Iranian Christian Convert Loses Appeal Against 10-Year Prison Sentence for 'Missionary Activities'

World Watch Monitor from left to right: Bahram Nasibov, Eldar
    Gurbanov, Yusif Farhadov, and Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh

By James Macinytre
Christian Today

An Iranian convert to Christianity has had his 10-year prison sentence for 'missionary activities' upheld after losing his appeal, World Watch Monitor has reported.

Naser Navard Gol-Tapeh was sentenced in May alongside three Azerbaijanis, and all four men were given 10-year sentences for 'missionary activities' and 'actions against national security' in Iran.

However, the three Azerbaijanis – Eldar Gurbanov, Yusif Farhadov and Bahram Nasibov – were released from Iran in November 2016 and, according to WWM, are unlikely to be forced to return, despite their representatives also failing to overturn their verdicts during the hearing on 

November 12.

The four men were arrested after security agents raided a wedding party in Tehran in June 2016, according to WWM. They spent four months in prison before being released on bail, after which the Azerbaijani men travelled home.

The charges were described as 'unwarranted and unjustifiable' by Mervyn Thomas, the chief executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).

According to the advocacy group Article 18, 21 Christians have been sentenced to long prison terms in Iran since May.

Iran is ranked 8th on the Open Doors 2017 World Watch List of the 50 countries in which it is most difficult to live as a Christian.

In 2016, over 193 Christians were arrested for attending these prayer meetings and Bible studies in 'house churches' according to WWM.

Website: Christian Today

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Kenyan Christian Convert Disowned by Muslim Family After Giving Life to Christ Shares Her Story

Christians from the World Victory Centre sing hymns during an Easter
Easter crusade service for the victims of the Garissa University attack
in Kenya's capital Nairobi, April 5, 2015. 

By Samuel Smith
Christian Post

A 21-year-old Kenyan who grew up in a strict Muslim household and was forced to pray five times per day is now paying the consequence that many from strict Muslim families experience when they leave Islam and give their lives to Christ, a Christian non-governmental organization has reported.

The United States-based organization International Christian Concern shared the experiences of a Kenyan Christian convert, identified only by the pseudonym Rahma.

Rahma, according to ICC, was raised in a Muslim family of eight with parents who desired nothing more than for their children to be devout Muslims. The problem was that Rahma felt that Islam was nothing more than a "heavy burden" she had to carry.

"Islam was a yoke to my heart. I felt as if I was forced to believe in things that were a heavy burden to carry. So three weeks ago, I yielded to the call of God and put my faith in Christ Jesus," Rahma was quoted as saying.

Rahma detailed that as she began to question the practices of her family's faith, she often forgot to do her daily prayers and would be disciplined by her father.

After Rahma's mother passed away in 2001, her father got so fed up with Rahma being a less-than devout Muslim that he sent Rahma to her aunt's house in Mombasa in hopes that she would learn the importance of submitting to the strict demands of the Muslim faith.

"Living with my auntie and cousins in Mombasa got even worse because in the house we had two rooms dedicated for prayers — one for the men and the other for the women. As if this was not enough, my uncle employed a sheikh to help me grow in the ways of Allah," Rahma explained. "This went on for some weeks and I could not continue with the lessons because I could not understand anything. The sheikh gave up on me and this upset my family very much. A new level of war had just begun."

While Rahma continued to question her family's faith, ICC noted that her curiosity about the Christian faith continued to grow until it blossomed in 2016. That year was when she began to sneak out of her aunt's house and attend church services. She was eventually disciplined after her family found out that she snuck out to attend an overnight prayer session in Mombasa, where she received Christian literature.

"When I returned home in the morning, my auntie disciplined me after learning that I was in church. She insulted me before my cousins and affirmed that she will never give me permission to leave the house. That week she gave me $30 to start a small home-based beauty business," Rahma said. 

"My desire to become a Christian was gaining momentum as well as having a very strong dislike for Islam but I wanted to know exactly what Christianity is all about and who could understand me and help me change my faith."

Although Rahma continued to go through the motions of being a Muslim just to appease her family, a friend put her in contact with a pastor named John Magenge. Rahma met the pastor for the first time this past October, according to ICC.

"When she came to see me in October, I knew that she had already overcome some obstacles to Muslim evangelism. She was ready to put her faith in Christ, publicly testify of her new faith and maybe get baptized," Magenge told ICC. "And so I interrogated her desire to become a Christian and yes, she had valid reason to be helped in the Christian faith. She has been growing tremendously and we have put her into mentorship that involves Bible reading, prayer and fellowship."

Christian Post article continues

Iranian Woman Stabbed To Death In Australia After Converting To Christianity

By Ruth Gledhill
Christian Today

A young woman from Iran who converted to Christianity has been stabbed to death.

Nasrin Abek, aged 35, was found in her apartment in Sydney, Australia with multiple stab wounds. Her husband Amir Darbanou, aged 42, has been charged with murder. The couple lived in the wealthy Potts Point suburb Sydney.

Darbanou was charged yesterday after police force an entry into the home, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The dead woman's father had allegedly called police having himself received a phone from Darbanou on Wednesday night.

The victim's father told the Sydney Morning Herald that his distress had been made even greater because he had to contact police several times before they investigated.

Darbanou appeared before the Central Local Court in Sydney this morning and entered no plea. He did not apply for bail but it was refused in any case.

Police knew of no history of domestic violence involving the couple but neighbours reported screaming coming from the apartment on Wednesday night, according to local reports.

Abek, a hairdresser, moved from Iran to Australia four years ago and had recently become a Christian.

Story continues here