power.

Under the Safavid kings, the Christians of Azarbaijan and Transcaucasia suffered a

lot from the wars between Ottomans and Persians. Both banks of the Aras were

generally in the hands of the Persians. Some of the shahs were tolerant, and theChristians prospered; some overtaxed them. The last, Shah Sultan Husayn,

oppressed them: he repealed the law of retaliation, whereby a Christian could exact

equivalent punishment from a Muslim criminal. He enacted that the price of a

Christian's blood should be the payment of a load of grain. Subsequent periods were

as bad. Julfa was subjected to great suffering at the time of the invasion of the

Afghan leader Mahmood. The city was captured, and a ransom of seventy thousand

tomans and fifty of the fairest and best-born maidens exacted. The grief of the

Armenians was so heartrending that many of the Afghans were moved to pity and

returned the captives. When Mahmood subsequently became a maniac theArmenian priests were called in to pray over him and exorcise the evil spirit.

The history of Christianity in Iran enters a new phase with the attempts by The

Nestorians to join the Catholic Church and the arrival of Christian missionaries in

Iran. In 1233 the Nestorian Catholicos sent to Pope Gregory 1X an orthodox

profession of faith and was admitted to union with the Church of Rome. The

subsequent patriarchs confirmed this union and eventually Nestorianism was

renounced and several thousand Persian Nestorians became Catholics and changed

their name to Chaldean Christians, and because of Turkish persecution, chose

Urumiah in Persia as the center for the patriarch. The following Christian leaders allremained faithful to Rome with their patriarchal see at Urumiah and Khosrowa. By

the 17th century there were some 200,000 Christians in Iran, however as of 1670 the

relations between the Persian patriarch and Rome were severed once again, mainly

due to pressure by the Christians who had remained loyal to Nestorianism and

though there were attempts by some patriarchs to re-establish links with Rome the

gap between the two widens.

At the end the Nestorians completely severed their relations with Rome, and

transferred their patriarchal residence from Urumiah to Kotchanes, in Kurdistan

(Iraq). Meanwhile, the Chaldeans who remained faithful to the Catholic Faith,selected an independent Catholic patriarch, Joseph I, who was confirmed by Pope

Innocent and was given the title of "Patriarch of Babylon", i.e., of Seleucia-

Ctesiphon, the ancient patriarchal see of the Nestorian Church. In 1695 he resigned

and went to Rome, where he shortly afterwards died. His successors were Joseph II,

III, IV, V, and VI, all belonging to the same family of Mar Denha. They governed the

Chaldean Church during the eighteenth century, and their patriarchal residence was

transferred from Persia to Mesopotamia - to Diarbekir, Mosul, and Amida

successively. By 1900 the Chaldean patriarch of Babylon had 5 archdioceses and 10

dioceses, with around 100,000 followers and moved their center to Baghdad.



The first missionaries arrived at the time of Moguls in the 13th and 14 centuries both

in Central Asia and in Persia and did not succeed. In the early part of the

seventeenth century, the kings of Persia sought friendly relations with Europe. This

gave a new impetus to Catholic missionary enterprise, and Carmelite, Minorite, and

Jesuit missionaries were sent and were well received by Shah Abbas the Great. He

allowed them to establish missionary stations all through his dominion and Isfahan

became a popular center for missionary work. Soon others such as Augustinians and

Capuchins arrived. They enlarged their missionary field, extending it to Armenians

and for the first time openly to Muslims. The most distinguished of these

missionaries was Father de Rhodes of Avignon, known as 'The Saint' who was so

popular that the Shah, his court and many ordinary people in Isfahan attended his

funeral in 1646. Under Shah Sultan Husayn and later on Nadir Shah persecutions

started again. The missionaries were forced to flee, and thousands of Christians

were compelled either to migrate or to apostatize.

The second epoch of Catholic missionary work in Persia begin in 1840 by the

Lazarists and started with a French civil servant Eugene Bori, a fervent Catholic, he

was sent to Persia in 1838 on a scientific mission by the French Academy and the

Minister of Public Instruction. He founded four schools, two in Tabriz and Isfahan for

the Armenians, and two in Urumiah and Salmas for the Chaldeans. They were joined

later on by the French Sisters of Charity and other priests who took over the schools

founded by Bori. The establishment of a new French representative at the Persian

Court helped and the Lazarists were permitted by the Persian Government to

continue their work unmolested and one of their priests Father Luzel became a great

favorite with Mizra Aghasi, the prime minister at the Qajar court. They built a newseminary and a large new church and trained new priests by teaching them Latin,

French, Syriac, and Armenian, as well as theology. Besides the seminary, two other

colleges were opened, one for boys, the other for girls, the latter under the care and

direction of the Sisters of Charity. To these were soon added one hospital and one

orphan asylum, where all including Muslims were admitted. Nasr-ed-Din Shah

allocated a yearly allowance of 200 tomans ($400) towards the maintenance of the

two institutions. Soon after, two more hospitals were opened, one at Urumiah and

one at Khosrowa. By late 19th century most missionaries expanded to Tehran and

established schools, churches and hospitals at the capital. The missionary schools

were instrumental in providing modern thought and education for the Iranians andthey were the first who established girls' schools in Iran.

