There are more Iranians and Afghans living here in Hamburg than in any other city in Germany–and many of them are converting to Christianity. I live in a part of town that is predominantly Persian. In fact, walk down one street and you will not hear any German whatsoever. Practically every shop there sells Iranian or Afghan products—Persian groceries, chadors, or snacks. A few weeks ago, I noticed a picture of the Shah Reza Pahlavi in the store window of my local copy shop (see picture). You may recall that the Shah was ousted in 1979, after which the Revolutionary Guard took over, with the Ayatollah Khomeini as the new head of the government. That picture told me that the shop owner is—at the very least—not a huge fan of today’s Iranian government. A few weeks ago, I shared with you that my language teacher and I have been going over the Nicene Creed in Persian. To prepare for my class I recently emailed part of the Creed in Persian to my Iranian copy shop and walked over one after afternoon to pick up my copies. The owner printed out my order as I waited, glancing at the sheet as it came out of the printer and quietly voicing the words in Persian: “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God…” He raised his eyebrows: “This is very ancient Persian language,” he noted. “What is this?” he asked. “It is an ancient Christian creed, translated into Farsi. We use it in church services for Iranians and Afghans here in Hamburg,” I explained. “Really,” he answered. Pause. “These copies are on the house.” “Well, thank you,” I replied. “That is very kind of you. I’ll be back soon with more things like these. Khoda hafez!” (“Goodbye”—which also means “May God be your guardian” in Persian). “Khoda hafez,” he answered with a smile. To be continued!
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