Jalal Darzi, a Christian hailing from the Islamic majority country of Iran, revealed that he is now preparing himself for the worst case scenario as authorities in the nation of Georgia have rejected his asylum claim, a dire situation that many believers in Christ in Iran who were hoping to escape from persecution now face. Many have been told to stop holding church services as a result of the mass rejections.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, our family in the Lord around the world is facing torture and death for the sake of the gospel, particularly in Muslim majority nations. Please take time today and everyday to pray for them, interceding on their behalf before the Lord of Glory. Pray they would remain loyal and strong, dedicated to Jesus no matter what it might cost them, even if the price is their very lives. Also pray for the conversion of those who persecute them, as the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, can radically transform hearts.
Check out more on this from The Christian Post:
Darzi was rejected after his second interview with Georgian officials on the basis that he had not been able to prove he is a Christian. He says the questions he was asked were geared toward Orthodox Christianity, of which he had no knowledge. When he tried to speak about his beliefs, he said he was not permitted.
“[The interviewer] said: ‘When I have a question, you should answer.’ A lot of times, she stopped me. I said, ‘Let me talk!’ But she stopped me, so I didn’t carry on. I felt like it was a kind of formality, that obviously they’d made a decision before the interview,” Darzi recently stated in an interview with investigators for a joint report being put together by leading human rights organizations.
Released Monday by Article18, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Open Doors and Middle East Concern, the document highlights the plight of Iranian Christians fleeing persecution in their home country being rejected for asylum in nearby Georgia because their faith is found not to be “genuine.” Despite the threat of persecution in Iran, the report states that Georgia’s immigration services over the past three years have accepted less than 1% of the more than 1,000 Iranians who have applied for asylum.
“The asylum-seekers, therefore, face an uncertain future, with little hope of being recognised as refugees but having few alternative options to access international protection,” the report revealed. “Several individuals whose asylum claims have been rejected in Georgia have already spent years as refugees in neighboring countries such as Turkey, and say they no longer know what to do, nor where to go.”
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Almost one-fifth of all those who are seeking asylum in Georgia are from Iran. Turkey is the number one place that Iranian asylum seekers attempt to flee too, more and more of them are looking to Georgia as the conditions for Christians in Turkey continue to worsen.
“Article 18 confirmed to The Christian Post that it personally knows the individuals featured in the report, noting that some have studied with the Pars Theological Centre, a Persian-language theology school in London. The report notes that approximately 85% of Georgia’s population identifies as Orthodox Christian. The religious freedom advocacy groups suggested that one of the reasons for the rejection of various applications is due to ‘intolerance of expressions of Christianity other than Georgian Orthodox,'” the Christian Post said.
That is highly disappointing to hear. While there is a huge rift between Protestants and Apostolic Christian churches like the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, the fact they would turn away people who are trying to live by faith in Christ from seeking refuge from radical Muslims who hate all expressions of the Christian religion is appalling and shows a complete lack of Christ-likeness. How can one claim to be Christian if they are not working out their faith through love?
Another reason for the rejection of applications, according to an anonymous asylum lawyer, is due to Georgia developing a relationship with Iran. Pastor Reza Fazeli told investigators the Georgian Secret Service summoned him in July 2024 for a meeting where he was told that Georgia’s commitment to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations outweighed its commitment to the Refugee Convention, according to the report.
“They said the diplomatic relationship was more important: that it came first for them, and that ‘secondly we must obey the refugee and asylum seeker rules,'” the pastor said. During this meeting, the report states that Fazeli was ordered to close his church and “refrain from gathering with others in groups of more than five, and from conducting interviews with any news agencies.” The pastor’s church remained shut at the time of the report’s writing.
Trade between the two countries hit $270 million in 2023, which the report revealed could “unofficially” be closer to $500 million.
One challenge for my brothers and sisters in the Georgian Orthodox Church. Which master will you choose to serve? Money or Christ? You can’t do both.