Iran
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DEMOGRAPHY
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LIFE & LIBERTY |
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[edit] Geography
[edit] Location
- Formerly known internationally as Persia, Iran is a Southwest Asian country located in the geographical territories of the Middle East and Southern Asia. It is the 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,000 square kilometers. Iran consists of rugged, mountainous rims surrounding high interior basins. The main mountain chain is the Zagros Mountains, a series of parallel ridges interspersed with plains that bisect the country from northwest to southeast. Iran is about the size of United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany combined. Iran borders Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to the north; Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east; and Turkey and Iraq to the west. It is considered a key country because it borders the Persian Gulf, an important oil-producing area, Gulf of Oman and the Caspian Sea. Because of its geographically central location, Iran also has close proximity to Europe. Iran was one of the first countries to be occupied by the early Islamic armies in the seventh century. Persia, as it was internationally called until 1935, was one of the greatest empires of the ancient world and has since maintained a distinct cultural identity within the Islamic world because of its continued adherence to the Shi’a interpretation of Islam, and Iran retaining its own language.
[edit] Climate
[edit] Natural Resources
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Peoples
[edit] Provinces
- The Cities of Iran
[edit] Life
- A new film on Jesus, told from an Islamic perspective, has drawn mixed reactions from the Christian community over its claim that Jesus did not die on the cross but was replaced by Judas Iscariot. "The Messiah" – written, produced and directed by Iranian filmmaker Nader Talebzadeh - was filmed in the Islamic Republic of Iran with Iranian actors to portray how Muslims understand the life of Jesus based on the teachings of the Qur'an and the Gospel of Barnabas – a book not included in the Christian Bible and in which the Prophet Mohammed appears. The movie features two endings – the Muslim and Christian version of Jesus and the cross – and has won an award at Rome's Religion Today Film Festival for generating interfaith dialogue. Director Talebzadeh meanwhile sees the film as an Islamic response to "The Passion of the Christ," the 2004 blockbuster of self-professed Catholic Mel Gibson. Although the Iranian filmmaker praised Gibson's movie, he said it was "wrong." The film has already been released in Iran and will soon be available on the Internet, according to CNN.
[edit] Economy
[edit] Government
- Type of Government: Theocratic republic
[edit] Religion
- Islam is the official religion in Iran, and all laws and regulations must be consistent with the official interpretation of Shari’a law. Islam 99%, Bahai .5%, Christianity 0.3%, Other 0.2%. There are established churches in Iran including Armenian, Chaldean and Latin-rite Catholic, Armenian, Assyrian and Russian Orthodox as well as Anglicans, Pentecostals and Presbyterians. While estimates for its size vary, the Armenians form the biggest group with approximately 150,000 adherents. Protestants are estimated to number around 100,000, and Catholics 7,000. The United Nations Special Representative estimates that 10,000 to 15,000 indigenous Christians emigrate every year. Every year since 1999 the United States of America Secretary of State has designated Iran as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act, for its particularly violations of religious freedom.
[edit] Islam
- The Islamic revolution has lost its glitter. The legacy of bloodshed, cruelty, injustice, extremism and economic deprivation has discredited the conservative religious leaders and the Islam they promote. These leaders react with repression, restrictions and abuse of human rights because they control the police and army and manipulate the justice system. Pray for political change and a government that is truly accountable to their people and which respects human rights.
[edit] Buddhism
[edit] Christianity
- The number of Iranian Muslim-background Christians has multiplied dramatically in 20 years. For those living in Iran persecution is still severe. Many of these new believers live overseas.
[edit] History
[edit] Churches
[edit] Church and State Relations
[edit] Mission
[edit] Broadcasting
[edit] Persecution
- Shariah law is implemented and although Christians belong to a recognised religious minority guaranteed religious freedom, they have reported imprisonment, harassment and discrimination because of their faith. Some Muslim converts to Christianity have been arrested and held in custody for several weeks, then forced to pay large sums in bail.
- Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Christians in Iran have faced several hardships. Since the beginning of 2004 when conservative parties won the elections, religious freedom has deteriorated considerably. The situation grew worse after hard-line conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected president in 2005. Ahmadinejad hailed his election triumph as a new Islamic revolution that could spread throughout the world and pledged to restore an ‘’Islamic government’’ in Iran, implying that the previous administrations were not sufficiently Islamic. Since 2005's election, many Christians have not only been rounded up for harassment, but many have been arrested and beaten. One house church pastor was killed in November 2005.
- Although Christians belong to one of the officially recognized religious minorities who are guaranteed religious freedom, they reported imprisonment, harassment and discrimination because of their faith this year. Various Christian groups known to use literature and other means to spread their faith among the majority Shi’ite Muslim population were targeted over the past year. In at least eight known incidents, Muslims who had converted to Christianity were arrested and held in custody for several weeks before being released. In most cases, they were forced to pay large bail amounts and were told their cases remain open for possible criminal prosecution. Under Iran's strict apostasy laws, any Muslim who leaves Islam faces the death penalty. On the positive side, a former army colonel, who had converted to Christianity and was falsely accused of hiding his faith, was released after two years in jail.
- May 2008: A new law was passed, any one, who leaves Islam is punishable by death.
[edit] Councils and Networks
[edit] Future Trends
[edit] For More Reading
