"After I got released, it was very different from what
I imagined before I got released. I was waiting for more welcome,
especially from my family, wife, and the church I went to in Boise, but I
didn't get that..."
[CBN News]
Pastor Saeed Abedini is speaking out about his marriage and his life
since he walked free from an Iranian jail cell earlier this year. (Photo: Fox News)
In a one-on-one interview with Christianity Today magazine,
he said he and his wife are still in the process of legal separation
after Naghmeh filed a restraining order against him.
Saeed repeated his assertions that he never abused Naghmeh and he
regards her and their children as heroes for their efforts to release
him.
The following are excerpts from his interview with CT.
His homecoming has been disappointing:
"After I got released, it was very different from what I imagined
before I got released. I was waiting for more welcome, especially from
my family, wife, and the church I went to in Boise, but I didn't get
that. I thought that once I got released from prison, I was going to
relax and get time to rest, but the situation got worse. The news, the
false accusations-today I can't feel my freedom yet; it was just like
coming out of a prison to another prison."
Saeed says people have a false impression of him:
"...People now have two different Saeeds. One of them is a hero of
their faith; one of them is an abuser, an addicter (sic). When I talk
with some people, I can see the confusion. I don't believe this
confusion is coming from God. This is completely coming fromsatan, who
wants me to stop preaching the Gospel and wants people to stop rejoicing
for my release, because it was a big victory for the Christian world.
Now with these false accusations, trying to make the churches all around
the world confused-it's clear to me that satan is behind this."
For the first time, Saeed discussed the misdemeanor domestic assault charge on his record:
CT: Can you talk about the misdemeanor domestic assault charge in
2007? You pled guilty to that, and that suggests there was at least one
instance of marital abuse.
"I believe courts can make mistakes too. They are not God; they can
make a mistake. I talked with Franklin Graham. He asked me to keep
silent and not say anything about anyone. Graham encouraged me, "Let
other people defend you." I think the court made a mistake, and I didn't
know that I'd been guilty until three weeks ago. I didn't know that I
got a sentence of 90 days in court until three weeks ago. No one told
me."
CT: You don't remember going to court in 2007?
"I
did, but it was a time that I had just come to the United States. My
English was pretty weak. Everything that happened was between Naghmeh,
the lawyer, and the court, so I didn't know what was going on. They said
that everything was okay, that they dismissed everything. So I said,
okay, they made a mistake. Then three weeks ago, I saw from the news
that I got a guilty charge, and I was shocked. I completely reject all
accusations, but at the same time, I call Naghmeh and (our) children my
heroes." (Photo via Be Heard Project)
CT: Did you go to jail in 2007?
"Just one night, when Naghmeh called 911, police came and asked what
happened and I said this is completely wrong and they said, "Someone
just called 911, you need to come with us." I stayed one night in jail,
and the day after that was the court hearing, and Naghmeh said, "I made a
mistake. He never did those things." So they told me they had dismissed
it."
How he endured torture in an Iranian prison and resisted pressure to recant his faith:
"Ever since I became a Christian, I knew I could be killed for
converting from Islam to Christianity. Since the first day, I've been
fighting with this fear. We were among the first (Iranian) house
churches, so many times I was attacked by a spirit of fear. But being a
Christian and fighting the fear, you learn how to grow and trust the
Lord. Your answer is going to be: keep your eyes on Jesus.
When I heard that my imprisonment had turned to preach the Gospel, I
rejoiced. Not because I got famous, but because the whole world was
hearing the Gospel.
There is a fear that's created among Muslims-all the things that we
see in the media, that ISIS is cutting Christians' heads off, that
al-Qaeda is beating people to death in prison and sending death threats.
That's the way that Islam works, pushing you in a spirit of fear.
Unfortunately, I saw that being very successful both for the political
prisoners and Christians (in prison).
The role the American Church played in his release:
"Christians did a good job actually, but I think the Lord is starting something-it's not finished.
In my letter to President Obama thanking him, I wrote that the waves
are leading the surfer. The waves are the churches, and the surfer is
the President. We forget that we can lead the surfer with the waves we
create. And this wave is revival, and I believe my case and my
imprisonment was just to bring the revival, to bring unity, to start a
momentum that pushes the leaders in the way that we should go.
As you know, media said the US government or Obama didn't want to get
involved in this case. But when the wave was starting because of the
unity of prayer, because the Church was moving, because the whole
Christian world was moving, they created a wave and that led the
President. We are people who can lead our President and lead our leaders
in a way that God wants. Sometimes we forget our power. We're just
focusing on the head to move; we need to remember that the legs actually
move the head."
Click here
to read the full CT article and the remarkable way that Jesus first
revealed Himself to Saeed, which caused him to convert to Christianity
from Islam.
Link>
Source: www.breakingchristiannews.com/