TURKEY (ANS) — Abdol-Rahman Mohammad Pouri is one of a thousand Iranian youth who was born and brought up in a strict Islamic family, but chose not to follow his parent’s religion and converted to Christianity.

According to a story by Iranian Christian News Agency, Mohabat News, although he had to leave his home, he has remained strong in his faith and continues to grow in his relationship with God. Abdol-Rahman, 29 is currently seeking asylum in the neighboring country of Turkey.

Mohabat News reported he said that after he heard about Jesus he began to share his faith in the city of Semnan.

He said, “This action caused me problems as our city was fairly small. As a result and since I had some good Christian friends in Mahabad, I moved to that city and rented a house … That was the starting point for my extensive evangelical activities.”

He continued, “In my opinion, the violence and contradictions in Islam made it impossible for me to feel close to God. Because of this I replaced my traditional religion with Christianity.”

Separation from Family and friends
His conversion caused him family and social problems.

Mohabat News said Abdol-Rahman explained, “When my family and friends learned of my decision, they didn’t accept it and rejected me as a result. They made me leave our family home. In addition, my friends treated me like my family had and began calling me an apostate and an infidel. In Iran, anyone who converts to Christianity faces various problems. In spite of the love I had for my family, I had to leave my home. Everyone rejected me. The only thing that helped me through all these challenges was my faith in Christ.”

Restrictions of the Traditional Society
Abdol-Rahman spoke about people who choose to become Christians in Iran’s traditional society with all the security restrictions.

Mohabat News reported he said, “We couldn’t express our faith among other people or attend church freely. And because of the difficulties we faced about going to a church, I decided to devote my rental house to the Lord to be used as a house church.”

According to Abdol-Rahman, speaking openly about their faith and going to the churches was so dangerous for him and his friends that they had to gather in a house church in order to worship God, receive Christian teaching and study the Bible.

Their house church attendance attracted the attention of the security authorities who raided the house church, and prevented them from worshiping. In addition, some of the house church leaders were also identified by the authorities.

Mohabat News said Abdol-Rahman criticized the current Sharia based laws of Iran saying, “The Iranian regime is based on Islam, and in Islamic doctrine anyone who leaves Islam is considered an apostate and deserves to be killed. The Islamic regime is afraid of any kind of gathering, especially ones that contradict the Islamic faith and regime. In short, they cannot tolerate any other way of thinking than their own.”

Abdol-Rahman described his painful experiences in Iran and said the situation of his fellow believers in Iran is intense. “They face all the above-mentioned problems on a daily basis which unfortunately, sometimes end up in stress, torture, long term imprisonments and even death threats.”

Increase of Threats and Leaving the Country
Abdol-Rahman then described his leaving of Iran. He said, “After our house church was discovered by security authorities, I fled to the city of Urmia and stayed overnight with a friend in that city. The next day I learned that security authorities had broken into my home. So I decided to leave the country to avoid being arrested.”

Mohabat News said he added, “After some days, when I arrived in Turkey I also heard that security officers had raided my father’s home in Semnan. They showed my family a warrant and thoroughly searched there as well. During the raid they confiscated some personal belongings of my brother including his computer, CDs and some of his books.”

According to Mohabat News, Abdol-Rahman said after the security authorities made his house a target in the city of Mahabad, they raided it. Then the judicial and security authorities, following an order issued by the provincial court, confiscated all his belongings and his savings.

He said the authorities even sent a letter to his employers ordering them to fire him and ban him from working. They also sent several subpoenas to his father’s home, instructing him to appear at the revolutionary court of Semnan. But before all this happened he had left the country for Turkey.

ISTANBUL – On a crowded street here last week a German businessman died after a Turk with a history of mental problems stabbed him for being a Christian.

Witnesses saw Ýbrahim Akyol, 26, stab Gregor Kerkeling in the chest on July 20 at 10:50 a.m. after following him out of St. Anthony Catholic Church in Istanbul’s central district of Beyoglu. Church security cameras captured the attack on Kerkeling, who regularly visited the church when he was in town for business.

Kerkeling, in his early forties, had just visited the church to pray that morning. Akyol, a Muslim who reportedly had been visiting area churches scouting around for a Christian victim, followed Kerkeling out of the church building and asked him for a Turkish lira. When Kerkeling refused and gestured him away, Akyol repeatedly stabbed him in the heart and chest area before passersby intervened. According to various news reports, an ambulance did not arrive in time to save Kerkeling’s life.

In a statement to the prosecutor, Akyol reportedly confessed that he woke up that morning and decided he would kill a Christian.

Read the full story at Compass Direct News.