Ghorban Tourani
Encyclopedia
Ghorban Dordi Tourani also called Ghorban Tori(قربان دردى تورانى in Persian
), was an Iranian convert to Christianity and a lay-minister. He lived and worked in Gonbad-e Qabus
, Golestan
, Iran
.
Tourani, an Iranian Turkmen
, was brought up as Sunni
Muslim
, but converted to the Christian
faith in the mid 1990s during a stay in Turkmenistan
. After his return to Iran he rapidly established a Christian ministry and a house church
amongst his compatriots in his predominantly Islamic home town.
Following multiple threats of death he was abducted and murdered on the 22nd November 2005.
His murder followed the even more widely publicised arrest and trialhttp://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/news/bn2005/bn-2005-02-18.htm http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/iran/document.do?id=ENGMDE130602005 of the Iranian Christian convert and lay minister Hamid Pourmand
for apostasy
by the Iranian authorities. His death, the first murder of a pastor after several years, was a major point of escalation in the renewed persecution of Christian converts from Islam in Iran and the small but growing house church movement. http://www.kath.net/detail.php?id=12176http://www.iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2005&m=12&d=06&a=10 http://www.dagen.com/nyheter/artikel.asp?ID=100849.
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
), was an Iranian convert to Christianity and a lay-minister. He lived and worked in Gonbad-e Qabus
Gonbad-e Qabus
Gonbad-e Qābus or Gonbad-e Kāvus ; formerly Dashte Gorgan) is a city in and the capital of Gonbad-e-Qabus County, in the province of Golestān in the northeast of Iran...
, Golestan
Golestan Province
Golestan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located in the north-east of the country, south of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Gorgan....
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
Tourani, an Iranian Turkmen
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
, was brought up as Sunni
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, but converted to the Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
faith in the mid 1990s during a stay in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
. After his return to Iran he rapidly established a Christian ministry and a house church
House church
House church, or "home church", is used to describe an independent assembly of Christians who gather in a home. Sometimes this occurs because the group is small, and a home is the most appropriate place to gather, as in the beginning phase of the British New Church Movement...
amongst his compatriots in his predominantly Islamic home town.
Following multiple threats of death he was abducted and murdered on the 22nd November 2005.
His murder followed the even more widely publicised arrest and trialhttp://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/news/bn2005/bn-2005-02-18.htm http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/iran/document.do?id=ENGMDE130602005 of the Iranian Christian convert and lay minister Hamid Pourmand
Hamid Pourmand
Hamid Pourmand is a former army colonel in the Iranian army and a lay leader of the Jama'at-e Rabbani, the Iranian branch of the Assemblies of God church in Bandar-i-Bushehr, a southern port city in Iran.-Personal background:...
for apostasy
Apostasy
Apostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
by the Iranian authorities. His death, the first murder of a pastor after several years, was a major point of escalation in the renewed persecution of Christian converts from Islam in Iran and the small but growing house church movement. http://www.kath.net/detail.php?id=12176http://www.iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2005&m=12&d=06&a=10 http://www.dagen.com/nyheter/artikel.asp?ID=100849.