Tehran: The Christian Satellite Network is focusing on providing opportunities for oppressed Christians in Iran to share their testimonies, experiences, and hopes. A television talk show titled Signal (Sign) exposes the suppressed voice of Iran’s undercover Christians. SAT-7, a global Christian satellite network based in over twenty-five countries in the Middle East and North Africa, has been broadcasting a news talk show in Iran over the past year and a half through its Parsi channel called “SAT-7 Pars”. The show, which airs for 90 minutes every week, is watched by many people in Iran and the Middle East in their own homes.
‘Signal’ is the first television program of its kind to bring out the repressed voice of Iran’s undercover Christians. Iran is a “signal” blessing for converted Christians in Iran who are under threat of persecution and arrest. Signal features include Skype calls with converted Christians living outside Iran, pre-recorded interviews, and live calls with believers in Iran. Satellite television is the best way for Iran to communicate without government surveillance.
Since the 1979 revolution, the lives of Christians in Iran, especially the converted Christians, have been going through a lot of crises. The Shiite regime in Iran regarded the growth of secret Christian churches as a threat. The Iran-based open-source NGO, which observes religious persecution against Christians, says there are about eight million Christians in Iran. Iran is the ninth most violent persecutor in the world on this year’s World Watch List of Open Doors.