Catholics were not the only Christian group interested in missionary work in Iran. The

earliest Protestant missionaries Moravians arrived in 1747 but had to withdraw

because of political disturbances. The next missioner was Henry Martin, a chaplain

in the British army in India, who, in 1811, went to Shiraz and completed his Persian

translation of the New Testament in this city. The German missionary Reverend

Pfander arrived in 1829 and in his famous books Mohammedanism and "Mizan-ul-

Haag" (The Balance of Truth), argued in favor of the superiority of Christianity over

Islam. American Protestant missionaries arrived in1830s. They established a school



in Urumiah but like most other non-Catholic missionaries lost many adherents to the

Catholic missionaries.

The first successful Protestant missionary attempt took place in 1834, when the

American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions (Congregational)

commissioned Justin Perkins and Asahel Grant (1835) and their wives to establish amission among the Persian Nestorians. Between 1834 and 1871 some fifty-two

missionaries were sent by this organization into Iran with several physicians. In 1870

their work was transferred to the Board of Missions of the American Presbyterian

Church, and the mission was divided into those of the Eastern and Western Persia,

the former including Tabriz, Tehran, Hamadan, Rasth, Ghazwin, and Kirmanshah:

the latter, the Province of Azarbedjan (Urumiah, Khosrowa) and parts of Kurdistan,

Caucasus, and Armenia. By 1910 the American missionaries managed to establish

62 schools and 4 hospitals educating and providing health care for both Christians

and Muslims. More missionaries arrived from other countries including Russia andthey managed to convert several thousand Nestorians into the Russian Orthodox

Church. The converts were motivated to seek Russia's protection against sporadic

persecutions by the Muslim rulers of Iran and religious authorities.

The end of the 19th century is the beginning of fundamental changes in Iran and the

start of the Constitutional Revolution. Christian partisans such as Yaprem Khan, his

daughter Setareh along with other minorities participated in the movement. They

were instrumental in forming the first multiethnic Secret Society of 1905, which

began the debate on political change. Jews, Christians, Bahai and Zoroastrians

fought hard with the constitutionalists to form a National Consultative Majlis insteadof an Islamic Majlis as demanded by the religious hierarchy. Along with other

religious minorities they succeeded in their efforts to ratify laws that gave equality to

Muslim and non-Muslim (male) citizens in 1907 and defined a new concept of

Nationality not based on religious origins (with the exception of Bahai who were not

recognized). The constitution of 1906 put an end to the segregation of religious

minorities, but it was at the time of Reza Shah and the next Shah that they were able

to freely integrate in the larger Iranian society.

According to this constitution Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians had the right to elect

one delegate each to the Majlis, but they could not participate in elections of otherdelegates. The constitution also prohibited non-Shiite Muslims from becoming a

member of the Government. This was ignored by the Pahlavi regime and there were

non-Muslim high government officials even Bahai by the 1970's.

The Islamic Revolution of 1979 guarantees religious freedom of the Christians, Jews

and Zoroastrians. According to the new constitution the religious minorities are

permitted to follow their own religious laws in matters of marriage, divorce and

inheritance. The constitution also made Shariat the legal code and therefore gender

and religious discriminations are an integral part of the system. Bahai once again are

not recognized at all, Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians each have their ownrepresentative at the Parliament and are not legally forbidden from employment in



the government sector. But since the authorities only employ Muslims and a 'Shariat

test' is required, in reality these people are once again barred from working for the

government.

Iran's indigenous Christians include an estimated 250,000 Armenians, some 32,000

Assyrians, and a small number of Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant Iraniansconverted by missionaries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Armenians

are predominantly urban and are concentrated in Tehran and Isfahan; smaller

communities exist in Tabriz, Arak, and other cities. They are the largest Christian

community in Iran and their leader Archbishop Manukian resides in Tehran.

A majority of the Assyrians are also urban, although there are still several Assyrian

villages in the Lake Urmiah region. Although Armenians and Assyrians have

encountered individual prejudice, they have not been subjected to mass

persecutions except for the murder of a few priests during the last decade. In the

twentieth century, Christians in general have participated in the economic and sociallife of Iran. The Armenians, especially, achieved a relatively high standard of living

and maintained a large number of parochial primary and secondary schools.

Since the revolution the administration of the Christian schools has been a source of

tension between Christians and the government. The Ministry of Education has

insisted that the principals of such schools be Muslims, that all religious courses

should be taught in Persian, that any Christian literature classes have government

approval, and that all female students observe hejab inside the schools.

