Donald Fareed is an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian-born American Christian

televangelist Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-pr ...

and President of the non-profit organization Persian Ministries International, which was founded by him. Fareed is an ordained minister and founding pastor of the Bay Area Persian Churches of San Mateo and Santa Clara in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The ministry's objectives include evangelising and spreading

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

among the Persian-speaking peoples around the world.

Background

Donald Fareed was born into a

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

Muslim family in

during the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

of Iran. His family was somewhat dysfunctional and his parents divorced when he was a teenager. In his website, Fareed claims that he was very outspoken as a youth and as a result, got into trouble with the Savak, which was the secret police apparatus of the Shah. He became disillusioned with orthodox Islam as a teenager and turned to Sufism. However, he soon became dissatisfied by what he perceived as the ''"superstitious and complicated nature of Sufism"'' and rejected Islam completely. He became interested in Christianity in 1990 after having a chance encounter with three Christian pastors and a dream in which a vision of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

appeared to him, and as a result, he converted to Christianity. His conversion would influence most of his family members to embrace Christianity as well. Fareed is a strong advocate of

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...

and Western secular ideals. He has partnered with several pro-democracy Muslim television broadcasting executives to promote democracy and regime change in Iran since 1994. Fareed is known for his peace-building strategies and for transforming lives affected by belief in militant Islam, social unrest, and political hardship. His ministry is to help the followers of Islam understand Jesus and his teachings in the Bible. His efforts are focused on correcting the misunderstanding that exists between the followers of Islam and Christianity. He also promotes peace and unity between Muslims and Christians through communication and conflict resolution. Interviewed or mentioned in over 100 publications, including Herald Tribune, Associated Press, Charisma Magazine, Religion Today, San Jose and Sacramento Mercury News, Cross Walk, NBC 11 Local News, CBS 5 Eyewitness News, ABC Local News, KFAX, Across Pacific & Asia, Fellowship, Crossroad, American Family Network AFR, Christian Television Network, CTN, etc. Media comments about him: Associated Press Breaking News: “Now he reaches about 30 million people each week ….” San Jose Mercury News: “Unlike other Christian converts from Islam, he is not merely expressing spiritual ideas, but also core democratic ideals.” CBS 5 Eyewitness News: “His message promoted communication and understanding between Muslims and Christians after 9/11.” NBC 11 Local News: “It appears that he achieved the goal of starting that dialogue ….” Agape Press: “Ex- Muslim Seeks to Transform Iran with Christian Broadcasts”

References

Donald Fareed's testimony on the Persian ministries website

External links

Persian Ministries website
- Official website of Donald Fareed. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fareed, Donald American former Shia Muslims American Pentecostals American television evangelists Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian Pentecostals Converts to Protestantism from Shia Islam Living people Iranian former Shia Muslims Year of birth missing (living people)

Background

See also

References

External links