We live in this world made up of elements like earth, water, and air. Sometimes we even take the time to experience these elements. However, most of the time we are staring in front of a computer, a television, or a smartphone. Most of us are aware that technology is amoral. It is neither “good” nor “evil.” Similar to that of money; it is entirely contingent upon what we do with technology (or money) that determines its fate.
With that being said; I want to bring to your attention a situation that you may or may not be familiar with. In September of 2012, Saeed Abedini was arrested while building orphanages in Iran. Since then he has been sentenced to eight years in one of Iran’s harshest prisons. Saeed has been tortured since being imprisoned, and he could be killed without a moment’s notice. Saeed has been wrongfully imprisoned largely due to his beliefs. He was born in Iran to a devout Muslim family, and has since then converted to Christianity. Saeed is not only a Christian. He is also a pastor and an American citizen.
Unfortunately things like this happen in Iran and around the world more often than not. But what is alarming about this case has been the silence from most of the media and the United States government. Americans (and Believers) often take our freedom for granted. We don’t think twice about our brothers and sisters who are living out the Great Commission on a daily basis around the world.
Last Friday, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. Congress held a hearing about religious persecution in Iran. The commission listened to leaders and constituents from a few different organizations, including an emotional testimony from Pastor Saeed’s wife, Nagmeh Abedini (read full transcript here). The main focus of the hearing was to get the attention of the State Department and to pressure Secretary Kerry to issue a statement concerning Saeed’s illegal imprisonment. Now that the hearing is over; there are a few things we can do to help.
1) Sign the Petition
The organization that I work for has spearheaded the effort to release Saeed. Over 500,000 people have signed the petition to free Pastor Saeed. This petition will go to Congress, President Obama, the European Union, and the United Nations. You can sign the petition at SaveSaeed.org. The goal is to have as many signatures on the petition as possible. A half a million people have signed this petition. However, there is no reason why we can’t get one million signatures.
2) Digital Advocacy
What is digital advocacy? It’s pretty simple. Digital Advocacy is engaging the people you know or don’t know via social media. There are various avenues you can take: Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, blogging, etc…The Save Saeed website has banners and backgrounds that you can post to your social media pages. Many Christian music artists like: Steven Curtis Chapman, Toby Mac, Michael W. Smith, Kevin Max, Michael Tait, MercyMe, Switchfoot and more have made Youtube videos engaging their fan-base to sign the petition. Even a few Country music stars (Charlie Daniels, Josh Turner, Ricky Skaggs) have spoken out to free Saeed. Share these videos, use the backgrounds, tweet about it, and do whatever else you can to raise awareness to save Saeed.
3) Spiritual Advocacy
What is Spiritual Advocacy? Prayer. We can sign petitions, talk to government leaders, blog, and retweet social justice campaigns all day long…and we SHOULD. But the greatest impact we can have is to intercede spiritually. Paul reminds us that, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Cor. 10:4).
I hope you will take the time to share Saeed’s story. I urge you to sign the petition. Most of all, I want you to pray for Saeed and his family. Pray that God would change the hearts of those in power in Iran, and that all other national and international officials involved would do everything in their power to save Saeed.
Thank you for your time.
[Image via Save Saeed via ACLJ]
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