(Fox News) Christians in Iran say they are risking their lives to aid their neighbors in an already hostile environment known for exporting radical Islamic terrorism, a religious freedom watchdog told Fox News.
The Muslim-majority country remains the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East. Fearing a “second wave” after seeing more than 195,000 confirmed cases and 9,000 deaths, at least one Christian says believers in Iran “cannot stand by while people are suffering. It’s antithetical to our faith,” Open Doors USA reports.
“Coronavirus containment measures are not the object of the church’s defiance,” said David Curry, CEO of Open Doors USA. “Rather, their outreach is an act of civil disobedience toward a government that rejects all forms of religious practice as ‘threats to national security.’ When an oppressive regime pushes the church back, love for people drives it forward.”