 |
|
|
|
 Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani shown in an Iranian prison.
September 29th, 2011
06:58 AM ET
U.S. condemns Iranian pastor's convictionBy Dan Merica, CNN Washington (CNN) - The White House Thursday condemned the conviction of an Iranian pastor, who may be executed in Tehran for refusing to recant his religious beliefs and convert from Christianity to Islam. Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani "has done nothing more than maintain his devout faith, which is a universal right for people," a White House spokesman said in a statement. "That the Iranian authorities would try to force him to renounce that faith violates the religious values they claim to defend, crosses all bounds of decency and breaches Iran's own international obligations." The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent advisory group appointed by the president and Congress to monitor religious freedom around the world, Wednesday expressed "deep concern" for Nadarkhani, the head of a network of Christian house churches in Iran. After four days of an appeals trial for apostasy, Nadarkhani refused to recant his beliefs, the commission said. Chairman Leonard Leo said the pastor "is being asked to recant a faith he has always had. Once again, the Iranian regime has demonstrated that it practices hypocritical barbarian practices." While the trial is closed to the press, Leo said the commission collects information from sources in Iran and around the world. The commission's statement also called the trial a sham and said Iran is violating the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a party. "A decision to impose the death penalty would further demonstrate the Iranian authorities' utter disregard for religious freedom, and highlight Iran's continuing violation of the universal rights of its citizens," the White House statement said. "We call upon the Iranian authorities to release Pastor Nadarkhani and demonstrate a commitment to basic, universal human rights, including freedom of religion." Nadarkhani was first sentenced to death in November 2010, the commission said, and in order to avoid the death penalty, he is being asked to recant his beliefs and convert to Islam. Leo said an apostasy trial is rare in Iran; the last occurred in 1990. Iran's claim stems from the pastor's Muslim parents. According to Leo, the court needed to verify if Nadarkhani had ever been a Muslim. In order to be given what Iran claims is the opportunity to recant his beliefs, Nadarkhani must have never been a Muslim before the age of 15, Leo said. Because he was given the opportunity during the four-day trial, it is apparent that the Iranian court found he was never a Muslim and therefore Nadarkhani could have converted. According to a source close to the situation within the Commission on International Religious Freedom, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, would have to sign off on the execution. Speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity, the source said such cases in Iran are difficult because of the lack of transparency in leaders' decision-making. The source also said that in the past, political prisoners have had their prison time and punishment reduced by the Iranian government. Though they did not say that was guaranteed in this situation, the source indicated it was a possibility. The American Center for Law and Justice, a right-leaning organization founded by television evangelist Pat Robertson, reported Wednesday night that Nadarkhani's death sentence had been overturned, meaning that the pastor would be receiving a lesser punishment. They sourced the claim to someone in Iran. Those reports could not be independently verified by CNN. The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United Nations failed to comment on the ruling. Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ, said the outcry from Christians in America has been loud and sustained. "American Christians, like never before, are engaged in this," Sekulow said. "This is evidence that Christians in America over the past decade have done a better job engaging in the persecution issue." soundoff (2,425 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Next »
« Previous entryBachmann urges Christians not to 'settle'
|
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
any religion that needs the death penalty to "protect" it's beliefs isn't much of a religion.
Take that up with your Creator
Religion is silly – belief in fairy tales that have been disproved by science is silly. Not sure which is sadder – Iran's policy or this guy being willing to lose his only life for some future one he's been brainwashed into believing exists.
religion is nothing else than politics and power , just in the original form prior to the advent of books ... so given that in the US there still is the death penalty .. the USA are a religious state and government .. not different from Iran after all.
6:13 And God said unto Noah: 'The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold I will destroy them with the earth.
This is actually a good thing... it's a requirement of opening the 6th seal which is about to happen! The seals represent longer periods of time in our species; it's will soon be time to take a massive jump in evolution 🙂
6:14 – Time for dinner, close your book of fairy tales.
Well a lot of good that did
It's Islam.........Islam will NOT tolerate any other religion. Ever........anywhere.
The US needs to sit up and take notice, of the truth about that religion.
