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Eastern Germany, Iranian Refugees Surprise Pastors with Their Interest in Christianity

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Eastern Germany, Iranian Refugees Surprise Pastors with Their Interest in Christianity [ EVANGELISM ] The Other Iranian Revolution In ‘godless’ eastern Germany, Iranian refugees surprise pastors with their interest in Christianity. By Matthias Pankau and Uwe Siemon-Netto OD MUST HAVE BEEN LAUGHING up his sleeve,” muses Jobst Schöne. The retired bishop of the Inde- pendent Lutheran Church in Germany is applying a German paraphrase of Psalm 2:4 to the baptism of seven former Muslims from Iran. Early Easter morn- ing, the seven were baptized in the Berlin parish where Schöne serves as associate pastor. The baptisms were an emblem of something bigger—a nationwide surge of such conversions in several denominations and a spate of reports of Muslims seeing Jesus in their dreams. But Martin Luther’s Bible translation, now nearly 500 Some of the converts at St. Mary’s were them- years old, also played an important role in their story. selves persecuted before fleeing to Germany, The group baptism happened at an unsettling time for European Christians. During Lent, now home to the largest Iranian community in Gradical Muslims handed out large numbers of Qur’ans on street corners and announced Western Europe, numbering 150,000. plans to distribute 25 million German-language copies of their holy book in order to win “These refugees are taking unimaginable Germans to their faith. But on the night before Easter, some 150 worshipers filed silently risks to live their Christian faith,” says Mar- into St. Mary’s Church in the Zehlendorf district of Berlin to witness conversions in the tens, who ministers to one of Germany’s most opposite direction. dynamic parishes, which has grown from Until midnight, the sanctuary was dark. Then Gottfried Martens, senior pastor, chanted 200 to over 900 members in 20 years. He from the altar: “Glory to God in the highest.” All at once the lights went on, the organ roared, views the conversion of a growing number and the faithful broke jubilantly into song: “We praise you, we bless you, we worship you.” of Iranians in Germany as evidence of God’s Like Christians everywhere, they celebrated the Resurrection of their Lord. sense of irony. “Imagine! Of all places, God For the six young men and one woman in the front pew, the moment had additional signifi- chooses eastern Germany, one of the world’s cance: They were placing their lives in danger in exchange for salvation. Under Islamic law, most godless regions, as the stage for a spiri- apostasy is a capital crime, a fact brought home to the German public by press reports about tual awakening among Persians,” Martens Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an ex-Muslim, who was sentenced to death in Tehran. exclaims. According to a recent University of 44 CHRISTIANITY TODAY | July/August 2012 Conversion by Candlelight: At an independent Lutheran church in Berlin, refugees from Iran seal their newfound faith in Christ at an Easter Eve baptismal service. Chicago study, only 13 percent of all residents of Christ, sometimes not. But they instantly a confessional Lutheran, I am not given to of the formerly Communist part of Germany know who he is. He always makes it clear that Schwärmerei,” he says, using Luther’s deroga- attest belief in God. he is Jesus of the Bible, not Isa of the Qur’an, tory term for religious enthusiasm. “But these and he directs them to specific pastors, priests, reports of visions sound very convincing.” THE VISION THING congregations, or house churches, where they Martens’s experience with Muslim con- The Berlin baptism is a small piece in a mosaic later hear the gospel. verts goes back to when he began catechism of faith covering all of Germany, crossing Thomas Schirrmacher, chair of the Theo- classes for Persian immigrants five years ago. denominational barriers and extending into logical Commission of the World Evangeli- The classes quickly expanded, and on Easter Iran itself. Some German clerics speak of a cal Alliance, comments on this pattern: “God Sunday 2011, Martens baptized ten converts. divinely scripted drama that includes count- sticks to the Reformation doctrine that faith Ten more converts are expected next Easter, less reports of Muslims having visions of comes by receiving the Word through Scrip- and another ten the following year, plus more Jesus. According to Martens and others inter- ture and preaching. In these dreams, Jesus in between. THOMAS KRETSCHEL THOMAS KRETSCHEL viewed for this article, most of these appear- never engages in hocus-pocus, but sends As news of the Easter baptisms at St. ances follow a pattern reported by converts these people to where the Word is faith- Mary’s spread, churches across Germany throughout the Islamic world: Muslims see a fully proclaimed.” This