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Silent Witness
Webmaster | 1 April 2006
The forgotten Christian nations
A nightmare has become a tragedy. They survived 1300 years of Islamic subjugation. But now the first nations to turn to Christ – Armenians, Assyrians and Copts – appear doomed to disappear from the Middle East forever, thanks in part to the foreign policies of the US and UK since 1945.
Western Protestants have been largely unconcerned about the plight of ‘heretical’ Armenians, Copts and Assyrians unaware the important role these people groups have played in the growth of Bible-based Christianity in the region. Armenian, Assyrian and Coptic Protestants have been the driving force of evangelism in the Middle East since the 1820s.
A significant proportion of evangelicals in pre-revolutionary Iran were ethnic Armenians, not ex-Muslim Persians.
Although an Arab evangelical church does exist, Protestantism in Iraq is largely rooted in the Assyrian community. In fact, an Assyrian Anglican convert was the first person to bring Protestant theology to Iraq in 1830.
Likewise, the Coptic Protestant Church is largely a legacy of 19th century Presbyterian missionaries. Today, up to 400,000 Copts are believed to attend evangelical churches in Egypt. Very few Egyptian evangelicals are Muslim converts.
The importance of the indigenous Coptic nation for both stimulating and legitimising Anglican ministry is certainly crystal clear in Egypt today where anti-Western sentiment runs deep.
True believers spill their secret fears
An estimated 15,000 Christians are fleeing Iran every year. This is their story.
On the surface Iran’s capital is like any in the West. Large neon signs line the streets. All types of consumer trappings are available, from Plasma TVs to Nike shoes. But Tehran also holds some very dark secrets.
Iran’s Christians are under siege. The US Government estimates that 15,000 Christians are fleeing Iran every year. This out of a tiny Christian population of 150,000 will see our faith extinguished in Iran in a decade.
Sydney Anglicans, Nathan Brown and Julian Price, recently crossed some of the world’s most dangerous territory on motor bike. The point? Encouraging Christians doing it tough for God.
Now Nathan and Julian can provide Southern Cross with Iran’s inside story. They have sent this report highlighting the struggles of Tehran’s invisible Christian community.
“Armed with only its name and that of the pastor, “Johnny” we rode the streets by night looking for any sign of the church. As in [our previous church stop in] Esfahan our destination was not recognised by any of the Tehrani locals but our persistence paid off and at 10pm we rang on the church doorbell.
“A man came and greeted us and after hearing we had come on recommendation from a blind pastor from Esfahan he gladly welcomed two strangers in and gave us a room in the church.
“The man who answered the door was the man we’d heard about – Johnny. He preferred to be known as the caretaker of the church in Tehran rather than its ‘pastor’. It is illegal to practice as an ordained minister, to baptise people and administer holy communion.
“The lack of leadership has taken its toll on a congregation which is already hamstrung by constant self examination; looking for members who are not there to build up the body of Christ but in fact destroy it. We joined with the congregation on Sunday and shared our testimonies. Our sympathetic words alluding to the pressure the church was under was carefully noted by what they call a ‘Judas’ in the congregation. The following day a government agent rang demanding to know who the two foreigners at church were and why they were blaspheming the government of Iran.
On the gate of the church only a small sign indicates what goes on inside. At the rear of the building lies an unfinished extension. Its massive iron frame, now rusting away, is a relic from the pre-revolution days and a testament to the ambitions of the former parishioners to construct a larger church to house what was then a rapidly growing congregation.
“There are signs of life in the current church though, with members meeting up during the week and the hospitality we received from the live-in worker, Ashok was humbling.
“We spent our evenings in Johnny’s home with his cheeky wife and two beautiful young children – chatting through the issues faced by the church of Iran and listening to him play Spanish guitar (he can pull a wicked rendition of Pink Floyd’s ‘Another brick in the wall’).
