“He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, it is the gracious favour granted us in answer to the prayers”
[Jun.20.2022] Through its proxy militias, Iran is carrying out an ‘invisible jihad’ against Christians in the Middle East to create Muslim demographic purity by producing conditions that would force Christians out of the region, according to a new report.
On 19 June, the Gospel Prayer News reported a statement, quoting an article from the Christian Post US, titled, “The invisible Jihad: The Treatment of Christians by Iran Proxies“ by the Philos Project, a non-profit Christian promotion organization in the Near East, the Gospel Prayer News reported.
”Iran’s proxy militias in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen have played a significant, though largely unrecognized, role in the dramatic decline of Christians in the region,” says the report.
The non-profit organization which promotes Christian engagement in the region, further explains that the militias backed by the Shia Muslim country are guided by the “theocratic regime’s vision of Muslim demographic purity” and “they labored to create conditions that forced the Christians out.”
Defining ‘invisible jihad’ as ‘Christian demographic reduction through coerced emigration,” the report adds that “these militias use extant conflicts to manufacture conditions behind the massive exodus.”
While Islamic countries, both Shia and Sunni, had historically protected Christians and Muslims, though as second-class citizens, it’s “neo-Shiism,” or “Khomenism,” introduced by Ayatollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader of Iran since 1979 is behind the exodus of Christians from the Middle East, the report said.
It further explains, “According to Quran, non-Muslims were not clean enough to live with Muslims because of spiritual pollution. Khomeini called upon the faithful to cleanse Islam and Iran of Judeo-Christian impurity, a stand common to other Palingenetic revivalist ideologies.”
As Iran realized that Christians could not be killed en masse, the regime opted for the “alternative policy of eliminationism through coercive immigration.” Due to the severe persecution, house church leaders in Iran have been asking for prayers that ‘Every day we are experiencing persecution like being thrown into a lion’s den.”
But there are Christians who are learning how to endure persecution in the face of extreme hardship. In addition, there is a social change that has not been seen before through the prayers of countless believers and those who have dedicated themselves in the field.” There is a Supreme Court ruling that ‘house church worship’ is not illegal(Source: Gospel Prayer News Edited. The Christian Gospel Radio).
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favour granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:10-11)
Father God, please deliver churches in Iran from death and distress, which are consistently being persecuted by the authorities trying to make the Middle East a Muslim-only country. Let churches of all nations help the believers in this land by praying for them so that their joy may overflow at the news that the nation is changing through the gift of prayers. Rebuke the militia for doing evil and expelling Christians based on the Quran, stop their plans, and reveal to them Jesus Christ our true saviour.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
