The ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice) wants everyone to sign its petition demanding that Iran free Pastor Saeed Abedini. Mr Abedini is a former Muslim who converted to Christianity and went on to become an ordained minister with the American Evangelist Association. He also became an American citizen through his marriage to an American woman.

Because Isam is the state religion of Iran, it is illegal to preach any other faith there. Very illegal. Pastor Abedini is in jail in Iran for working with an underground Christian group there. Now the ACJL are up in arms demanding his release. They are also demanding that the U.N., the U.S. State Department and everyone else also demand his release.

I’m not sure what grounds they have for demanding his release other than him being an American. Oh yeah… he’s a Christian spreading the word amongst the unbelievers. That makes him a big deal to the ACLJ. You see they are the legal arm of the empire of rabidly anti-gay, failed politician and televangelist Pat Robertson.

What does the ACLJ get up to when not attempting to rewrite the Iranian legal code? They fight against equivalent to spouse benefits for same-sex couples. They fight to keep prayer in schools (specifically Christian prayers). The ACLJ supports the funding of faith-based social services, religious proclamations in the public domain, and often equates religious expression with patriotism. ACLJ strongly opposes the right to legal, safe abortion and provides legal help to pro-life protesters who harass women seeking reproductive services. You get the idea.

So of course they’re outraged that Iran had the temerity to lock the nice Pastor up for spreading the Gospels. One somehow doubts they would have been so outraged had he been proselytizing the joys of the Hindu faith. More to the point, I don’t think anyone should be surprised or outraged by this. It’s not like that law is any kind of secret. Especially for Pastor Abedini… He’s Iranian by birth.
He traveled to Iran with the express intent of breaking their laws. He was arrested and put in jail. What about this is surprising to anyone? How is this anyone’s problem except for the pastor, his family and friends? Should Iran embrace religious freedom? That’s up to them, not the rest of the world. It’s certainly not up to Pat Robertson and his legal goonsquad.

To all those who are outraged that he was arrested for spreading Christianity in Iran there’s just one thing to remember…. It’s Illegal Stupid!

Cheers, Winston