Biography
Mehdi Dibaj was born in 1935, in Iran, into a Muslim family. His father died when he was young, and he was raised by his mother. He was educated in the local schools and was a devout Muslim as a boy. He was educated at an Islamic school and trained to be a teacher. At the age of about twenty, he came into contact with Christians. He was moved by what he saw in their lives. He read the Bible and wrestled with the claims of Christ. After a long period of study, he gave his life to Christ. He was baptized in 1955. He was among the first Iranian converts from Islam of his generation.
He left Islam at a time when conversion was risky. The Shah's government was not hostile to Christians, though the culture was. He began to work as a Christian evangelist and a teacher. He served as a member of an Iranian Christian church and as a pastor. He worked with the Assemblies of God and translated Christian literature into Persian. He was a man with a strong faith and a clear mind. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the situation changed. The new government was hostile to Christians, especially to converts from Islam. Conversion was considered apostasy, which was punishable by death.
He was arrested in 1983, on a charge of apostasy and of spreading Christianity. He was held in prison for nine years, much of it in solitary confinement. He was kept in a small cell that was about two feet wide and six feet long, which he called a grave. He was tortured and beaten, and he suffered from isolation and hunger. His family had little information about him. He spent the years in prayer and in meditating on Scripture. He was visited by his wife, Mariam, on rare occasions.
In 1993, he was brought to trial and formally sentenced to death for apostasy. He was allowed to present his defense. He wrote a statement, which he read in court. It became famous. In it, he said that he was a Christian who loved Jesus Christ, and that he was ready to die for him. He said that he was not afraid, and that he looked forward to being with the Lord. He said that he was grateful to be allowed to suffer for Christ. He thanked the court for the privilege of giving his life for the faith. He also said that he forgave those who had persecuted him. He affirmed his love for Iran. The statement was smuggled out and was widely read in the West.
The Christian community in Iran and abroad was shaken. The case drew international attention. Haik Hovsepian Mehr, the leader of the Iranian Assemblies of God, took up the cause. He alerted churches and human rights groups around the world, and a campaign was launched. The pressure on the Iranian government increased. In January 1994, the Iranian authorities unexpectedly released Dibaj. He was freed on January 16, 1994. He was reunited with his family after eleven years. The Christian world rejoiced.
His freedom was brief. Three days after his release, Haik Hovsepian Mehr disappeared and was found dead. Dibaj himself was in danger and was warned. He continued to speak and to serve the church. On July 5, 1994, he left his home to go to a meeting and did not return. His body was found some days later in a park in Tehran. He had been killed, probably by agents of the state. He was about fifty-nine years old. His family was left without a father.
His death was another blow to the church in Iran. His life shows the courage of a man who left the faith of his fathers, and the cost paid by converts in lands where leaving the majority religion is a crime. His defense statement remains a witness to the power of the Christian hope.