“John is tired of battling the government in Iran, he says it is becoming too dangerous. He is concerned about the safety of his wife and children after reading about the murder of ‘pastors’ in other parts of Iran. He wonders if tomorrow it will be him. Faced with a congregation divided in its suspicion of one another, he is looking to take his family to the United States, where he says he’ll be free to worship God and not have to worry about the constant persecution he faces in Iran. Seeing the situation he is in and knowing the real danger here, how could we blame him for wanting to leave. Unfortunately for the church in Tehran it will be losing one of its greatest assets.”
IRAN
CHRISTIAN POPULATION: 150,000 (30% Protestants)
STATUS: Massive Decline
CHRISTIAN MEDIA: Banned
CHURCH BUILDINGS: Restricted*
SHARIA LAW: Yes
MISSIONARIES: Banned
FLASHPOINT: In 2004, officials raided the annual conference of the Assemblies of God, arresting 85 leaders. After questioning, authorities released all but 10 pastors. Of these, nine were soon released. Pastor Hamid Pourmand, a former Muslim of Assyrian background who converted 25 years ago, was not. In November 2004, Pourmand, who was also a soldier was moved to a military prison. In January 2005 he was found guilty of espionage for not admitting his faith to the Army and sentenced to 3 years prison. As a consequence, he forfeited his entire income, pension, and housing for his family. In May 2005, he was acquitted of apostasy and proselytising, both capital crimes, and sent back to prison to serve out his sentence. As SC goes to press, Mr Pourmand’s lawyer is hopeful for an early release during Iran’s annual amnesty until March 21.
A nightmare has become a tragedy. They survived 1300 years of Islamic subjugation. But now the first nations to turn to Christ – Armenians, Assyrians and Copts – appear doomed to disappear from the Middle East forever, thanks in part to the foreign policies of the US and UK since 1945.
Western Protestants have been largely unconcerned about the plight of ‘heretical’ Armenians, Copts and Assyrians unaware the important role these people groups have played in the growth of Bible-based Christianity in the region. Armenian, Assyrian and Coptic Protestants have been the driving force of evangelism in the Middle East since the 1820s.
A significant proportion of evangelicals in pre-revolutionary Iran were ethnic Armenians, not ex-Muslim Persians.
Although an Arab evangelical church does exist, Protestantism in Iraq is largely rooted in the Assyrian community. In fact, an Assyrian Anglican convert was the first person to bring Protestant theology to Iraq in 1830.
Likewise, the Coptic Protestant Church is largely a legacy of 19th century Presbyterian missionaries. Today, up to 400,000 Copts are believed to attend evangelical churches in Egypt. Very few Egyptian evangelicals are Muslim converts.
The importance of the indigenous Coptic nation for both stimulating and legitimising Anglican ministry is certainly crystal clear in Egypt today where anti-Western sentiment runs deep.
True believers spill their secret fears
An estimated 15,000 Christians are fleeing Iran every year. This is their story.
On the surface Iran’s capital is like any in the West. Large neon signs line the streets. All types of consumer trappings are available, from Plasma TVs to Nike shoes. But Tehran also holds some very dark secrets.
Iran’s Christians are under siege. The US Government estimates that 15,000 Christians are fleeing Iran every year. This out of a tiny Christian population of 150,000 will see our faith extinguished in Iran in a decade.
Sydney Anglicans, Nathan Brown and Julian Price, recently crossed some of the world’s most dangerous territory on motor bike. The point? Encouraging Christians doing it tough for God.
Now Nathan and Julian can provide Southern Cross with Iran’s inside story. They have sent this report highlighting the struggles of Tehran’s invisible Christian community.
“Armed with only its name and that of the pastor, “Johnny” we rode the streets by night looking for any sign of the church. As in [our previous church stop in] Esfahan our destination was not recognised by any of the Tehrani locals but our persistence paid off and at 10pm we rang on the church doorbell.
“A man came and greeted us and after hearing we had come on recommendation from a blind pastor from Esfahan he gladly welcomed two strangers in and gave us a room in the church.