In the 20th century a nationalistic movement amongst all Assyrians started in theregion and there have been attempts by different Assyrian groups to reunite. The

patriarchal seat of the Church of the East since World War II has been moved to

Chicago, U.S.A. Civic organizations have emerged in both "Nestorian" and

"Jacobite" centers with publications to promote national unity. During First World War

the Assyrians joined the Allies in the hope of attaining sovereignty in their ancient

homeland in case of an Allied victory. This antagonized the Turks and the Persians,

and resulted in the massacre of great numbers of Assyrians and their uprooting from

their homes in Persia and Turkey. Since the revolution like other Iranians massive

immigration of Christians has reduced their numbers nevertheless many have

remained in Iran and still participate in the social and economic activities of the

country despite restrictions.

Most Christians in Iran celebrate Christmas according to the traditions of the Eastern

Church. As of December first they start what is known as the "Little Fast." By

avoiding eating animal products. The Eastern Christians celebrate Christmas on

January 6th according to the Julian calendar but many churches have services on

December 25th as well. The Christmas dinner is called the "Little Feast" and a

traditional dish is a chicken stew called harasa, Turkey dinners are becoming

popular as well. Gifts were generally not exchanged but children received new cloths

for the occasion, however gift giving has become a routine and children enjoy both



gifts and new cloths. Lighting candles, decorating the Christmas tree and singing

hymns, marks the holiday and family and friends are visited.

The Assyrian New Year is celebrated on April 1st, Kha B'Nissan, based on ancient

pre-Christian traditions of Assyria. However as Christians, Assyrians celebrate the

major Christian holidays including Easter and Christmas according to the Easterntraditions. Easter is seen as the theologically most important holiday as it

commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Consequently, it is called Eida Gura

or big holiday. Christmas, commemorating the birth of Christ, is called Eida Sura or

small holiday. Other Christians celebrate the season according to the traditions of

the Western Church. New Year's Eve was celebrated with grandeur In Iran before

the revolution and all major hotels had huge and elaborate parties open to all

including the Muslims. Since the revolution Christians can only celebrate New Year

in their own clubs and neighborhoods and officially Muslims are barred from

participating, nevertheless many still join their Christian friends at private parties for atime of merry and joy.



THE PEOPLE OF IRAN

People of IranResource: prayirannow

The Door of Persian world is Wide-openedFor hundreds of years Islam has had the door locked shut on Muslims under its grip... but there's change in the

wind. A new day has dawned and now, right now, a strategic opportunity lies before us, and we dare not let it slip

through our fingers. For the first time in modern history, there is openness to whole concept of freedom in Persiancountries of the world, and yet the battle for hearts and minds is being waged.

NOW IS THE TIME... for individuals who know first-hand of the saving power of Jesus Christ, and know the

difference He can make in an individual's life, to join with us to reach Muslims around the Iran, Afghanistan.. With

God's liberating message of hope and salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are currently reaching more

than 70 million Muslims and Persian speaking on a weekly basis true TV and Internet ministries.

Kurds

Location: Kurds everywhere in the world dream of a day when they can possess "Kurdistan," an area that

includes land within the borders of Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Armenia. While Palestinians command most of

the media's attention, the Kurds remain the largest people group without a sovereign homeland. Diyarbakir, in

southeastern Turkey is widely accepted as the ancient capital of the Kurds.

History: The Kurds are among the world's oldest civilizations. They have lived along the Tigris and Euphrates

Rivers in Mesopotamia for at least the last 3,000 years.

7th Century- Arabs sweep into the area and conquer the Kurds. This begins for the Kurds centuries of living

under the rule of others. The Seljuk Turks, Mongols, and the Safavid dynasty later occupy the land. In the late

13th century, the Ottoman Empire takes control.

1923 A.D.- Turkey is recognized as an independent nation, and the Treaty of Lausanne is signed. Under the

terms of the treaty, Turkey is no longer obligated to grant Kurdish autonomy. The treaty divides the Kurdish

region between Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.

1946 A.D.- Iranian Kurds set up the short-lived Mahabad Republic with Soviet backing. It is swiftly crushed by

Iran. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) is founded and is dedicated to the creation of an independent

Kurdistan.

1979 A.D.- Iran's Islamic revolution sparks a Kurdish revolt in Iran that is then quickly snuffed out by Iran.

1988 A.D.- Iraq retaliates against Iraqi Kurds for supporting Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, and through the "al-

Anfal" ("spoils of war") campaign, slaughters thousands of civilians and displaces 1.5 million people. Thousands

flee to Turkey.

2004 A.D.- In March, Syrian Kurds riot and fight with police for several days after a brawl at a soccer game. Itwas Syria's worst unrest in decades.



Languages: Kurds, more than most ethnic groups hold tightly to their culture and language. While the Kurds of

Iran speak Farsi, most consider their mother tongue Kurdish. There are several dialects of Kurdish, including,

Kurmanji, Zaza, Sorani and Badanani. Kurmanji and Sorani are the major sub-dialects. Most of the Iranian Kurds

speak Sorani Kurdish.

Population: While numbers vary, it is believed that there are about 40 million Kurds living in the "Kurdistan"

region. There are about 18 million in Turkey, 12 million in Iran, 6 million in Iraq, 1 million in Syria, and 500,000 in

Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia.

