onenewsnow.com: Don't ignore Christian persecution in Iran

onenewsnow.com

One ministry doesn't want Christians in Iran to be overlooked, as media attention is focused on that country's president and his address to the United Nations.

On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the U.N. General Assembly. Several delegates walked when he accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Several others -- the U.S., Israel, and Canada -- were already outside the hall, having boycotted the speech in protest of Ahmadinejad's persistent denial of the Holocaust.

His speech this week came as crowds of Iranians clashed with security forces. Many citizens there are frustrated, 30 years after the Islamic Revolution. Open Doors USA president Carl Moeller says the Christian minority in Iran is often over overlooked and forgotten.

It is important that the issue at the United Nations is raised -- that there is a sizable and growing Christian minority in that country, and their rights need to be respected," says Moeller.

"Just on a human level, they need to be protected and respected, and their ability to worship freely, to even evangelize needs to be affirmed." Iran was number three on the annual World Watch List of persecuted nations released by Open Doors.