“The man who answered the door was the man we’d heard about – Johnny. He preferred to be known as the caretaker of the church in Tehran rather than its ‘pastor’. It is illegal to practice as an ordained minister, to baptise people and administer holy communion.
“The lack of leadership has taken its toll on a congregation which is already hamstrung by constant self examination; looking for members who are not there to build up the body of Christ but in fact destroy it. We joined with the congregation on Sunday and shared our testimonies. Our sympathetic words alluding to the pressure the church was under was carefully noted by what they call a ‘Judas’ in the congregation. The following day a government agent rang demanding to know who the two foreigners at church were and why they were blaspheming the government of Iran.
On the gate of the church only a small sign indicates what goes on inside. At the rear of the building lies an unfinished extension. Its massive iron frame, now rusting away, is a relic from the pre-revolution days and a testament to the ambitions of the former parishioners to construct a larger church to house what was then a rapidly growing congregation.
“There are signs of life in the current church though, with members meeting up during the week and the hospitality we received from the live-in worker, Ashok was humbling.
“We spent our evenings in Johnny’s home with his cheeky wife and two beautiful young children – chatting through the issues faced by the church of Iran and listening to him play Spanish guitar (he can pull a wicked rendition of Pink Floyd’s ‘Another brick in the wall’).
“John is tired of battling the government in Iran, he says it is becoming too dangerous. He is concerned about the safety of his wife and children after reading about the murder of ‘pastors’ in other parts of Iran. He wonders if tomorrow it will be him. Faced with a congregation divided in its suspicion of one another, he is looking to take his family to the United States, where he says he’ll be free to worship God and not have to worry about the constant persecution he faces in Iran. Seeing the situation he is in and knowing the real danger here, how could we blame him for wanting to leave. Unfortunately for the church in Tehran it will be losing one of its greatest assets.”
IRAN
CHRISTIAN POPULATION: 150,000 (30% Protestants)
STATUS: Massive Decline
CHRISTIAN MEDIA: Banned
CHURCH BUILDINGS: Restricted*
SHARIA LAW: Yes
MISSIONARIES: Banned
FLASHPOINT: In 2004, officials raided the annual conference of the Assemblies of God, arresting 85 leaders. After questioning, authorities released all but 10 pastors. Of these, nine were soon released. Pastor Hamid Pourmand, a former Muslim of Assyrian background who converted 25 years ago, was not. In November 2004, Pourmand, who was also a soldier was moved to a military prison. In January 2005 he was found guilty of espionage for not admitting his faith to the Army and sentenced to 3 years prison. As a consequence, he forfeited his entire income, pension, and housing for his family. In May 2005, he was acquitted of apostasy and proselytising, both capital crimes, and sent back to prison to serve out his sentence. As SC goes to press, Mr Pourmand’s lawyer is hopeful for an early release during Iran’s annual amnesty until March 21.
It’s a compelling image, shattering Australian stereotypes about the Middle East. The Rev Emil Nabih chats with his landlord Tamar Mosad in Ras el Souda, a poor, rapidly growing outer suburb of Alexandria. Buildings have sprung up without town-planning and government community services are non-existent. Into this void has stepped the Egyptian Anglican Church. Emil Nabih, and is wife Gigi, now run a community centre in Ras el Souda.
Ignorance
Last month, the Sydney Morning Herald made much of recent research that found only one in six Australians could identify key aspects of Islam such as Mohammed and the Koran. The newspaper ran an opinion column calling for a government-sponsored PR campaign for the faith. Yet rather than pinpointing the root of Australian’s fear of Islam, it is more likely the research merely reflects widespread ignorance by secular Australians of religious issues in general. How many Aussies can identify the doctrinal differences between the branches of Christianity? I’d suspect that, even amongst Sydney Anglicans, ignorance of the faith of tens of millions of Middle Eastern Christians would be far greater.
