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Media contact: Paola Theaker
519-342-3703 x 102
From Fiction to Fact: How Iran’s Christians Live in a ‘1984’- style Nightmare
HALTON HILLS, Ont., February 21, 2024 – Life for Christians and other minority faiths in Iran increasingly resembles the dystopia portrayed in George Orwell’s novel 1984. That is the conclusion reached by one of the authors of a new report by the group Article 18 (in collaboration with partner organization Open Doors, Middle East Concern, and CSW) on the persecution of Christians within Iran.
Faceless Victims – Rights Violations Against Christians in Iran was launched in Parliament on February 20, 2024.
“The parallels between Orwell’s 1984 and the experiences of Iranian Christians are not mere fiction but a harrowing reality,” said Mansour Borji, Article 18. “Christians have long been surveilled and violently pressured in Iran, it’s the extent of this which has grown – especially the use of new sophisticated forms of cyber surveillance that is so shocking. It’s a call to the global community to recognize and respond to the systemic suppression faced by Christians in Iran.”
Among the parallels to 1984 described in the report are:
- High-tech surveillance and privacy invasion: The report details the increased sophistication of the surveillance operation against religious minorities. This includes the use of spyware, which can extract data, photographs, screenshots of conversations, and recordings of video calls from applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram without the knowledge of the device owner. Elsewhere, the surveillance is less subtle and used to directly intimidate.
- Extreme pressure to recant undesirable ideas and beliefs: like the thought reform in 1984, the report discusses extreme interrogations and forced participation in lengthy Islamic “re-education” sessions for detained Christians, including those that have been acquitted of any charge.
- Encouragement for citizens to spy and inform on each other: like the domestic informers in 1984, Christians seen as useful can be offered a salary to remain within the Christian community while reporting to the Ministry of Intelligence.
- Control of language: less subtle than 1984’s Newspeak, Christian worship and teaching are effectively banned in Iran’s native language. Armenians, Assyrians, and a small expatriate community can generally practice their faith but are not permitted to hold services or possess religious materials in Farsi, enforceable by strict punishments.
“The report chronicles a brutal clampdown by the Iranian regime last year, with over 100 Christians arrested,” said Gary Stagg, Executive Director of Open Doors Canada. “This information mirrors the 2024 World Watch List results, which ranks Iran as #9 in the annual list of 50 countries where being a Christian costs the most. But God is still working and moving among His people there and continues to grow the church in Iran.”
According to the report, “By the end of 2023, at least 17 of the Christians arrested during the summer had received prison sentences of between three months and five years or non-custodial punishments such as fines (and) flogging.
“We call on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all Christians detained on charges relating to their faith and religious activities. And they need to clarify where Persian-speaking Christians may worship freely in their mother tongue, without fear of arrest and prosecution,” said Mansour.
To arrange an interview with Mansour Borji, co-author of the report, or Gary Stagg, Executive Director of Open Doors Canada, contact Paola Theaker at paola@grafmartin.com or 519-342-3703 x 102.
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About Open Doors Canada
Open Doors Canada is affiliated with Open Doors International, a global ministry which has supported and strengthened persecuted Christians in more than 70 countries for over 65 years. Open Doors provides practical support to persecuted Christians, such as food, medicines, trauma care, legal assistance, safe houses, and schools, as well as spiritual support through Christian literature, training and resources. https://www.opendoorscanada.
About Rev. Gary Stagg
For more than thirty years, Gary has been involved in full-time ministry with an emphasis on the revitalization of Christian communities and the establishment of systems for assimilation and discipleship. Gary studied education and theology and has used that training to structure his passion for helping people stand firm in their faith and embrace a missional lifestyle.
About Mansour Borji
Born in 1974 in Saqhez, a city in Iran’s Kurdistan province, Borji grew up in Tehran due to local armed conflicts in the region at that time. After coming to faith in 1992, Borji went to London five years later to study theology and later joined various Christian organizations to work in evangelism, pastoral ministry, and theological education. But in 2008 he founded Article18 to devote himself to advocacy on behalf of the persecuted church.