Morning Star News, April 13, 2020
When a convert from Islam in Iran was sentenced to two years in exile in Sarbaz last year, the judge warned him that religious extremists in the remote desert town would treat him harshly.
When Ebrahim Firoozi arrived near the border with Pakistan in November, though, he found that the fear the judge tried to instil in him was unfounded – local Muslims were helpful, open and hospitable.
Upon his arrival in Sarbaz, one person invited him to stay at his home the first night; others quickly found him a place to live. Local people’s kindness only increased when they learned he was exiled for his Christian faith rather than for a crime.
“I found these people to be very noble,” Firoozi, 34, said in an interview posted on YouTube in which he opened up about his conversion and his years in prison before exile.
He believes this kindness was an answer to the prayers of worried friends, family and others. “The reason people were nice to me wasn’t because of my own character or my goodness. It was all because of God.”