In a move that has sparked significant concern among religious freedom advocates, Iran’s new legislation purportedly targeting foreign espionage might inadvertently compromise the rights of Christians. This development comes as Iran is already noted as the 10th most challenging country for Christians, according to Open Doors, a ranking that could worsen amid ongoing tensions with Israel and the United States.
Iranian Christians often face suspicion of having pro-Israeli or pro-American biases. Earlier this month, Iranian authorities labeled several Persian-language Christian broadcasters as “hostile” entities, threatening severe penalties for viewers.
The United Christian Activists (UCA), comprising Christian Iranians and global religious freedom defenders, has voiced alarms over Iran’s proposed law aimed at “countering the infiltration of foreign intelligence services, governments or entities.” The group argues that this law could be leveraged to target Christians.
Although still pending approval, the draft bill’s broad legal definitions pose significant threats. They could potentially restrict Iranian Christians from interacting with fellow believers abroad or receiving theology education from overseas institutions.
Even routine communications with Christian relatives or engaging in joint prayers could become suspect under this law. The UCA highlights that, “Although, according to the published text of the proposed bill, matters of a purely personal nature are exempt from the restrictions contained in Article 8, this exemption does not fully address concerns regarding how ‘personal and family communication’ may be distinguished in practice from ‘religious or organisational communication’.”
While the UCA does not claim that the proposed bill explicitly targets Christians, it stresses the risk of broad provisions potentially converting ordinary family and religious interactions into national security issues. The group states, “This concern cannot be disregarded in light of the documented use of national-security-related charges in cases involving some Christian converts in Iran.”
The UCA urges the international community to advocate for religious freedom in Iran and to engage proactively with the legislative process to prevent any adverse outcomes from the proposed law.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
