Christians Sentenced to Death Under Sharia Law

by Majid Rafizadeh • October 14, 2018 at 6:00 am

In response to the latest abuses against Christians, Amnesty International has initiated an "urgent action" appeal. It has called on the Iranian regime to "quash the convictions and sentences of Victor Bet-Tamraz, Shamiram Isavi, Amin Afshar-Naderi, and Hadi Asgari, as they have been targeted solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedoms of religion and belief, expression, and association, through their Christian faith." However there are far more stories of Christian persecution throughout Iran, than just these four.
After significant pressure from legal and human rights groups, the Islamist leaders of Iran commuted Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani's sentence from death to 10 years in prison. He will have 10 years of his life stolen from him, just because he practiced his faith.
What is important to note is that in countries, run by Sharia law, the constitution becomes inferior to the Islamist laws of the land. When radical Islam gains power, every article in the constitution becomes contingent on compliance with sharia. The rights that are promised in the constitution therefore become null and void.
It is not enough to hope that one day Christians will be able to practice their faith in Iran without fear of persecution or death; action must be taken by the global community to ensure that the Iranian regime stands by its own constitution and provides its Christian citizens with equal rights and protections.

The Greek Orthodox Church of Virgin Mary Tehran, Iran. (Image source: Orijentolog/Wikimedia Commons)

Frequently, Shiite Islamic preachers and leaders can be heard stating that Islam recognized "People of the Book," which refers to Christians and Jews. This assertion sounds as if Islam gives Christian and Jews the same level of status and respect as their Muslim counterparts.

That argument was recently confirmed when the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, claimed that "Christians have the same rights as others do." With that confirmation, it might be easy to assume that Christians are relatively safe in Iran. But are they?

In speeches, and on paper, these words probably give the impression that Christians are not only welcome in Iran, but given equal rights and protections. However, the everyday experiences of Christians in Iran, tell a very different story.

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"Genocide against Christians"
Extremist Persecution of Christians, April 2018

by Raymond Ibrahim • October 14, 2018 at 4:00 am

Two days later, Christian homes in the region were attacked again. "Some Muslim villagers had a meeting in one of the mosques. They incited people against us. After the meeting they set fire to a wood store owned by my brother, and four other houses," said another Christian resident. Police responded by arresting five Christians as they tried to put out the fire. — Egypt.
On April 27, the government made the death penalty "mandatory" for anyone who blasphemes against Islam... And in the case of blasphemous remarks or sacrilegious acts, according to the law, the death penalty is now mandatory." — Voice of the Martyrs, Mission Network News, Mauritania.
A Christian nun who was driven out of her convent in Qaraqosh, Iraq by the Islamic State was denied a visa from the nation that provided refugee status to tens of thousands of Muslim men. — United Kingdom.

A Muslim migrant from Pakistan vandalized two churches in Germany, including St. Peter's Church in Chemnitz (pictured at right), on April 23. (Image source: (Zaufatsch/Wikimedia Commons)

Muslim Slaughter of Christians

Pakistan: A Muslim man set a Christian woman on fire because she refused to convert to Islam and marry him. Asma Yaqoob, 25, with burns covering nearly 90 percent of her body, died five days later. According to her father, his son and he were waiting for Asma, a domestic servant, at the home of her employer, when she answered a knock on the door. "After some time we heard her screaming in pain," he said. They "rushed outside to see what had happened" and saw Rizwan Gujjar, 30, a onetime family friend, fleeing "while Asma was engulfed in flames." Three months earlier Gujjar had begun pressuring Asma to marry him. She, "not wanting to recant her Christian faith," politely declined and tried to avoided him, says another report. So, on April 17, when she answered the door, he doused her with gasoline and set her aflame. According to her mother:

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