Help Support Persecuted Christians in the Middle East
This video highlights the severe and escalating persecution faced by the underground Christian church in the Middle East. Recent events, including arrests and deaths, underscore the critical situation. At ICR Canada, we're making an urgent appeal for prayer and financial contributions to provide life-saving aid, encouragement, and resources to those at risk for their faith.
Intensifying Crackdown: Persecuted Christians in the Middle East Surges
The Islamic Republic of Iran has dramatically escalated its crackdown on Christians, particularly targeting converts from Islam and evangelical believers. Over the past year, arrests, prosecutions, and brutal mistreatment have surged, casting a dark shadow over the lives of Iranian Christians. According to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), 2024 saw a disturbing increase in violence, lengthy prison sentences, and systematic repression aimed at silencing religious minorities.
Hadi Ghaemi, CHRI’s executive director, issued a stark warning: “The Christian community in Iran is facing a crisis. The Iranian authorities are abducting growing numbers of Christians and throwing absurd national security charges at them in order to imprison them for years for doing nothing other than peacefully practicing their faith.”
In many of these cases, Christians are accused of “acting against national security” — a broad and vague charge that can result in decades behind bars. Iran’s leaders are growing increasingly fearful of the country’s expanding Christian convert population, viewing them as a perceived threat to the Islamic establishment.
Prison Sentences Multiply: Alarming Rise in Convictions
Statistics from the human rights organization Article18 show that prison sentences for Christians in Iran have skyrocketed. In 2024, Iranian courts issued 263 years in total prison terms to 96 Christians, a staggering increase from the 43.5 years given to 22 individuals the year prior. This marks a six-fold surge in sentencing (Article18, 2024 Persecution Report).
Most of these arrests were conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence branch. Charges often cited include “propaganda against the Islamic Republic” and violations under Article 500 of the Penal Code, amended in 2021 to criminalize “deviant proselytizing activities” that contradict Islamic law. These charges often lead to years-long prison terms, and in some cases, the charge of apostasy, which under Islamic law can carry the death penalty.
The Iranian regime also targets the Christian community through judicial harassment, extended pre-trial detention, and denial of basic legal rights. There are widespread reports of harsh interrogations, solitary confinement, and denial of access to legal counsel. Converts are frequently forced to sign documents renouncing their faith under duress.
Leaked Judiciary Files Reveal Hidden Campaign
A bombshell report from Article18 in mid-2024 provided chilling insight into the scope of this persecution. Leaked files from the Tehran judiciary uncovered 327 individual cases of Christian persecution between 2008 and 2023 — 90% of them involving Christian converts. These numbers only represent cases from Tehran, strongly suggesting the national scale of persecution is far larger (Article18 Judicial Leak Analysis).
Disturbingly, an additional 37 cases involving 96 individuals were identified in Tehran that were not part of the leaked database. This gap underscores how much persecution goes unreported or is buried under layers of bureaucratic secrecy. Notably, 58% of the leaked cases were previously undocumented, revealing the systemic nature of state efforts to conceal the crackdown.
The files detailed a harrowing pattern of abuses:
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Christians are labeled as “deviant sects” and national threats.
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House churches are raided since Christian converts are prohibited from attending recognized churches or establishing new ones.
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Christian worship is criminalized, including Bible study, hymn singing, and charitable activities.
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Promoting Christianity is prosecuted under charges of propaganda.
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Property is confiscated, and Christians are forced to attend “re-education” sessions.
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Travel restrictions and social contact bans are imposed.
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Some are flogged or fined for accepting Christian aid or donating to churches.
This evidence reveals that persecution is not the result of rogue local authorities but a coordinated national strategy rooted in fear of Christianity’s growth inside Iran.
Fear and Repression: The Regime’s Strategy for Control
The Middle East persecution of Christians is not just about religion—it’s about control. “The Islamic Republic is terrified of its growing Christian convert community and is trying to crush it the way it crushes all perceived threats: through sham prosecutions in kangaroo courts, violent brutality, and years locked behind bars,” said Ghaemi of CHRI.
Iran’s constitution does nominally protect Christianity as one of the “recognized” religions. However, this protection applies only to ethnic Armenian and Assyrian Christians — not to Muslim-background converts, who make up the overwhelming majority of Iran’s growing evangelical population.
According to Open Doors USA, Iran is the 8th worst country in the world for Christian persecution in 2024 (Open Doors World Watch List). The Iranian government sees religious conversion as a threat to the regime’s Islamic identity and therefore equates religious activity with political subversion.
The IRGC and Ministry of Intelligence orchestrate crackdowns not only to punish believers but also to intimidate others into silence. The state’s repressive tactics serve a dual purpose: stamping out independent religious expression and reinforcing Islamic orthodoxy as a means of political loyalty.
A Call to Action: International Pressure Needed
Organizations like ICR Canada, CHRI, OpenDoors and Article18 are urging the international community to act swiftly and decisively. In particular, they call upon:
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Foreign governments to demand the immediate release of those imprisoned for peaceful religious activity.
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UN bodies to investigate Iran’s systematic religious persecution and impose accountability measures.
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Churches and Christian NGOs to raise awareness and provide humanitarian support to victims and their families.
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Diplomatic missions in Iran to monitor court cases and offer support to persecuted Christians.
The international community must recognize persecuted Christians in the Middle East is not merely as a violation of religious freedom, but as part of a broader assault on civil society, freedom of belief, and fundamental human rights. Religious liberty is a cornerstone of democratic values—and the silence of the global community only emboldens Iran’s crackdown.
You can help provide support for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ in the Middle East.
Your support can provide critical humanitarian and financial support. Daily lives will be changed for those who claim Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour.
References:
Center for Human Rights in Iran
iranhumanrights.org
Article18: 2024 Report
articleeighteen.com/reports/13712
Open Doors USA: World Watch List 2024
opendoorsusa.org/christian-persecution/world-watch-list/iran/