Iranian women tell of being imprisoned for faith

Editor's note: The following story has been edited to reflect that both women were born into Muslim families but were not practicing Muslims. Also corrected are the names in the phone call referenced and that the women were threatened with physical violence.

Worshipping among the hundreds of Christians gathered Saturday evening at La Croix United Methodist Church were two young Iranian convicts.

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh listened to hymns and joined in prayers they would never have been able to speak in their native country. Midway through the service the women joined the pastor onstage to share the story of their struggle.

Having served nine months in Iranian prison for the crime of being a Christian, their firsthand account of religious persecution made clear the harsh realities many religious minorities face daily in other parts of the world.

Both women were born Muslim, though they did not practice the faith, and converted to Christianity 15 years ago. The two met in 2005 while studying theology in Turkey and quickly recognized in each other a shared passion for evangelization. Amirizadeh and Rostampour were convinced God was calling them to spread the gospel. They returned to Iran as smugglers -- sneaking thousands of copies of New Testament Bibles into the country over a three-year span to be distributed in neighborhood mailboxes.

Rostampour explained how the clandestine operation was thought by the Iranian government to have been the work of a sizable Christian underground.

"They didn't know it was just two girls with backpacks," she said.

Rostampour said she remembers the suspicious phone call that said Amirizadeh needed to come to the police station to "resolve an issue of court paperwork." When she returned from the dentist, Amirizadeh was gone.

When she heard the inevitable door-pounding, she knew exactly what had happened to her best friend and roommate.

"I could have done many things at that point," she said, but like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, she calmly handed herself over for arrest while the police ransacked her apartment.

They found hundreds of New Testament Bibles -- damning evidence the two were Christian subversives.

Amirizadeh and Rostampour were subjected to long interrogations and threats of physical violence by Iranian law enforcement officials demanding information regarding the Christian network that had been filling their mailboxes with Bibles.

"'We will beat you till you vomit blood,' they told us."

Imprisoned alongside "addicts, homeless, [and] political prisoners" who considered them infidels in "a place notorious for rape and torture," the rebel evangelicals served month after month of their indefinite sentence.

Rostampour explained they could have earned their freedom at any time; all they had to do was renounce Jesus. But they stayed -- for nine months.

"We could not deny him," explained Amirizadeh. "You cannot deny someone you're in love with."

International pressure, including a letter of appeal from the pope, eventually convinced Iranian officials to grant the pair's release. They moved to Atlanta, became full-time students and published "Captive in Iran," the story of their ordeal. La Croix is one of more than 70 churches the two have visited to share their struggle.

They hope to motivate people to help suffering Christians around the world, but also to illustrate to Christians in America how important a personal relationship with God can be.

That message resonated with congregation member Kim Steska, who said: "It helps give us a focus about the religious freedom we do have and gives us a more intense purpose to pray for those who want to live for Christ but can't."

The two are studying international law and working on a new book about the subjugation of women in Islamic societies. Having seen the power of prayer and activism firsthand, they are planning a speaking tour of Europe to continue helping those who are "persecuted for the sake of righteousness."