is why Martens reported similar experiences: Across Berlin figure of light, sometimes bearing the features says he cannot dismiss such narratives: “As in Neukölln, a district with a nearly 20 July/August 2012 | CHRISTIANITY TODAY 45 could well be a thousand, per- haps thousands.” Actual numbers are hard to determine because of the theo- logically liberal leadership of the regional Protestant bodies linked to the state. Their lead- ers tend to steer clear of mis- sion, says Schirrmacher: “They worry that it might interfere with their interfaith dialogues.” THOMAS KRETSCHEL THOMAS KRETSCHEL Götz agrees: “I suspect that this is why the parish pastor around here, a woman, has never visited our congregation.” New Identity: Educated Iranian Therefore, says Schirr- refugees (many of whom prefer macher, only “free churches,” the term ‘Persian’) are coming to such as the Baptists and inde- Christ at the rate of about 500 per year, according to one report. pendent Lutherans, and semi- autonomous congregations like percent Middle Eastern immigrant popula- southern city of Nuremberg. Götz’s, joyfully report conversions. “We tion, deaconess Rosemarie Götz baptized 16 Mark A. Bachman, founder of Nurem- know that faithful ministers of the state- Persians on Easter Day in her modest house berg’s independent Word of God Baptist related churches also baptize ex-Muslims, of prayer, Haus Gotteshilfe (“God’s Help”). church, returned to the United States two but we are left in the dark about the num- The baptisms doubled her tiny congrega- years ago. Speaking by telephone from Hyles- bers.” Albrecht Hauser, a former missionary tion, which belongs to the Landeskirchliche Anderson College in Indiana, where he is and retired dean of the Lutheran Church of Gemeinschaft, a pietistic group within the training missionaries for work in Islamic Württemberg, adds, “We are aware of faith- otherwise liberal Protestant church of the countries, Bachman estimates that he bap- ful Catholic priests doing likewise.” But, Berlin-Brandenburg region. tized some 2,000 former Muslims during his observes Schirrmacher, “The Catholics are “The new members brought along 50 23-year ministry in Nuremberg; most were just as hesitant to release statistics. They don’t others whom we are now instructing in the Persians. want to jeopardize interfaith dialogues.” faith, and 8 to 10 of them will be baptized In yet another part of Germany, Baptist However, the number of baptisms of Per- in August,” says Götz, whose involvement pastor Helmut Venske baptized 13 Iranians sians and, to a lesser degree, other Muslims with the Iranians started 19 years ago, when on Easter Sunday. Venske serves a congrega- in Germany outweighs the conversion of a social worker introduced her to Nadereh tion in Mülheim in the industrial Ruhr Dis- Christians to Islam. “According to a report Majdpour. Majdpour had fled Iran after suf- trict in northwest Germany. “This is happen- by the central archive of Germany’s Islamic fering torture for declaring that she loved ing in many parts of the country, wherever organizations in Soest, approximately 500 Jesus more than Muhammad. “She lost all there are Persian communities,” he says. Germans became Muslims in 2010,” says her hair from being beaten savagely on her In a rural Lutheran church in Bavaria, for Schirrmacher. “Yet those were either head in jail,” recounts the deaconess. Majd- example, several dark-skinned strangers sur- German girls marrying Muslim immigrants pour brought the other Persians to Götz and prised the Communion assistant during Lent or nominal ex-Christians hoping for good now acts as their interpreter. when they showed up at the altar. “Who were business opportunities in other Islamic Two weeks after Easter, four more Irani- they?” he later asked his pastor. “Oh, they are countries. The conversion of Persians is of ans were baptized in the Baptist Friedenskirche just another family of Persian converts,” the a totally different quality, usually following (Church of Peace) in the fashionable Char- minister answered. long instruction in the Christian faith.” lottenburg district. Meanwhile, not far from In Gottfried Martens’s congregation, for Götz’s chapel, Sadegh Sepehri, an Iranian- MISSING DATA instance, the catechumens from the Middle born minister of the Presbyterian Church “Something significant is taking place here,” East spend four or more months studying (USA), was preparing substantial groups of says Max Klingberg, an official with the Inter- the Bible, the church creeds, Martin Luther’s former Muslims for baptism in the Bethlehem- national Society of Human Rights (ISHR) in Small Catechism, the significance of the lit- kirche, a German Reformed Church hosting a Frankfurt. But when questioned about a radio urgy, and the hymns. “They are very attracted congregation of 150 native Iranians. “I have report that in Germany alone, at least 500
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