Iranian Imams Fear Spread of House Churches
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
TEHRAN, IRAN (Worthy News)– The rise of Christianity and the accompanying spread of its clandestine house churches in Iran is seen as a serious threat by the Islamic state's senior clerics.
Addressing the leaders of the Organization of Islamic Propaganda in Qom, Imam Hojatol-Eslam Seyed Mohammad Saeedi warned against "the enemy's efforts" to establish house churches and called on Iran's cultural authorities to lead the way in promoting Islamic teachings, according to Mohabat News.
"The presence of clerics among families is the best and most effective way to promote religious matters and shar'ia laws," said Saeedi.
Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani also warned that Christianity was deceiving Qom's own Shi'ites and asked that this evangelism be eradicated from the city.
"Isn't there someone to say what it means to have this much corrupt Christian propaganda, even in the religious city of Qom?"
In response, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi annouced new strategies to counter this "propaganda," yet his plans are proof of Christianity's growth, even in Qom, the religious capital of Iran and the center of the Shi'ite world.