Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani Facing Execution In Iran

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It is not very often I am shocked by what I read in the news. However this morning I came across something that seemed extra shocking. Youcef Nadarkhani is a Christian Pastor in Iran and has been sentenced to be executed for apostasy. Basically because he has denied Islam as his religion he is being sentenced to death.  The judge has asked him to say the words, “I have renounced Christianity and I recognize Islam as rescinder of all other regions.” He has continued to refuse to denounce his faith, and is facing execution.

This is a modern day Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego story. Here are a few exerpts from Christian Solidarity Worldwide:

Pastor Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 while attempting to register his church. He was tried and found guilty of apostasy (abandoning Islam) in September 2010. He has been sentenced to death.

The Supreme Court recently asked for a re-examination of his case to establish whether or not he had been a practising Muslim adult before he converted to Christianity. However, the court ruled he wasn’t a practising Muslim, but is still guilty of apostasy because he has Muslim ancestry.

The death sentence isn’t specifically prescribed for apostasy under Iranian law so the Rasht court used a loophole in the constitution and based their verdict on fatwas (religious rulings) by the “father” of Iran’s revolution in 1979, currently Iran’s most influential religious leader.

Please follow this link and send a message to the Iranian Embassy: Over 21,000 already have. It will only take you a few short minutes.
http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=88&ea.campaign.id=12209

Here is the link to Canada’s response:
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2011/277.aspx?view=d

Here is the link to the US’s response:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jOTDTJKdsGXycIu7HO5l0e0TwEDA?docId=CNG.13fe8544a6e090af0506874197e65650.221