Noushin Darya Framke, Armenian/Iranian-American,
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) elder and activist, has written a pleasant and
informative article about returning to Iran to commemorate the anniversary of
her mother’s death. But in the article, “Burning
Frankincense in Iran,” found in the Presbyterian internet magazine, Unbound,
Framke, writing about religious freedom in Iran, repeats her too often
defense of Iran. Writing of her mother’s faith, she insists:
“Being a member of the ancient Christian community, Janet
was part of a protected and well-respected religious minority. (On the other
hand, converts from Islam to Christianity are not protected, as Islam considers
them apostate, but that’s another story).”
This is a statement that Framke also made in a comment to an
article published by the Presbyterian
Outlook. I searched for it as I was preparing my material for this posting
but could not find it. However Framke enlarges on this idea in her report in
the Presbyterian
Mission Yearbook. First she explains that the Christian groups who are indigenous to Persia (Iran) are
respected and allowed freedom of worship by their Muslim rulers. Of the others
Framke writes:
“But
evangelical Christians—Protestants who converted, most from Islam, when
Presbyterian missionaries began proselytizing in Iran in the mid-19th
century—are indeed persecuted. Because they are converts “out of Islam,” these
Christians are considered apostates—people who have abandoned their original
faith. They are for this reason treated very differently from Christians whose
roots are pre-Islamic and are honored by Islam. …”
In the end
Framke insists that the reader must understand that it is not Iran that is at
fault but Islam. And that if we hold Iran accountable for the persecution of
Christians we must also hold other Islamic countries accountable. Well, yes we
must, but there is more to be said …
First,
Framke should have read the first part of
the mission report written by Rev. Dr. Jean-Claude Basset. Of the indigenous
Christians, Basset writes:
“In spite of such declarations [about religious
freedom by Iranian authorities], religious beliefs continue to be restricted by
ethnicity. Christians from minority ethnic groups, such as Assyrians and
Armenians, are able to worship only in their own ethnic languages and churches.
Persian Iranians (Farsi-speaking) are not free to convert from Islam to other
religions. Churches in Iran are coming under increased pressure to stop all
activities in the Farsi language, and some congregations have closed their
doors to Persian converts to Christianity.”
Secondly,
while Framke places the blame on Islam rather than Iran, insisting that to hold
Iran guilty we must hold such countries as Saudi Arabia guilty—she is covering
up a lie with a truth. Yes! We must hold all of those countries which persecute
Christians or any other minority faith guilty. But the truth is, Iran
persecutes its Christians. It doesn’t matter which ones. It persecutes
Christians.
Thirdly, and this is important, the
reason Iran and its Islamic leaders rarely harass some of Iran’s indigenous
Christians is because they rarely participate in the Christian calling of evangelizing.
David Garrison in his recent book, A Wind in the House of Islam writes, “As
a respected minority in Iran, Armenians were tolerated, so long as they did not
proselytize the Muslim majority. All of this begin to change, though, in the
mid-20th century when a Holy Spirit awakening began to stir in the
hearts of the Armenian Christians.”
Garrison
points to a Christian who was Armenian, and during such an awakening helped
form the Iranian Assemblies of God. He also refers to a Muslim convert who was
a part of the same awaking. He writes of the martyrdom of both the Arminian
Christian and the Muslim convert. The
fruit of their ministry continues:
“The story
of courageous Christian witness for the sake of Iranian Muslims’ salvation is
not limited to the Armenian or Assemblies of God community. The many testimonies
emanating from Iran today are filled with bold and sacrificial witness from
ancient Assyrian church members, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Brethren,
Pentecostals, and others “who did not love their lives so much as to shrink
from death.”
And this is
the true and troubling problem with Framke’s small mission piece, it not only makes
a trifle out of the pain and suffering of fellow Christians, it ignores the
need the Muslim has for Jesus Christ. It cares little for the Muslim in her
steps toward the gaping mouth of hell. Framke’s piece forgets the very
foundation of mission—that Jesus died to save sinners.
