
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, August 1, 1994                   TAG: 9408010073
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: TEHRAN, IRAN                                 LENGTH: Medium

IRAN OUT TO ERADICATE ITS CHRISTIANS

The Islamic government of Iran, which has often been criticized by human rights groups for its treatment of religious minorities, is mounting the fiercest campaign since the 1979 revolution against the small Christian minority here, church leaders and Western diplomats say.

Three Christian leaders have been killed since the beginning of the year. Churches have been shut down. Scores of young Christians, many converts from Islam, have been imprisoned and tortured, especially in the cities of Gorgan and Kermanshah, church officials say. And pastors have been expelled from parishes or are under surveillance.

``Even by the standards of Iran, the current crackdown is extraordinary,'' said a senior Western diplomat.

Iranian officials deny mistreating Christians and other religious sects.

They blame an Iraqi-based opposition group, the People's Mujahedeen, for the killings of the churchmen, and have presented to reporters three women who say they belonged to the organization and carried out the killings. The opposition group denies the charge.

Iranian officials contend that evangelical churches here have other agendas besides worship.

``We consider them to be a political organization,'' said M. Jarad Zarif, an Iranian deputy foreign minister. ``If someone wants to start a political organization, they must go through the process to obtain permission, as is the case for Muslims.''

Under the Islamic government, life has never been easy for Iranians who do not belong to the Shiite Muslim majority. Christian schools were taken over by the government after the revolution. The publication of Christian texts, while legal, rarely receives the necessary approval. Positions in the government, state-owned businesses, and even universities are reserved for those who uphold strict ``Islamic values.''

The Assemblies of God church, which has 8,000 members in Iran and is based in Springfield, Mo., is the most active in the evangelical movement and is the main target of the crackdown.

Church leaders say Iranian officials forced them a few days ago to ask a delegation of Western clergymen not to come to Iran to investigate the deaths of the Christian leaders. The delegation had been invited by the government.

by CNB