Iran (MNN) — Officials set up surveillance cameras nationwide to enforce the new hijab law in Iran. Authorities also use traffic cameras to spot women and girls removing their hijabs or protesting in the streets.
In the past six months, thousands of women have set fire to their headscarves to protest Islamic laws. Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says the anti-hijab movement is tied to a broader push for change in Iran.
“You see people saying, ‘We want secularism,’ or we want a government separate from Islam,” Nettleton says.
“In many cases, they have rejected Islam itself. In other cases, they say, ‘Yes, I still want to be a Muslim. But I want my government to be secular; I want it to be separate from any religion.’”
Before the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iranian women could vote and wear Western clothing. Religious minorities, like Christians, were protected by law. Everything changed when Islamic hardliners took over.
“Since 1979, their (Iranians’) government has told them, ‘We are running our country according to Islamic principles; we’re going to do everything according to what the Quran teaches us,’” Nettleton says.
“This government, which is doing everything according to Islamic principles, is driving people to look for something else. Jesus is ‘something else,’ something separate from Islam, so many Iranians are finding Him.”
To help Iranian believers reach loved ones and neighbors for Christ. VOM USA is sending 300,000 Bibles into Iran this month.
(Graphic courtesy of VOM USA)
To help Iranian believers reach loved ones and neighbors for Christ. VOM USA is sending 300,000 Bibles into Iran this month.
Help get God’s Word into the hands of Iranian Christians.
“This Bible campaign is a significant effort to get God’s Word into Iran,” Nettleton says.
Many Iranian believers have “Muslim friends and family members who are sick of Islam, are sick of what is happening in their country, and want something else,” he continues.
When equipped with Scripture, Iranian believers can “hand those (frustrated) people a Bible and say, ‘Hey, why don’t you read this? This is a different path.’”
Header image courtesy of Heart4Iran.