There are also large Kurdish populations in Europe. San Diego and Nashville have become home to many Kurds

who were displaced during the first Gulf War in 1991.

Lifestyle: Kurds have generally led a rural lifestyle as shepherds and farmers. They are also renowned for their

carpets and handicrafts.

This is changing in Turkey and Iraq as civil unrest has forced the Kurds from the villages to the cities. Unfamiliar

with life in urban areas, the Kurdish men, women and children are forced to take menial jobs or sell produce. The

more zealous Kurds keep their children out of school to keep them from ideas that they fear might dilute their

Kurdish identity.Spiritual Identity: After 14 centuries of Islamic influence, most Kurds are either Sunni or Alevi Muslims. The

Alevi Muslims are more tolerant and accepting of other beliefs. While Sunnis, which in Arabic means, "one who

follows the traditions of the Prophet," are obviously more conservative.

In Iraq and Armenia, there is a small sect of religiously distinct Kurds, called Yezidi Kurds. Yezidi Kurds fear and

worship Malaki Tawis, (believed by some to be synonymous with Lucifer) rather than Allah. Yezidi Kurds believe

that God, as a disinterested creator, gave them over to Malaki Tawis. Yezidi Kurds live their lives in dread of

Malaki Tawis.

Status of Christianity: In many cases, cultural pride takes a clear precedence over religious conviction and that

pride becomes a barrier to the gospel. The number of Christian materials available in the different Kurdish

dialects is growing as interest in the Kurds' spiritual welfare rises. In spite of the availability of these materials,

response to the gospel among the Kurds has been slow.

There is also constant hostility between the Sunni Muslim Kurds in the north and the Shiite Muslim Kurds farther

south

The NorthwestLocation: The Northwest region of Iran is made up of five provinces, which includes West Azerbaijan, East

Azerbaijan, Gillian, Mazanderan, and Gilaki. The major cities of Northwest Iran are Tabriz, Orumieh and Rasht.

History: Some historians believe that this area pre-dates Mesopotamia, which is considered one of the earliest

civilizations.

Some archaeologists believe that the West Azerbaijan province is actually the Garden of Eden because of its

location in relation to the four rivers mentioned in Genesis.

530 B.C.- The rule of King Cyrus the Great ends (559-530 B.C.).

858 A.D.- Tabriz destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake.

13th century- The city of Rasht is first settled.

1500's A.D- Provinces are sites of fierce fighting between Ottoman and Persian Empires. Between wars and

natural disasters the area suffers great losses.

1826 A.D.- Russians invade and occupy Northwest Iran.

1918: Most of Orumieh's Armenian Christian population leaves the city. Most of the remainders were massacred



by Ottoman troops.

1990 A.D.- A 7.7 earthquake rocks northwest Iran, killing over 50,000 people.

Languages: Farsi is spoken by almost everyone in the northwest. Also spoken are Azeri, Mazanderani, and

Turkmen. Azeri and Turkmen are Turkic languages and can be understood by Turkish speakers with little

difficulty. The Azeri language is so close to Turkish that the Azeri people are known as "Turks" in Iran.

Population: The population of the northwest provinces of Iran is about 17 million. Azeris, who mostly live in the

northwest provinces, make up 25 percent of Iran's total population. Tabriz, the area's largest city has a population

of 1.2 million.

Lifestyle: Over half of the people of northwest Iran l ive in the cities of the region. Even the city dwellers are

forced to grow some produce. The rest of the people in northwest Iran either live in villages or in nomadic tribes.

Most of the people work either in industry or agriculture. Many of the people of northwest Iran have become

successful merchandisers in Iranian Bazaars.

Spiritual Identity: More than anywhere else in Iran, the northwest provinces have some spiritual diversity. The

area is the birthplace of Zoroastianism and the Baha'i faith. There is also a residual Armenian influence left fromthe Armenians who were forced to evacuate after World War One. Orumieh has the largest per capita Christian

population in Iran.

The Bab, founder of the Babi Islamic sect, which evolved into the Baha'i religion, was executed along with 40,000

followers in 1850 in Tabriz. Baha'is are nonviolent and incorporate other beliefs into their own. The Baha'i of Iran

suffer more religious persecution than any other religion in Iran.

These days, in spite of the spiritual variety in northwest Iran's history, most everyone is a Shiite Muslim.

Status of Christianity: Northwest Iran still has fingerprints from Christian influences from Russia and Armenia.

Evangelical Christianity, vastly different from the orthodox Christianity, is slowly gaining ground. Men and women

are working to spread the Gospel among the Azeri, Gilaki, Mazanderani, Talesh, and Turkmen peoples of

northwest Iran.

The Jesus film has been shown in the provinces. There are a few evangelical churches in the region. The New

Testament, Christian literature, and God's Story, have been translated into Azeri. Christian recordings, Bibles and

radio broadcasts are also available in the northwest provinces. At least two missions agency are reaching out to

the people of northwest Iran.

