'Christians evangelists misleading youth,' says Iranian Ayatollah

Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani

“People have become Christians, and Shiite youth are being misled by Christianity,” said Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani during a March 9 religious class for students in the Islamic Seminary of Qom in Iran.

Mohabat News reported that a government-related website, Ayandeh, released words the Ayatollah shared with the class, criticizing Christian evangelism in Iran.

“The Christian-deviated teachings are being diverted to our nation, if the authorities even assume that something is going to shake their power, they will confront it with full force, but they do nothing against these evangelists who are misleading our Shiite youth population,” said the Ayatollah.

In an October visit to Qom, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (the Supreme Leader of the Islamic republic) warned against the growth of house churches in Iran. He called them enemies of Islam and said, “The enemies are working hard to promote Sufism, Baha’ism and Christianity in Iran.

Mohabat News said the Supreme Leader’s remarks were a green light to arrest Iranian Christians, especially new Christian converts from Islam.

Christians in Iran have faced a wave of arrests since last Christmas, and more than 200 believers have been detained.