According to the BP Marzieh Amirizadeh, 31,  and Maryam Rostampour, 28, were charged with apostasy for converting to Christianity.  They spent more than 250 days in jail for their faith.

While in prison Amirizadeh and Rostampour were repeatedly placed under great pressure to recant and deny Jesus Christ. They faced repeated interrogations, weeks in solitary confinement, and unhealthy prison conditions. Both became seriously sick during their imprisonment and did not receive the treatment they needed. Senior judges and officials also intimidated them.

Amirizadeh said, “We have seen the Lord do miracles over and over again.  He sustained us during a very difficult period.”  She also thanked those who prayed saying, “I have no doubt that God heard the prayers of His people,” the BP reported.

Rostampour, 28, said “I believe our arrest, imprisonment and subsequent release were in the timing and plan of God and it was all for His glory.  The prayers of people encouraged and sustained us throughout this ordeal,” according to the BP.

The two women faced possible death sentences for converting to Christianity and for reportedly engaging in evangelistic activities and Bible distribution.  They were arrested in March 2009 and held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison until Nov. 18 when they were given a conditional release, the BP said.

The apostasy charges however were not dismissed, and Amirizadeh and Rostampour endured a difficult six months waiting for their case to be heard in an Islamic court, where they could have been sentenced to prison again, the BP reported.

According to the BP, both young women told an Islamic judge that they would never deny their faith in Christ.  The International Christian Concern (ICC), a human rights organization, helped publicize the women’s plight.

According to Aidan Clay, ICC’s Middle East regional manager, “Their faith and endurance has been an encouragement to countless believers throughout the world,” the BP reported.

The women were warned that any future Christian activity in Iran would be seriously dealt with.  It has not been specified to which country Amirizadeh and Rostampour traveled, the BP said.

Rostampour was quoted as saying, “We hope to eventually share some of what the Lord allowed us to go through to highlight the need and the opportunity for the church in Iran, but right now we will take time to pray and seek the Lord for His will,” the BP reported.

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Can American Christians be this Courageous?

Background: Two Iranian Christian women, Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30) were first arrested in Iran in March and accused of apostacy against the Muslim faith.

Current: Rustampoor and Amirizadeh, who have both become ill while in Evin prison, were brought to trial in August. A sentence was supposed to be pronounced. Instead, because of the strong Christian testimony of these two young women, the prosecutor sent them back to their cells to reconsider their testimonies before sentencing would be pronounced.

The courtroom proceedings are recounted at Elam, a ministry to the growing number of Christians in Iran. It makes one wonder why we, as American Christians, sometimes don’t even have the courage to witness to our next door neighbors.

Mr. Haddad, the prosecutor, at one point asked the two women if they were Christians. They replied that they love Jesus. So he asked again if they were Christians, to which they replied, “Yes, we are Christians.” This could have been a death sentence for a man. Iran does not sentence women to death for apostasy, but they could face life imprisonment.

Haddad then proposed that they admit to previously being Muslims. Rustampoor and Amirizadeh replied they were born in Muslim families, but were not Muslims.

Haddad asked them if they regretted becoming Christians, to which they said no. He told them they should renounce their faith in both verbal and written form. They said they would not.

During the questioning, Rustampoor and Amirizadeh stated they believed that God had convicted them through the Holy Spirit to accept Christ. Haddad told them they were not worthy of God speaking to them.

Amirizadeh answered, “It is God, and not you, who determines if I am worthy.”

Haddad sent the women back to prison to think about coming back when they are ready to comply (in renouncing their Christian faith). But to this, the women told him they had already done their thinking.

Why has this barely been reported outside of Christian/Conservative media venues?
In June of 2009, President Obama said this in his now-famous Cairo Speech (text retrieved from USA Today):
…”And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.”

Yet, Iran and many other countries no longer recognize, or never did recognize, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights set forth on December 10, 1948 after World War II. It declares, among other things (Article 18, bolding mine):

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

(Take a look at the second part of that…we don’t even have this total right in the United States anymore.)

These two women are prime examples of Luke 12:11-12 (also Mark 13:11, just used in a recent article but worth repeating): “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

What say you, American Christians? If ever in such a situation, can we follow Paul’s advice to Timothy? “…God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Fervent prayer is needed for the failing health and eventual fate of Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh. As of the writing of this article, there was no news of a verdict. They are still in prison.

Scriptures are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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ChinaAid has issued an urgent call for people around the world to intercede on behalf of Christian prisoners: Alimujiang Yimiti, Wusiman Yiming and Lou Yuanqi.

According to China Aid, “Alimujiang, Wusiman and Lou have been shown great injustice by the Xinjiang government in delayed trials, mistreatment in prison and blatant violation of legal rights.”

Mr. Alimujiang Yimiti, a Christian from the Uyghur minority, has been in detention since Jan. 12, 2008 for preaching Christianity. Wusiman Yiming was sentenced to two years of re-education through labor in September 2007 for “revealing state secrets” and “illegal proselytizing.” Lou Yuanqi. Lou stood trial on Dec.15, 2008 on charges of “utilizing superstition to undermine the law.”

Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, strongly denounces the conduct of the government of Xinjiang and calls on the international community to show concern regarding the cases of Alimujiang, Wusiman and Lou and to urge the Chinese government to improve the status of the human rights of house church Christians and ethnic minorities in China.

For more information, visit:
www.ChinaAid.org
www.MonitorChina.org

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