Manifesto:
Persecutions against religious minorities in the Middle East has been taking many forms during the past decade. In Iran these persecutions are carried out under the authority of the government in order to attain a unified body of Farsi-speaking citizens who live under the doctrines of the Quran. One of the religious minority groups that has been under the most pressure are Farsi-speaking Christians. Even though, the Farsi-speaking churches have always been experiencing the supervision of the Islamic government, during the past 3 years, the pressure has intensified drastically. As a result, many Christians have been imprisoned and all Farsi-speaking churches have been closed down at the request of the government while other Armenian or Assyrian speaking churches are still active.
The only conclusion one can make of this situation is that the Iranian government is trying to unify-or purify-the country by casting aside anyone who has contrary beliefs from those of the governing body. But when is this all going to change? When are we all going to be tolerant of each other’s religious beliefs? Many people are everyday-victims are religious intolerance in Middle Eastern countries such as Iran and face an unending chain of limitations as they try to live. If we as people are granted the freedom of will under the supervision of Allah, then why can one not have the freedom to choose a religion different than Islam? It is finally time for us to be tolerant of other religions since we in order to have a “unified body,” not everyone has to be from a certain religion, but we should all be unified on the common ground of humanity.