The US needs to look at the truth about all religions – including Christianity. Go back in history and you'll find some very dark practices in the Christian faith as well. Many radical organization who have practiced murder in defending their beliefs – they were working "for God". The KKK comes to mind but you shouldn't forget the a Crusades or the Inquisition. I see religion as an evil force in any form, but especially virulent when if becomes like radical Islam or Evangelical Christianity. They are the same toxin – just different flavors.
yes, you are a moron ... Christians did exactly that in the middle ages and a lot after in name of God. Grow up, any religion , including Christianity, is just an excuse to control power and with it take the lives of those who do not kiss the a$$ of the religious leaders.
This is why only when state and government are separated from religion and its church, that freedom and good will can reign ... as simple as that. There is no love in religion and church .. no matter what religion and what church, (Buddhism being the only exception has it does not have a church and it's based in tolerating other religions anyway).
So, grow up and be the Christian you can be ... love others, including Muslims, do what Jesus preached instead of falling for the morons who claim to be God's pastors
I just had an idea.
As did I.
Trade OBAMA FOR THE PASTOR, HES MUSLIM THEYLL LET HIM GO
You said this already.
I like OBAMA, HE PROTECTS GAYS MUSLIMS KILL THEM
That may be, but this is an Ender's Game joke.
Religion is delusion.
"And I will destroy your high places and cut down your sun-pillars and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols; and My soul shall abhor you."
22:19 He that sacrificeth unto the gods save unto the LORD only shall be utterly destroyed.
....ssssay what? !!
22:49:176:192.168.0.1 All religion is for idiots.
Yes, actually...
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ~Romans 5:8
I have the deepest and utmost respect for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani. He has remained true to his integrity and convictions. The Lord has blessed his spirit in ways unseen to the eyes of many!
right and when is dead, you can say thank you God for your powerful love as you really show me how much you care about me ... thank you thank you thank you
The reality is that God does not exist, so doesn't Allah or any gods of any kind ... love exists and love with education makes the human a good creature. Humans with no education but a lot of religion make pile of cr*******ap ...
To those who are "Christians", have you taken note of the fact that not once did the USA, or the Commission on International Religious Freedom ( which is headed by a "Christian"), confess Christ to be Son of God and the Only Way of Life and Salvation?
They have, however, confessed the belief in freedom of religion....
......stating that rights of worship of the religion of Christianity were not being respected.
......therefore abasing Christ to the category of a religion... equal in validity as other religions, as other "gods".
The true way of life is not a question of rights but of love and service to the One Creator God, His Christ, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Soon Christ will return and there will only be the Will of the True God.
Your christ tried once and failed. You are barbarians now and then. You now hear from the messenger of God Creator....
“I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.”
People have been claiming Christ was going to return for oh, a couple of thousand years now. No sign of him yet. (and yeah, you can morph whatever current events you want into "signs of the end times" – people have done that since the Roman did a little rework on the temple in Jerusalem. The "Only True Way" approach was also tried for a few centuries. It wasn't very effective – why don't you fly to Tehran and explain it all to them and see how that works for ya?
If they had done that, we would at that moment have become a theocracy just like Iran. That is NOT who we are – we are much more than that as a community. Accept everyone and get on with your own beliefs.
From an atheist and someone who lives in reality....It's pretty obvious that devil worshippers are the most peaceful people on the planet. Anybody died in the name of the devil lately? NOPE.....that would all be on Allah and God....who are the same thing....who nobody has proven is real.....who doesn't do a thing to help the people on Earth that need it....who causes misery on the planet on every continent. blah blah blah.....this is all so silly people. Religion truly is a mental disorder.
Well said.
I really am sad for you...I think people don't die in the name of the devil because they know that they have nothing to look forward to when they die. It's not the people that have an amazing faith and love for God that are killing people, it's the extremists. Every religion has them. And another thing, if you are a devil worshiper, then you have a religion...not a good one but it is one, you do realize that right? And if you worship the devil, you realize that by the satanic bible, it says that by openly admitting that you worship the devil, you are basically allowing yourself to be a sacrifice to the devil. Oh yeah, and devil worshipers acknowledge that there is a God. Just like Christians acknowledge that Satan exists.
You have more faith than I do. I don't have nearly enough to be an athiest.
Athiests aren't devil worshippers–they don't believe in a creator or an evil power, Heaven or Hell. I think the more appropriate comment would be "when was the last time someone was killed in the name of logic?"
Christians don't so any good HUH?? Ever been to a hospital for starters ??? 99% of them are there because of churches , denominations and Christians (Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian just to name a few)Last I checked there were oh just a few other charities out there helping to feed & shelter the homeless. Help the poor, sick & eldrely in hundreds of different areas.
