The proposed ban would affect only evangelical Christian students (as well as Bahais), not those of apostolic Churches, as the Iranian Minister of Education spoke of faiths that were “unrecognized” in the country. The Armenian Apostolic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, among others, are officially recognized. Nonetheless, this proposal is a threat to all the Christians of Iran, and highlights the precarious situation of all Christians there. If some Christians are charged with “engaging in propaganda,” all can be. Iran, as an Islamic republic, generally views non-Islamic faiths as a security threat. As long as this continues, the Christians of Iran must endure a threatening, insecure existence.
“Iran Considers Banning Christian Students,” International Christian Concern, September 14, 2019:
09/14/2019 Iran (International Christian Concern) – Iran’s Minister of Education, Mohsen Haji Mirzaei, commented at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that children who profess an unrecognized faith should be banned from school. He justified this suggestion by saying that these children are engaging in propaganda.
However, later that day, Mirzaei made comments on twitter which partially retracted these comments. He affirmed that education is the right of all children and referenced the Iranian constitution which says that “no one should be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief.” Yet, Mirzaei did write that the promotion of illegal sects should not take place within a legal education environment. This type of language is often used to reference the Baha’i faith and Evangelical Christians.
Iran is an officially Islamic nation, and the government views any non-Islamic religion has an inherent national security threat….