At 17, Farshad lives in fear. The police come several times a week to search the family home and question the neighbors to find out where he is. “I wandered from one place to another, without a phone, so as not to be found,” he remembers. After weeks of flight, a conclusion emerges: leaving Iran becomes, for him, as for other Christians in Iran, the only way out.
An Iranian society shaped by Shiite Islam
In the Islamic Republic, where more than 99% of the population is Muslim, Shiite Islam structures political power, laws and education. Changing religion is seen as a betrayal of the community. However, in the shadows, some Iranians seek another spiritual path.
Born in Shiraz and a graphic design student, Farshad began to question his faith a dozen years ago, after discussions with an Iranian Christian. “I discovered a Jesus who is God in the Bible,” he explains. His conversion to Christianity then creates a gap between him, his society and the Iranian regime. In 2014, he left his country.
An ancient but supervised Christian presence
According to Iranologist Richard Foltz, Christianity has existed in Iran since the early centuries. The historic Armenian and Assyro-Chaldean churches are recognized by the Constitution, but “benefit from limited freedoms: their members can practice their religion, while being subjected to discrimination and restrictions, in particular the ban on preaching in Persian”, specifies Philippe Fonjallaz, director of Portes Ouvertes Suisse.
The situation is more delicate for converts from Islam, estimated at around 800,000 faithful by the NGO Portes Ouvertes. Proselytism can lead to arrests and prosecutions.
For Christians in Iran, tensions have increased recently. After Israeli strikes against Iranian military sites during the summer of 2025, the authorities increased pressure on Christians, sometimes accused of links with the West. Around fifty of them were arrested.
Today a videographer in exile, Farshad dreams of one day resuming the road that led him to Switzerland to testify and encourage those who are experiencing a similar journey today. For some Iranians, faith is not just a belief: it is a path. Sometimes, a path of exile.
Production: Bersier Foundation – Protestant Perspectives
Editorial Manager: David Gonzalez
Réalisation : Anne-Valérie Gaillard
Speakers: Farshad Ghane, Richard Foltz, Philippe Fonjallaz
