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Iranian Imam Receives Christ Via Satellite TV, Escapes Country

"God is shaking the foundation of Islam in Iran. We have been praying for some of the main government officials to come to Christ and God is answering us."

Mark Ellis/AH (Mar 7th, 2007)

One of the top Islamic leaders in Iran accepted Christ and left the country after facing death threats and imprisonment, according to an Iranian pastor living in the U.S.

"This man has been watching Christian TV programs for the past two years," said Pastor Elnathan Baghestani, founder of Iran for Christ Ministries (ICM). Pastor Baghestani and his wife provide Christian programming to the Mohabat Network satellite, which broadcasts 24/7 into Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. (Photo: Pastor Baghestani of ICM)

The Imam called one of the phone counselors connected to Iran for Christ Ministries and prayed to receive Christ in early February. "The man has been watching Christian TV programs for the past two years," Baghestani said. "He said he has believed since he began watching the programs but his salvation was sealed through his confession."

"This man knows all the verses of the Qur'an by heart," he added. "After he began watching, doubt began in his heart about the Islamic faith." The man spent [time] in prison after he questioned the violence of radical Islam. Following his release from prison, he faced numerous death threats, [but then] escaped the country.

Several other religious leaders may follow suit. "He knows four other high-ranking Imams that are in the same condition and want to leave Iran," Baghestani said.

(It is illegal to own satellite dishes in Iran.) "They arrest people for having satellite dishes because they know the Christian programming is effective," Baghestani noted.

The Imam who fled, left everything behind. "Now he is a poor refugee in a foreign country."

"God is shaking the foundation of Islam in Iran," Baghestani said. "We have been praying for some of the main government officials to come to Christ and God is answering us," he reports. "I pray God will open more doors for us to send the Gospel to the Middle East."

Source: ASSIST News Service

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