Captive in Iran: Two Women imprisoned for their Faith
In May of
2009, two Christian women by the name of Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh
Amirizadeh were arrested by the infamous Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Their crime was being Christian. Both women were born into Muslim
families, but both became disenchanted with Islam at a young age as they simply
say the Islamic faith as being all about meaningless rules and
religious laws. There was no chance to build a relationship with
God. They both began to seek answers in other faiths, and after much
studying and soul searching, they converted to Christianity.
In Iran, to leave Islam for Christianity can
lead to imprisonment, or even death. However, these courageous young
women not only converted, but they began to share to Gospel with other
Iranians, an action that could have easily gotten them killed. Nevertheless, many in Iran, especially women, are disgusted with the
harshness of Sharia Law and are growing increasingly disenchanted with the
repressive regime. They are starving for God, and Maryam & Marizyeh
knew this. They secretly distributed New Testaments all over the
country and even formed two house churches that specifically focused in aiding
women who had been abandoned by their husbands and forced into prostitution to
survive.
Unfortunately, the Iranian regime wants to stamp
out any faith and idea that goes against what they believe and in May of
2009, these two courageous young women were arrested and would ultimately be
sent to Evin Prison, one of the most notorious & brutal prisons
in the entire world. Here they would remain for 259 days. During their imprisonment, Maryam & Marziyeh
coped with sickness, interrogation, abuse by the guards, and the constant
threat of execution. Despite this, they continued their ministry,
bringing the Gospel to their fellow prisoners. Many of whom were also
unjustly imprisoned by the regime. It wasn't long before the prisoners
flocked to the two of them and many started to become believers in Jesus.
Even some of the prison guards were moved by their kindness and began asking
the girls to pray for them and started asking about Jesus. However, some
of the guards were zealots for the regime and became infuriated that these two
women were turning the prison into a church. One guard threatened
Marziyeh with torture and beatings if she did not stop preaching. This
was Marziyeh's response: “Unless
you cut out my tongue I will keep feeding the peoples hunger for the truth
about Jesus. And if you do cut out my tongue, I will share His Gospel
with Sign Language!” “You are not fighting me. You are fighting the will of God. In
the end, his truth will prevail!”
In the end, God indeed did prevail. An
International outcry pressured the Iranian regime to release these two
girls. Through freed, they were now blacklisted by the regime and were
under constant surveillance. Nevertheless, the two girls still would
not be silenced. They were granted asylum to the United States where they
wrote a book about their experience entitled "Captive in Iran."
They wish to show the world that while the Iranian Regime wishes to hurt and
destroy, many of the Iranian people are beginning to desire Christ. They
are sick of the regime. To this day, Maryam & Marziyeh continually pray
that the Holy Spirit will descend upon Iran and brake the bonds of tyranny once
and for all.
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