Tehran

Location: Tehran is situated in the northern part of Iran, about 1,200 meters above sea level and just south of

the Alboroz Mountain Range. The city sits in a valley, making it susceptible to air pollution (like Denver). The

Jajrud and the Karaj Rivers run on each side of the city. The capital forms its own province, also called Tehran.

History: 1221: Tehran is established as the most important regional town after the city of Rayy is destroyed by the

Mongols.

1722: Tehran is raided and occupied by the Afghans.

1729: Nadir Shah liberates Tehran from Afghans.

1788: Agha Mohammad Khan, the head of the Qajar dynasty, makes Tehran the capital of Persia.

1925: Shah Reza Pahlavi takes over as the Qajar dynasty crumbles. The new Shah begins to ambitiously

develop Iran's capital.

1979: Shah is overthrown in people's revolt. Students and young people storm American embassy and hold 52

Americans hostage for over 400 days.

1999: State of the art Tehran metro opens.



Languages: The majority of the people speak Farsi (Persian) in Tehran. There are also a number of people who

speak Armenian, English, French and Russian.

Population: The population of Tehran is said to be anywhere from 10 to 14 million people. Most of Tehran's

inhabitants are Persians, but Azeris represent 25 percent of the population. Other important minority groups

include Kurds and Gilakis. Tehran is about 99 percent Muslim while the remaining percent consists of Christians,

Zoroastrians and Jews.

Lifestyle: Tehran is a shadow of it's pre-revolution self when it was one of the most modern cities outside of the

Western Hemisphere. Still, Tehran remains the economic, political and social capital of Iran. Tehran is filled with

historic sites, theaters and museums. In addition, Tehran has no fewer than 40 institutions of higher learning.

Tehran stays connected to the west through the Internet and satellite television (which is deemed illegal). Tehran

sadly grapples with the problems of most mega-cities. Prostitution and drug abuse are rampant and the divorce

rate is said to be near 60 percent.

Spiritual Identity: Tehran, possibly more than anywhere else in Iran is going through a spiritual identity crisis of

sorts. Young men and women have become disillusioned with Islam and have begun to search elsewhere for

truth. Many have embraced Zoroastrianism while others have looked eastward to New Age religions. Still, a goodnumber have.

Status of Christianity: Even as Iran returns to a more conservative time and brakes are put on reforms, the

churches of Tehran are full and vibrant. Church leaders while cautious, report that every Friday (the traditional

day of worship in Iran) their congregations are filled to capacity. One church has had to provide five services to

accommodate the swelling numbers of attendees. Also in force is the underground church, which too is growing.

Recently Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ was shown in Tehran movie theaters.

A Tehran native living outside of Iran recently reflected on what he would do if Iran would open up, "The first thing

I would tell them is that Jesus loves them and that he is their only hope." Citizens of Tehran are hearing that

message every day in churches and on satellite television.

Eastern

Location: The eastern provinces of Iran make up a large portion of Iran's land. The eastern provinces

encompass large deserts and mountain ranges. Some of the important areas of the region include Kerman,

Sistan, Baluch, and Mashhad. Mashhad is considered Iran's holiest city.

History: 3000 B.C. - Evidence unearthed shows that Baluchistan province was inhabited as far back as 3000

B.C.

312 B.C. - During Alexander the Great's reign, Bahman Pour Gashasb establishes the Arg-e Bam kingdom in

Bam in southeast Iran. People lived in the ancient citadel up until almost 200 years ago.

3rd Century - Ardeshir I, founder of the Sassanian dynasty, settles the area of Kerman. In the past, the area has

been referred to as "Karmania," "Kermania" and "Zhermanya," meaning bravery and combat.

9th Century - Imam Reza is poisoned and martyred in the city of Sanabad. Reza was the eighth Imam and

spiritual leader of the Shi'ite Muslims. Many Iranians believe Reza to be the Imam of all Muslims. After Reza's

murder, the city is renamed Mashhad, which means "place of martyrdom."

1839-1841 - Britain enters into war with Afghanistan, which ends in disaster. The war spills over and involves the

people of southeastern Iran.

1958 - The Sultan of Oman, changing the border and size of Iran, sells Gwadar, in the Baluchistan province, to

Pakistan.

1968- Town of Ferdows is leveled by earthquake, killing 2000 people



2003- A deadly earthquake hits the city of Bam. The earthquake kills more than 40,000 people and leaves

hundreds of thousands homeless and destitute.

Languages: Among the 10 million people in the eastern provinces, Farsi is most widely spoken. However,

among the different tribes, their own languages are spoken. The Baluch speak Baluchi, which is also spoken in

neighboring Pakistan.

Population: While the eastern provinces comprise one-third of Iran's landmass, there are only about 10 million

people living in the rugged eastern provinces.

Lifestyle: While much of the eastern provinces have breathtaking scenery, there is little in the way of industry

and economic advance. Springtime in Kerman Province means mountains full of tulips and poppies. These

flowers are too often used for heroin and opium. The eastern provinces are the most remote and poorest areas of

Iran. With little hope of employment, a large number of young people turn to drugs for escape from the harsh

realities of life.