Understanding Middle Eastern Christianity helps us understand the clash between Islam and the West in the present. We see that the Muslim world is far from monolithic. And it also shatters the secular myth that assumes Islam has no experience of living with other faiths.
Indeed, many Muslims use the community services run by Emil and the Egyptian Anglican Church.
“From what I was told the response [from Muslims] is usually very positive,” says Stephen Daughtry from the Anglican Board of Mission (ABM) who visited AMB’s projects in the region this year. “In these poorer areas people appreciate that anyone wants to assist them. Community services are offered without bias to anyone who wishes to participate.”
Ministry strategy
Emil’s community centre represents a key element of the Anglican Church’s strategy. It is in the poor areas with a growing population, where community services make a real difference. There is usually no existing Christian presence, so the work commences in a simple way by opening a centre with basic services such as literacy classes, primary health care, or an after-school care program. As a result Christians then have a place to meet and a centre where those ‘who would like to join with us without compulsion’ as local Christians delicately put it, feel welcome.
That’s not to say it’s all smooth sailing. Islamic extremists massacred Coptic Christians repeatedly through the 1990s and it would be naivé, admits Daughtry, to think Anglican clergy are not cautious and sometimes frightened when pursuing public ministry opportunities.
“There are the inevitable tensions in an area where the Christian Church is often seen as aligned with ‘the West’,” says Mr Daughtry. “The overtly evangelistic side of the work is aimed at lapsed Copts, for the most part, and that work is looked on favourably, again, for the most part, by the Coptic authorities with whom [the Anglican Bishop of Egypt] Mouneer Anis has an excellent relationship. The Coptic Church does not have the resources to reach all those who are, by birth and tradition, of their flock so they see the Anglican Church as a partner.”
Egypt’s indigenous Copts, have a 2000 year history as a Christian Church. With over 11 million Copts still living in Egypt it’s not an offer easily ignored.
Sudanese refugees
Protestant refugees from Southern Sudan have played a critical role in Egypt’s Anglican revival. Before they arrived, the Anglican community was small and wealthy. Life was comfortable. Although Arabic-speaking, they may have well been an ‘expat’ church. The pressing needs of so many Anglican Sudanese refugees brought them into a new outreach phase. And Bishop Mouneer is first to point out that the refugees have been God’s gift to the Anglican community.
Yet the refugees live a fragile existence. They need to be officially recognized by the UNHCR otherwise they have no protection in Egypt and can be deported at any time. This was highlighted last year when 30 refugees, including a 13-year-old child, where killed when Egyptian authorities broke up a protest sit-in outside the UN offices in Cairo.
CMS NSW supports Liza Hazelton who works for the Musa’adeen program at All Saints Anglican Cathedral, helping refugees with their UN applications. However CMS is very sensitive about discussing details of the work.
House church growth?
Interestingly Australian Pentecostals are far less reticent about discussing their activities. Indeed, ABC TV recently ran a very balanced story on Foreign Correspondent about missionaries working in Morocco even though it is against the law to proselytise.
AOG pastor John Gerber’s tearful plea, “It sucks … it’s not fair because people are hungry for God, they want to know the truth, they need to know. To me Islam is a false religion,” was not only a bold statement, but a rare shot of Christian passion in the secular media. Television is certainly a powerful medium.
Racik (last name protected for security reasons) from Arab Vision in Algeria talks of an explosion in house church membership thanks to Christian TV. He claims 50 new converts were added just last month. “I also met with a man from the city of Bouira. He is a devout man who always went to perform his Muslim duties. One day before he went to the evening prayer he watched our program and after that day he decided to no longer go to the mosque. A month later his family of 13 people committed their lives to Christ. Then he started to point his neighbours and friends to the TV.”
