Iran's secret Christian 'house churches'

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2024

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, some Christians faced persecution. Between 2002 and 2005, Naghmeh Panahi and her husband, Saeed Abedini, set up a network of secret 'house churches' across the country. But it came at a cost: they were arrested, forced to flee the country, and Saeed was jailed. Naghmeh Panahi speaks to Ben Henderson.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Naghmeh Panahi. Credit: Kyle Green/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are about to listen to a BBC podcast and I'd like to tell you a bit about what goes into making one.
0:06.5	I'm Sadata Sese, an assistant commissioner of podcasts for BBC Sounds.
0:11.1	I pull a lot of levers to support a diverse range of podcasts on all sorts of subjects,
0:16.0	relationships, identity, comedy, even one that mixes poetry, music and inner city life.
0:22.4	So one day I'll be helping host develop their ideas, the next fact-checking, a feature,
0:28.3	and the next looking at how a podcast connects with its audience.
0:32.3	And maybe that's you.
0:33.6	So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds.
0:42.3	Music So if you like this podcast, check out some others on BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to Witness History from the BBC World Service with me, Ben Henderson.
0:49.6	After Iran's revolution in 1979, in which an Islamic regime came to power,
0:56.3	some Christian groups faced persecution,
0:59.1	while converting from Islam to Christianity, was punishable by death.
1:06.0	But Christians didn't disappear, nor did people stop converting.
1:10.8	They continued to gather in secrets, in what are known as house churches.
1:17.0	We were surrounded by guards with guns, and the head interrogator looked at me and he said,
1:23.6	you know, if you say you're Muslim, you get to go right now, you get to leave.
1:28.4	If you say you're a Christian, you're going to be tortured, you're going to be killed.
1:31.7	Nagmei Panahi and her husband, Saeed, were leaders in the house church movement.
1:37.2	In 2004, they were arrested and interrogated for hours.
1:42.0	I opened my mouth and somehow, even though I was, like, shaking with fear, I said
1:47.2	I'm a Christian and the guard just.
1:49.6	He was just frustrated and angry at me, but I could see he was thinking a lot.
	...

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