The industries of the area include metals, pistachios, dried fruit, carpets, dates, and decorative stones.

Spiritual Identity: With the eastern provinces so remote and difficult to control, many people here have either

become nominal Muslims or held onto their traditional beliefs. The most common non-Muslim belief in the area isZoroastrianism.

Zoroastrianism emphasizes monotheism, man's free will, resurrection, final judgment, heaven (the word

"paradise" comes from Old Persian), and hell. It also teaches about an almighty, kind, loving and forgiving God.

Much of Zoroastrianism significantly influenced Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

On the other hand, Mashhad is considered the holiest of all cities. Every year, Mashhad sees millions of pilgrims

coming to pay homage to Imam Reza, father of the Shi'ite sect of Islam.

Thanks to the harsh conditions of the eastern provinces, there is also a fatalistic view of god and faith. One man,

who had lost scores of family members in a recent earthquake, viewed his aching loss as fate determined by an

unconcerned god. He accepted his bleak and hopeless future as his own.

Status of Christianity: In the past there have never been more than 100 believers in the region. These days,

that is changing. According to some evangelical organizations, there are over 80 Christian fellowships made up

entirely of Muslim-background believers.

Against the backdrop of a tragic disaster, a local man watched as American believers provided food, water and

shelter to earthquake victims. As he observed how they did their exhausting work without complaint and with

loving spirits, questions began to form in his mind. His questions were answered by another Iranian, "They came

here to help people, and they do all they do because they love people, which is what Jesus tells them to do."

The man watched for a few more days and approached the same Iranian believer with one more question, "How

can I become a Christian like these men?"

Central ProvincesLocation: The Persian Central Provinces (PCEN) consists of five provinces in the central part of Iran. These five

provinces include Esfahan, Hamedan, Markazi, Semnan and Qom. The region is composed of an urban center in

the city of Esfahan, foothills, plains, rich farmland, and the Zagros, Alborz, and Rasvand mountain ranges.

History: 1000 B.C. - Zoroaster becomes one of the first teachers to consider such things as monotheism, man's

free will, resurrection, final judgment, heaven (the word "paradise" comes from Old Persian) and hell. Zoroaster

also taught about an almighty, kind, loving and forgiving God. He believed man's salvation in life and in the

afterlife could only be ensured through Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds. Many of these concepts

had a significant influence on Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

549 B.C. - Cyrus the Great defeats Astayages, last king of the Medes in Hamedan (Ecbatana). Cyrus soon



afterwards allows Jewish exiles to rebuild temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1). The Jews regard Cyrus as 'the Lord's

anointed'.

9th Century - City of Qom is founded and quickly becomes an important city in Muslim world.

1387 - Tamerlane invades Esfahan. Before subduing the city, the Mongol emperor and his men kill more than

70,000 of Esfahan's citizens.

1979 - Military forces loyal to Shah of Iran surrender to revolutionary militia ending Shah's dynasty. Ayatollah

Khomeni returns to Qom from exile and makes it the seat of power.

Languages: Farsi is the predominant language spoken in the PCEN. There are, however, several ethnic

minorities residing in the region who speak their respective "heart languages" such as Armenian, Romany, and

Arabic.

Population: There are over seven million people living in the PCEN. Some of these seven million people include

Jews, Gypsies and Armenians.

Lifestyle: Esfahan is one of Iran's top tourist destinations with its markets, history and beautiful landmarks. The

tourist trade drives much of the city's economy. Other Esfahan citizens are either employed in administrative or

industrial work. In other parts of the PCEN most agriculture constitutes the people's main business where theland is conducive to growing things.

Spiritual Identity: The majority of people living in the PCEN are Shia Muslims. There are those among the ethnic

minorities who do not claim Islam as part of their religious identity. The Armenians profess a traditional or

apostolic Christianity and the Jews cling to their Judaic heritage.

Status of Christianity: The central provinces of Iran are home to dozens of historical churches. The fact that

these churches are merely museums is testament to the lack of Christian influence in central Iran. The Christian

fire has not completely gone out...

Recently, a believer in one of the central provinces was in a store and he noticed a cashier reading a book. Upon

closer inspection, the believer noticed that the cashier was actually reading a Bible. Buoyed by finding another

believer, the two men agreed to meet to study the Bible.

Nomads

Location: The central and southern provinces are home to the Nomads of Iran. During the winter, the Nomads

move from the hills into the dry arid plains of central and southern Iran.

History: 11th Century- The Qashqa'i begin entering Iran from central Asia

14th Century- The Bakhtiari arrive from Syria.

Mid-18th Century- Karim Khan Zand, ruler of southern Iran, appoints a Qashqa'i as tribal leader of a province.

The Qashqa'i name means "those of a horse with a white-starred forehead" or "those who fled."

