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Iranian Christians Flee to Turkey in Pursuit of Religious Freedom

  • Amanda Casanova

    Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and…

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  • Updated Jul 28, 2014

CBN News reported last week that there are many Iranians in central Turkey who are Christians.

"Growing up, I wanted to say I grew up [with] Jesus Christ," Raizal told CBN News. "Every time, His name was in my mind. And the next moment I started liking Christianity."

"It was really sweet to me, the feelings, the stories, everything. Soby the time I was 15, I believed in Him, and I said I want to be a Christian," he said.

Many Iranian refugees have left fled Iran, moving to Turkey for religious freedom.

"[It's] totally different from Iran," Iranian Christian Afshin told CBN News. "I can privilege [speak about] God's Word to other guys. I can freely praise the Lord. I can easily go to church. It's completely different."

Afshin was a member of the church led by American Saeed Abedini, who is currently in prison in Iran. The church has since dissolved since Abedini was arrested.

"I had to change our home because I was sure that one day they would realize my home as an underground house church," Afshin said. "They would recognize it; the intelligence services would recognize it."

Many of the refugees to Turkey use Skype to connect to other churches across the world.

"The main church is my house, and through the Internet I connect to everybody," believer Reza said. "That's why it's become like an Internet church."

Reza said there are about 3 million believers from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Publication date: July 28, 2014