“There have been names that I have loved to hear
But never has there been a name so dear
To this heart of mine
As the name divine
The precious, precious name of Jesus
Jesus is the sweetest name I know
And he’s just the same as his holy name
And that’s the reason why I love Him so
Jesus is the sweetest name I know.”
Since 2013, stories have been percolating out of Iran that many women are falling in love with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. According to World Watch Monitor, January 20, 2017, “Women are playing a central role in the underground churches of Iran despite the risk of rejection by their families and imprisonment by police.” There are societal and spiritual reasons why this is happening.
Women who learn about Jesus, and embrace Christianity, do so at their own peril for it is illegal to leave Islam. A convert to Christianity is subject to imprisonment and torture. One Iranian Christian woman, Maryam Naghash Zargaran, has spent more than three years in prison. Nevertheless, the love of Christ is a compelling force.
Another woman who has risked her life for Jesus is Azada. “Women who become Christians,” she said, “find that they “are loved, they are wanted, and they can come to God just as they are, without any shame”.
Islam purports to honor and elevate women. However, the text of the Koran (lit. recite), reveals a far different attitude. The Koran is the sacred text of Islam (lit. submission [to the will of God]). It is divided into 114 chapters, or Suras. The Koran is said to be the Word of God, dictated to Muhammad (AD 570 – 632) by the archangel Gabriel. It is accepted as the foundation of Islamic law, religion, culture, and politics. When the Koran speaks of women, it does not always do so in a favorable way. Consider the following (web: Free Thought Nation)
Women are men’s “fields,” and men can have sex with them whenever they want. “Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence you please.” Quran 2:223, “The Cow,”
Men are superior to women and have authority over them, while women must obey men or risk being beaten. “Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and forsake them in beds apart, and beat them.” Quran 4:34, “Women,”
A woman is worth one-half of a man, and men are above women. “A male shall inherit twice as much as a female.” Quran 4:11, “Women,”
Muslim men may marry up to four wives, including prepubescent girls, and can own sex slaves. “If you fear that you cannot treat [orphan girls] with fairness, then you may marry other women who seem good to you: two, three, or four of them. But if you fear that you cannot maintain equality among them, marry one only or any slave-girl you may own.” Quran 4:3, “Women,”
Muslims are not allowed to marry non-Muslims, unless the latter convert to Islam.
“You shall not wed pagan women, unless they embrace the Faith. A believing slave-girl is better than an idolatress, although she may please you. Nor shall you wed idolaters, unless they embrace the Faith.” Quran 2:221,
Women must cover themselves and be seen only by relatives, eunuchs, slaves and children who have not yet had sex with women. “Enjoin believing women to turn their eyes away from temptation and to preserve their chastity; not to display their adornments (except such as are normally revealed); to draw their veils over their bosoms and not to display their finery except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their step-sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women-servants, and their slave-girls; male attendants lacking in natural vigor, and children who have no carnal knowledge of women. And let them not stamp their feet when walking so as to reveal their hidden trinkets.” Quran 24:31, “Light”.
In contrast, Christianity teaches men to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it in a sacrificial way (Eph. 5:25). Is it any wonder that women in Iran are attracted to the love, acceptance, and honor Jesus gives to women?
“There is no name in earth or heaven above
That we should give such honor and such love
As the blessed name
Let us all acclaim
That wondrous, glorious name of Jesus
Jesus is the sweetest name I know
And he’s just the same as his holy name
And that’s the reason why I love Him so
Jesus is the sweetest name I know.”