1930's- Reza Shah exiles, imprisons or executes nomadic leadership. The Shah goes on to confiscate their

pastures and uses the military to stop their nomadic lifestyle and enforce dress codes.

1941- Allied forces banish Reza Shah and the nomads of Iran resume their nomadic lifestyle.

1957- A Tribal Teachers' Training School in Shiraz is established, assuring that tribal identities will be

encouraged rather than erased.

Languages: The Qashqa'i language, which is unwritten, is linguistically similar to Azeri (Azerbaijani). Most of the

Qashqa'i can communicate in Farsi, which is the national language of Iran. The Qashqa'i call their language

"Turki."

The Bakhtiari speak a dialect of Persian called Luri and are Shiite Muslims. Politically the tribe used to form a

confederacy under a chief appointed by the shah, but this position has now been abolished. The confederacy

was most effective in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the Bakhtiari played an important role on the



national level in Iran's constitutional movement. More recently many tribesmen have left the traditional way of life

for employment in the oil industry in the cities.

Population: There are said to be over three million nomads living in Iran. Within these three million people there

are over 500 Tribes and independent clans.

Lifestyle: The Nomads of Iran travel with their livestock according to seasonal weather. As they settle in the

central provinces they live in large, black goatskin tents. While they subsist from their agrarian efforts, much of

their income is from the tourist trade. Handicrafts and leatherworks are popular among tourists. However, the

Nomads, particularly the Quashqa'i, are famous for their carpets.

Nomads often define their group and clans in terms of tents. The Nomads use the word "Tent" as a denotation for

their home.

Spiritual Identity: Like most Iranians, the Nomads claim to be Shia Muslims, although few are practicing

Muslims. In national political skirmishes, nomadic leaders have allied themselves with the Muslim clergy. While

they keep the Islamic traditions when observing marriage and death, very few observe daily prayers. Neither do

many fast during Ramadan the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Status of Christianity: The Nomads of Iran live their lives closed off from mainstream society. Reaching themwith the gospel has proved to be challenging. However, people are bringing the message to the Nomads. The

bible, God's Story and the Jesus film are among the resources in the languages of the Nomads of Iran.

There are a few believers among the Iranians. Those believers long for a church where they can be with other

brothers and sisters in Christ.

In an attempt to help Nomads deal with their harsh economic situations, Christian businessmen have begun to

work with Nomads to help develop Nomad businesses.

Iranian Arabs

Location: Iranian Arab communities are known to be in five locations.1. In Kuwait along the Kuwait/Iran border.

2. In Iraq along the Iraq/Iran border and especially in the city of Basra.

3. Three provinces along the Persian Gulf: Khuzestan, Bushehr, and Hormozgan.

Most Iranian Arabs live in the southern regions of Iran with the majority living in the southwestern province of

Khuzestan while others live along the coast of the Persian Gulf.

History: 636-642 AD: The Arabs are believed to descend from Abraham's son Ishmael. Until the seventh century

A.D., they lived almost entirely in the Arabian Peninsula. In that century, the "prophet" Mohammed founded the

religion of Islam, and the Arabs began a process of conquest that would spread them, their language, and their

culture across much of Africa and Asia. As they migrated, many Arabs settled in Persia. The Arab conquest

changed the whole course of Iranian history. Islam, the religion of the conquerors, superseded the ancient Iranian

faith, Zoroastrianism. Arabic, the language of the conquerors, replaced Iranian (Persian) as the administrative

and cultural language of Iran for nearly five centuries.

1980-1988: During the Iraqi-Iranian War, Iranian Arabs sought to break away and create their own state. This

desire manifested itself when Iranian Arabs stormed London's Iranian embassy demanding autonomy for their

southern region of Khuzestan (April 30, 1980). The Iranian government publicly denounced the take-over. The

group, which claimed responsibility for the siege, the Arab Popular Movement in Arabistan, gave a number of

press conferences in the following months, referring to what it described as "the racist rule of Khomeini". The

British police eventually quelled the takeover.

May 2003: War: USA/IRAQ: Hundreds of Iranian Arab refugees were stranded at a desolate border crossing in

Iraq living in makeshift huts made from crates, blankets and corrugated iron and waiting for permission to cross



the frontier into Iran. Most of the refugees had lived in Iraq for more than two decades, since the start of the

1980-88 Iran-Iraq War. Following the fall of Saddam Hussein, hundreds of Iranian Arab refugees were driven

from their homes near the Iraqi city of Al-Kut by armed gangs of Iraqis who said the land belonged to them.

Languages: (Arabic dialects) Iranian Arabs have retained their Arabic language and many of their old customs,

but they have lost some of their ethnological characteristics. There is no linguistic family relationship between

Arabic and Persian, although Persian vocabulary has been heavily influenced by Arabic and is written in Arabic

script.

Population: Between 1.5 and 2 million in the Gulf provinces of Iran (approximately 3% of Iranian population) and

close to 500,000 in Iraq and Kuwait.