What would be more impressive would be to hear about all the ATHEIST organizations out there helping those in any kind of need. Bet thats a real ling list.
And by "athiests" I meant atheists. Also, other than the devil worshipping thing, I agree!
I'm not a devil worshipper. I'm an atheist. I'm just saying that no where on the planet is their big groups of devil worshippers killing in the name of the devil. That's real. When was the last time you heard about a story where someone was sacrificed by devil worshippers? And when was the last time you heard about killing with muslims or christians or jews??? Every day
I suppose it does not.
The obvious solution to this problem is massive tax cuts for the super rich.
Jimmy is begging. Whats up Jimmy
Well, I mean you seem to feel rather strongly about this, I realize that you may feel strongly against the Christian faith, and that doesn't matter, what matters is that this is a man, about to be put to death for his choice in faith, does that not affect you?
Idolatry is a cause for death. Its in front of his bible. As an idolater and worshiper of other gods, per Torah, he must die
But must he be hated? It is said that feeling hate for your fellow man is as powerful a sin as killing him.
God of Torah, Creator, does not hate. Just intolerance for those that hate our Creator
But, you see it is the people that hate, it does not matter what God shall say as long as people fight amongst themselves. Take a look at the comments here, we are divided into two camps that have no duty other than to hate eachother.
Petercha is just about the only person on here not posting comments filled with hatred seems to be one of few posting that believe in Jesus Christ. Coincidence? I think not.
Peter doesn't read his Torah, my Torah. My God of Torah has no use for a christian
Deut 11:25 There shall no man be able to stand against you: the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon as He hath spoken unto you.
They shall deliver you up before counsils, and they will hate you and kill you for my name. However, if you endure to the end, even in the face of death, you will be honored in the holy kingdom of heaven. Let this man in Iran be an example of what each and every christian one of us must do. Even if they threaten to kill you for believing in Christ, never give in. Even if they are going to kill you. Your rewards will be beyond measure.
I agree fully ghostmule. Nice to see a post like that on here.
I have a GREAT IDEA, Lets trade OBAMA FOR THE PASTOR, Since OBAMA IS A MUSLIM THEYLL LET HIM GO ANYWAY, and the PASTOR can come here and preach the gosel to you ungodly liberal dems posting religious hate against christians on here
Soon according to prophesy, a coalition of Muslim nations and Russia invade Israel. Called the battle of Armageddon. Israel wins by the way!
Israel is a land. The land was give/is given to the common man Hebrew. Not the fing jew. Any man living on the land is an Israelite. Be it legal or not
I don't understand the disdain for Christianity in the Muslim world. The faith of Islam regards Jesus as a prophet... so why all the angst towards those who follow his teachings?
All a christian is a new generation jew. Who a jew is is a rebel common man pharisee that rebels against the authority of the Priesthood, the Sadducee
As long as thiest kills thiest its a win for me!
Keep killing each other, and I will need less poison gas for the survivors!
Allah Fubar!
Deut 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God He is God; the faithful God who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations; 7:10 and repayeth them that hate Him to their face to destroy them; He will not be slack to him that hateth Him He will repay him to his face.
WELL WROTE FROM THE HOLY BIBLE, THANK YOU
Torah is holy. Your gospels are blasphemy.
More evidence of the "Religion of Peace" at work. Non-Muslims are very persecuted in numerous Muslim countries. But it rarely makes it into the liberal news who have been drinking the Islam cool-aid.
Deut 9:24 Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you
Americans watch what the radical democrats write on here and u will see they are evil racist hate mongers and very intolerant towards christians and repubs
Holy God! The Comments! The Comments!
Blow me jimmy hoffa
Whoa whoa whoa wait. What?
Put his head on a pole in the Iranian museum. Christians did the same thing, when they were barbarians., Now they think they are royalty
Die liberal dem skum
I'm not saying that Christians are all good people, but dude, humanity. Remember humanity in all of this.
Like 500 years ago? The mid-east Muslim countries are stuck in the stone ages.
Deut 11:25 There shall no man be able to stand against you: the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon as He hath spoken unto you.
Kill them all
Are you serious or trolling? I mean, if your just messing with us, cool, do that, if your serious I respect your opinion, but beg for a conversation.
Does it really matter jimmy