First With Hate, Then Love 

     An Iranian named Arman had grown up with Muslim parents who were strict, controlling and cruel. He described their religion as "without any knowledge, without any purpose and without any love." 

     "Some of the extreme treatment hurt me a lot," he said. 

     "Twice driven to despair due to his home life and the brutalities of the hardline Shia Islamic theocracy of Iran, Arman tried to take his own life. He begged Allah for help but heard nothing but silence. So, he channeled his frustrations, disillusionment and anger into political protest against the government. When he finally fled Iran at age 29, he carried with him a burden of bitterness toward his parents and the harsh Islam they represented." 

     "I hated them," he said, "and before I left Iran I told them, 'I will not forgive you, never.' He considered what might cause them the most pain, and going to a Christian church seemed to be just the thing. 'It was the first motivation,' Arman admitted. 'But after that I found the love of Jesus.'" 

     "This love eventually replaced the hatred and pain he carried in his heart, and led him to a life of evangelism, with special concern for Muslims in Iran."

Arman's story concludes tomorrow