Lifestyle: Iranian Arab in urban areas may be employed as bureaucrats, technicians, and industrialists. In

contrast, the Iranian Arab living in rural areas continue to practice a traditional lifestyle, resisting change in any

form. Daily lives are governed by values and rules of conduct that are centuries old. Villagers are loyal to their

communities, have high standards of hospitality, and tend to place great emphasis on family honor. They are

mostly farmers and fishermen and many of those that live along the Persian Gulf coastal plains are pastoral

nomads who keep herds of cattle, sheep, and camels. The Persian Gulf coastal provinces contain most of Iran'soil reserves so naturally many are employed in the agriculture and oil industries.

Spiritual Identity: Most ethnic groups in Iran are Shiite Muslims. Iranian Arabs are about 40% Shiite and 60%

Sunni.

Who are the Sunnis?

Sunnis are Muslims who are considered the more "orthodox" believers. Sunnis follow all of the most traditional

beliefs and actions.

Who are the Shi'ites?

The term Shi'a is a shortened form of Shi'at Ali, which means "the party of Ali" - and at the time of Ali's death in

661, that is probably all it was: a party or tendency of people who supported Ali's claims to the caliphate. Over

time, they became the largest non-Sunni sect in Islam.

A Sect common among the Iranian Arabs: Alawis. The term Alawis actually just means "followers of Ali." Alawis is

so far from traditional Islam that many Muslims do not recognize them as Islamic. For example they believe in an

incarnation - the idea that God can be made flesh, for example in the case of Ali who is believed to have created

Muhammad.

Status of Christianity: Currently an accurate accounting of believers in the coastal provinces is unknown. As for

the Scriptures, it is unclear whether Farsi or standard Gulf Arabic translations of Scripture are sufficient to reach

Iranian Arabs. If another Arabic dialect is necessary the following statistics are revealing. There are no Scriptures

available, no known recordings, no Jesus film or other forms of media. Only one mission agency works with the

Arabs of Iran. The spiritual climate is closed to the gospel, though it appears the country at large is increasingly

disillusioned with Islam and is open to an alternative. In spite of this increased level of receptivity, those who

follow Jesus Christ will face moderate to severe persecution.

Iranian RefugeesLocation: Iranians live literally all over the world. There are large numbers of Iranians living in Western Europe

and the United States, particularly in the Los Angeles area. There are also many Iranians living in Turkey.

History: 6th Century BC - Iranians under Achaemenid rule begin colonizing non-Persian areas of the empire.

4th Century BC - Alexander the Great conquers Persia and Iranians outside of Persia find themselves cut off

from their home.

7th Century AD - Arabs, who quickly transform the country into an Islamic state, raid Iran.1970's - Claiming religious persecution, the Bahai begin leaving the country.



1980's - Following the 1979 revolution, Iranians leave in large numbers, fleeing the strict rule of the Islamic

Republic of Iran.

2003- Iran is declared to have the highest rate of "brain drain" (the exodus of young, well educated men and

women). Over 150,000 educated Iranians leave Iran every year.

Languages: Iranians who live outside of Iran quickly become fluent in their host language. These languages

include English, German, Dutch, French and Arabic.

Population: There are millions of Iranians who live outside of Iran. There are no fewer than 100,000 in Turkey

alone. In recent years, Canada has accepted the highest numbers of Iranian refugees.

Lifestyle: Once Iranians become legal residents of their host country, they generally assimilate into the local

culture and society.

Life for refugees is difficult with long days of inactivity and feelings of being unwanted. Their sense of worth

erodes as they come from a well-to-do life to a life of squalor and poverty. Refugees who have not been

recognized as asylum seekers live under the stress of being caught by police and in turn being deported back to

Iran. Undocumented refugees are forced to take menial jobs and work long hours for little pay. The children ofthese undocumented refugees often do not go to school and suffer from the lack of education.

Spiritual Identity: Since most Iranian expatriates leave Iran to escape government oppression and since Iran's

government is an Islamic theocracy, most of the Iranian Diaspora are non-religious.

Shortly after the beginning of the second Gulf War in May 2003, Iranian refugees in Iraq learned that they would

be welcomed back to Iran. Between 600 and 700 Iranian refugees made the return trek to Iran. As it turned out,

the refugees found themselves trapped in the middle of a minefield. They ended up unable to return home and

unwelcome in Iraq. Many Iranian refugees find themselves in a spiritual no-man's land.

Status of Christianity: Iranians worldwide are responding to the message of Christ. Once they become

believers they often become involved in local churches. Some even begin ministering to other Iranian refugees.

Some Iranian refugees have tried to use the Christian church as a means to securing asylum. A lot of Iranians

have suffered at the hands of religious men, but have found acceptance and unconditional love in Christian

communities.

One refugee left Iran bent on revenge on the men who tortured him and ruined his life. While outside of Iran, he

became a believer when he had a vision of Jesus telling him that he could be forgiven when he would forgive his

tormentors. Recently he was asked what he would do if he could return to Iran. "I would find those who tortured

me and tell them about Jesus' love.

Documents

Iran & the Bible