Iran

HISTORY

One of the most mountainous countries in the world, known internationally as Persia until 1935, modern day Iran has an average population of 66 million. The name Iran derives from the term "aryanam" which means "Land of the noble [ones]." One of the first areas to be occupied by Islamic armies in the 6^th and 7^th centuries, Iran maintains much of its religious history in its present-day culture, in the form of architecture, art, and literature, which continue to draw inspiration from aspects of traditional Shiite Islam.

The official language is Persian (also called Farsi), which is considered by many in the area as the language of intellectuals.

GOVERNMENT

Iran became an Islamic Republic in 1979, following the Iranian Revolution, when Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the monarchy and, as Supreme Leader, established a very conservative, theocratic regime, relying on religious scholars to create and implement new laws. Today the country maintains the same constitution and laws of the 1979 Revolution. Presidents are elected by popular vote and must be parliamentary candidates who have the approval of the Supreme Leader. A religious scholar and Ayatollah (term for a Shiite religious leader), the Supreme Leader directly appoints the heads of judiciary, media, police, and military and is the only person in Iran with the authority to declare war or peace. The president is the second highest ranking official in Iran. The role has been held since 2013 by Hassan Rouhani. Seen as a moderate, Rouhani has authority to speak with world powers on Iran’s nuclear program. He attempts to make goodwill gestures with the international community in an effort to remove economic sanctions in the wake of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s confrontational policies. The legal system operates under Sharia Law.

Iran saw a wave of mainly youth-led peaceful protests in 2009 – dubbed the Green Revolution – in reaction to the disputed re-election of President Ahmadinejad.

ECONOMY

Iran’s economy is dominated by a reliance on oil resources for much of its income, as well as continued state intervention in trade. Most industries and enterprises are nationalized, the private sector barely existent and only made up of small family businesses. Due to decreased oil prices in recent years, the economy has struggled, as well as remained prone to various economic sanctions enforced by the UN over nuclear energy use, human rights abuses, and sponsoring of state terrorism in countries such as Lebanon. The USA imposed additional sanctions on Iran’s oil revenues as a response to the country’s alleged nuclear weapons program.

The country is experiencing a “brain drain,” in which much of the educated youth leave to find employment overseas. Current unemployment rates are at an estimated 11.8%, with 18.7% of the population living below the poverty line. (1)

SOCIAL ISSUES

Iran is home to hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan refugees, many of whom have not been accepted into the community at large. An estimated third of these are illegal migrants. There have been increased reports in recent years of child and woman trafficking from refugee camps across Iran for forced marriages, cheap labor and for the settling of debts. Due to its proximity to Afghanistan’s poppy fields and inefficient border control, Iran has one of the world’s highest opiate addiction rates.(2) The usage and smuggling of synthetic drugs has also escalated in recent years. Average literacy rates in the country differ between men and women at 90% and 81%, respectively.(3)

MEDIA

Iran is ranked 164^th(4) in the world regarding freedom of the press. Although freedom of the press is granted in the constitution, it is forbidden to publish or broadcast anything criticizing Islam or its principles – as this can be interpreted in numerous ways, the government has often used this as the basis for arrests made concerning opinions on political reform.

RELIGION

The majority of Iran’s population, 90%, are Shiite Muslims, with another 5-10% Sunni Muslims, and a minority Zoroastrian, Jewish and Christian. Shiite Islam is the official religion. Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism are all officially recognized in Iran, and even have seats in parliament, but other religious sects, such as Baha’is are not, which has resulted in much persecution and discrimination against them since the Iranian Revolution. While Armenian and Assyrian (Nestorian) Christian churches are tolerated, they are tightly controlled. Churches are officially banned from serving those from Muslim backgrounds, though a growing network of unregistered churches meets secretly.

The Iranian constitution grants freedom of religion in Article 23, which states that: “The investigation of individuals’ beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or [reprimanded] simply for holding a certain belief.”(5) Iran is also party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which declares that “Everyone shall have the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. They shall have the freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom…to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice or teaching.”(6) Nevertheless, those choosing to change their faith risk imprisonment or death. There have been repeated incidents of executions of Iranian Christians for apostasy in the past ten years.

PRAYER POINTS

• Pray for increased tolerance and understanding of Christianity.
• Praise God for an increasing hunger for spiritual truth within Iran’s general population.
• Pray for justice and peace for the victims of violence and persecution.
• Pray for people struggling to make ends meet and for those gripped by addiction and depression to find freedom in Christ.
• Pray for SAT-7 PARS’ ministry to all ages to bring hope and spiritual guidance and for teaching programs to equip and protect the Church from heresy