Captive in Iran

Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh are two brave women who refused to compromise their faith in Jesus, even when threatened with torture and execution.  This book is the account of their 259 days in Evin Prison in Iran.  It opened my eyes to the injustice happening in Iran, strengthened my faith by demonstrating how God can work all things for good, and challenged me to examine the depth of my beliefs.

Living in the U.S. it is hard to imagine a place without justice or religious freedom.  A place where women are considered "property" and justice is in the hands of the party who has been wronged. We take so much for granted.  In Iran, there are many women imprisoned unfairly and held in terrible living conditions. Many of their stories are shared in these pages.  Maryam and Marziyeh went to prison for sharing their faith with others.  But what they discovered was that they were put "in the best place they had ever been for witnessing to people hungry for the gospel of Jesus."  The authorities thought prison would teach these girls a lesson.  Instead, God got the last laugh.  The prison became their church.  Between being able to minister to the people there and the world-wide publicity their case received, the gospel was spread even further!

I was struck by something Anne Graham Lotz wrote in the forward.  Maryam and Marziyeh told her that "it had been easier for them to experience God's peace and presence and power inside Evin Prison than on the outside in America."  Wow.  They could have been released much sooner from prison had they compromised their faith, but they didn't.  Would many Christians in America be able to do the same thing?  Would I?

This book is well-written and worth the time to read.  May we stop taking our freedom for granted and lift up in prayer those who aren't as fortunate.  Thank you, Maryam and Marziyeh, for sharing your story with the world.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale in exchange for an honest review.