Statistics on the growth (or decline) of Christianity in the Muslim world are controversial. House churches operate beneath the radar unrecognised by most Government officials. For examplem legally there can be no Christians in Saudi Arabia. This statistic is quoted by most reference books. Yet one million Filipino guest-workers live in that nation. Undoubtedly the number of Christians living in Saudi Arabia is in the hundreds of thousands. With this in mind the statistics used in these pages are conservative estimates based largely on the following sources:
Over 60 million nominal Christians and over 20 million Protestants live in Muslim-majority Nations. Here are the top 10 Nations.
Where have all the Christians gone?
MOROCCO
CHRISTIAN POPULATION: est 25,000
STATUS: Unknown
CHRISTIAN MEDIA: Banned
CHURCH BUILDINGS: Severe Restrictions
MISSIONARIES: Illegal
PENALTY FOR MUSLIM CONVERTS: Jail Sentences of three to six months likely because evangelism is illegal
FLASHPOINT: In January 2005, police arrested a Christian convert from Islam, Hamid al-Madany, whose passport was found on a foreign Christian arrested for distributing Christian tracts in Tetouan. Al-Madany is currently free on bail.
BRIGHT SIDE: From January 2005 until a concert of contemporary Christian music kicked off in May, there was society-wide debate on the influence of evangelical Christianity in the country. An Islamist newspaper, Attajdid, carried an editorial by Habib Choubani, an Islamist Party MP, charging that evangelicals were invading and that the Government, by permitting the concert, was undermining the country’s “spiritual security.” In spite of considerable criticism, the Government allowed the May concert to take place and no negative incidents occurred.
UZBEKISTAN
CHRISTIAN POPULATION: 3 million (50,000 Protestants)
STATUS: Growth
CHRISTIAN MEDIA: Severe Restrictions
CHURCH BUILDINGS: Severe Restrictions
MISSIONARIES: Illegal
PENALTY FOR MUSLIM CONVERTS: None (though severe harassment and social discrimination likely.)
FLASHPOINT: During 2005, nearly 30 Baptist pastors and lay church leaders were arrested for running illegal church meetings. On February 11 this year, police burst into a private home where 40 Protestants had gathered for a meeting in the village of Kum Kurgan north of Termez. The police recorded the names of all those present in the house.
BRIGHT SIDE: The situation for Christians in Uzbekistan is both a legacy of a lingering Soviet mentality towards religion and a desire to ensure a ‘moderate’ Islamic faith amongst ethnic Uzbeks (80 per cent of the population). Korean missionaries have been extremely active, and there are now more than 120 officially registered Protestant churches.
EGYPT
CHRISTIAN POPULATION: 11 million (500,000 Protestants)
STATUS: Decline
CHRISTIAN MEDIA: Open
CHURCH BUILDINGS: Restricted
MISSIONARIES: Restricted
PENALTY FOR MUSLIM CONVERTS: Lose Legal Status and become virtual non-persons.
BRIGHT SIDE: In April 2004, an administrative court allowed Mona Gibran, who had converted to Islam and later converted back to Christianity, to recover her original (Christian) identity. The case set a significant precedent as the Government has refused to acknowledge conversions from Islam to Christianity. The court’s written verdict noted, “The Constitution guarantees equality among citizens… without any discrimination based on race, sex, language, or faith. “ A flood of similar applications followed, though the legal position of Muslim converts remains unclear.
TURKEY
CHRISTIAN POPULATION: 90,000 (5,000 Protestants)
STATUS: Growth
CHRISTIAN MEDIA: Restricted
CHURCH BUILDINGS: Severe Restrictions
MISSIONARIES: Restricted
PENALTY FOR MUSLIM CONVERTS: None
FLASHPOINT: Throughout 2005 the Protestant community in Tarsus was subject to repeated threats and harassment from police and municipal officials.
BRIGHT SIDE: Avowedly secular, Turkey is considering more religious freedoms in order to gain EU membership, yet Government propaganda still slanders Christians as ‘foreign agents’ for local political purposes. Despite the social pressures against conversion, in 2005, more than 350 Muslims converts officially applied to change their religious status to Christian.
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