Yousef Nadarkani, a Church of Iran pastor faces imminent execution if he does not recant his faith in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has repeatedly refused to renounce his Christian faith during a court trial and if he continues to refuse, he can be executed any time from Thursday onwards. Pastor Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 while attempting to register his church. He was tried and found guilty of apostasy (abandoning Islam) in September 2010. For further details click here.
The pastor is in court in Rasht this week after the Supreme Court asked for a re-examination of his case. The deciding factor was whether or not he had been a practising Muslim adult before he converted to Christianity. The court ruled that he wasn’t a practising Muslim, but still upheld the charge of apostasy because he has Muslim ancestry.
Join Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s urgent appeal today to see justice upheld. Email the Iranian embassy, urging them not to go ahead with his potential execution which could happen any time from Thursday onwards.
Please also continue to pray for Pastor Nadarkhani, his family and legal team.
Firstly, I hope for a peaceful outcome, as should anyone who cares about rights and freedom.
I would probably re-word this to make it clear he is not facing this because he is a Christian, but because he is considered an apostate. The case has its roots in a fatwa issued against him because he challenged the ruling that islam must be taught in all schools. However, some Ayatollahs have challenged this fatwa, so there is hope that some sense will prevail. Also, of the panel of 5 judges, only two are clerics, and they are the ones wanting to take “specific actions”, so if he survives, there will be no miracle behind it. This is a clear example of the danger of giving clerics power.
To christians, this may be seen as "witnessing", to the rest of us, it is just silliness.
Posted by: Billy | 29 September 2011 at 09:42 PM
I'd have to confess I feel a bit envious of him.
In Scotland all you have to contend with,
is people looking at you in a funny way.
Christ instructed his disciples to go out and tell every man, woman and child in the world that he was their greatest need.
We can be sure this is what God wants us to do whether it is in season or out of season whether we are arrested for it or just given a strange look.
Posted by: Jimmy | 06 October 2011 at 02:04 PM