The world recognized an international symbol of the hunger for political freedom in the summer of 2009 when a young Iranian woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, was fatally shot during the Tehran uprising. Now, Iran’s persecution of Yousef Nadarkhani, a young pastor sentenced to death for his Christian faith, is a chilling reminder that much of the world also yearns for religious liberty.

Iranian authorities arrested Nadarkhani in his home town of Rasht on Oct. 13, 2009. Nadarkhani, in his early 30s and married with two small children, is the pastor of a house church. His offense? Questioning the Islamic teaching his children received in school and asserting the right of parents to bring up their children in their own religious beliefs.

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