Transcript [00:00] Shalom. Jay Mah Hancock here with an [00:02] AllIrael News interview. Today we have [00:04] the privilege and the honor of of [00:06] interviewing Ramen Para, an Iranian who [00:10] came to Israel. He's going to talk to us [00:12] about how he came to Israel, how he came [00:14] to faith and the current situation in [00:18] Iran with the protest against the [00:19] regime. Uh Raine, it is an an honor, as [00:23] I said, and a privilege to have you here [00:25] on all Israel News. [00:26] >> Thank you very much. It's an honor for [00:27] me. So, uh, to start off with, um, how [00:31] does an Iranian, [00:33] first of all, make it to Israel, the the [00:36] little Satan, [00:37] uh, how do you get married to an [00:40] Israeli, [00:41] um, those all those things don't sound [00:43] like they go together. So, just tell us [00:45] a little bit about your story. [00:46] >> Amen. Well, I was born and raised in [00:48] Iran as a Shiite Muslim. And all my [00:51] life, I was told to hate the Jews in [00:52] Israel in the schools. uh our prayer in [00:55] the morning was they told us to say [00:57] death to Israel, death to America and uh [01:00] every day propaganda against Jews, [01:02] against Israel and so forth and so on. [01:04] But when I was 16 years old, I was [01:06] arrested and tortured by the government. [01:08] And prior to that, I was a very devout [01:10] Muslim. My whole family were we used to [01:12] pray you know um three times a day in [01:14] Shia is three five is combined in three [01:17] and we used to pray and fast and uh go [01:20] to on the streets and beat ourselves [01:22] trying to please Allah that we may get [01:25] more more points to go to heaven and [01:26] they told us the greatest honor in life [01:28] is to become a jihad is to become uh a [01:31] shahid like to go and kill infidels and [01:34] you you get killed on the way doing that [01:36] and you become a shahid a that's the [01:39] greatest honor they told [01:40] But then um and as a child I really [01:42] loved God. So I was you know reading the [01:45] Quran in Arabic of course because they [01:47] told us in Arabic you get more points if [01:49] you read it. It's a it's a god Allah [01:52] likes it more if you read in Arabic and [01:54] you get more points. So I was reading [01:56] the Quran but I didn't understand it. [01:57] And in the school they taught us um [01:59] again in Arabic like the Quran and [02:01] reading Quran but then um I saw so much [02:04] cruelty. I saw people being executed [02:06] when I was like 10, 9 years old going to [02:09] school and I saw people being hang on a [02:11] crane on the streets and I'm watching [02:13] this and imagine I was traumatized for [02:16] for weeks and I was I could not get it [02:19] out of my mind what I saw. Saw people [02:21] being beaten on the streets by the [02:23] government. Uh so they told us these are [02:26] Zionists, these are like spying for [02:27] Israel, for America and these are [02:30] kufars, these are like infidels. But [02:32] then when I was 16 years old, I was [02:34] going to a wedding. I was arrested by [02:36] the regime and I was in a car with some [02:39] friends. They had some alcohol. I [02:40] didn't. And based on Sharia law, having [02:43] alcohol is against Islamic Sharia. Even [02:45] having it in your home or selling it, [02:48] buying it, making it, drinking it is [02:50] against Sharia law is haram. They say, [02:52] "So my only crime was I was in this car [02:55] and they pulled the car over. They smell [02:56] the alcohol. They took us to [02:57] confinement. They took all our clothes [02:59] off bare naked. They pour cold water on [03:02] us and they began to beat us with the [03:04] with cables with thick electric cables. [03:07] And imagine I was 16 years old and I [03:09] didn't do anything wrong. And I was [03:11] beaten. And I saw the cruelty. They were [03:14] they had us face the wall. Sit up. Sit [03:15] down. Sit up. Sit down for like 70 80. [03:18] And after a while, you know, your [03:19] muscles are cramped. You can't even do [03:20] it anymore. And if you couldn't, they [03:22] would beat you more. And and they were [03:24] mocking us and laughing at us. Then they [03:26] threw us into a room like 50 of us. 50 [03:29] people were arrested for different [03:30] reasons. Somebody was with his [03:32] girlfriend, somebody was at a party, [03:34] somebody, you know, uh had some alcohol [03:36] or they just arrest people for any [03:38] reason. And uh so I was in this jail [03:42] cell and I was like with 50 other [03:44] people. They're choking and no food, [03:47] just one bottle of water for everyone. [03:50] One time restroom in the morning, one [03:51] time at night, 60 seconds to go to [03:53] restroom. So imagine I was going through [03:55] all of that and I began to question what [03:58] kind of people they are. They claim to [04:00] be representing Islam and and they claim [04:02] to you know uh have Islamic justice and [04:05] Islamic equality and all these nonsense. [04:08] But then um that's the moment I began to [04:11] question Islam. Uh so we had to go to [04:15] jail. They put shackles on our hands and [04:16] our feet. They took us to a court. A [04:18] moola sitting there and uh my family [04:22] actually bribed them. They gave him some [04:24] money. So they just told we had to pay a [04:26] fine and then they let us go. But then [04:28] uh sometimes they take you to your [04:30] neighborhood and tie you to a bed and [04:31] they whip you in front of your neighbors [04:32] to make you an example and to humiliate [04:34] you. So thank God that didn't happen to [04:37] me. But that was the beginning of me [04:39] questioning Islam. And my mother said, [04:41] "No, no, Islam is good. These radicals, [04:43] these fanatics, these fundamentalists, [04:46] they make Islam look bad." I said, [04:47] "Okay." So I began to do my own research [04:50] and read the Quran hadith which [04:51] translation this time. I wanted to see [04:53] if the things that regime in Iran does [04:55] is according to Islam or against Islam. [04:58] And upon reading I came across verses in [05:01] the Quran and the hadith that says to [05:03] kill Jews and Christians to not be [05:05] friends with them. Surah 9:29 it says [05:07] fight kill those who don't believe in [05:09] Allah in Sharia law in Muhammad in last [05:12] day. Kill them unless they're pages. [05:14] Yeah. Even if they are Jews and [05:15] Christians. [05:17] Then I read in uh surah 551 it says [05:19] don't be friends with Jews and [05:20] Christians. Surah Muhammad verse4 it [05:22] says behead the infidels wherever you [05:24] find them. So when I saw all these [05:27] things that the Quran talks about I saw [05:29] the cruelty that everything the regime [05:31] Ian does is exactly according to what [05:34] Quran says hadith says and what Muhammad [05:36] did himself. So I lost my faith in [05:38] Islam. I knew this could not be from [05:40] God. If there's a God this could not be [05:43] from him. And in Iran, it's not like you [05:45] have an option. You know, you go to a [05:46] library, you buy a Bible, you read or [05:48] you go to a church, or you go to a [05:49] synagogue. It's illegal. And conversion [05:52] from Islam to any other religion is [05:54] punishable by death, especially [05:56] Christianity. And the Bible is illegal [05:58] in Iran. So I lost my faith in Islam, [06:02] but I still was curious. I was crying [06:04] out to God, God, who are you? So from 16 [06:07] to 19, many things happened. I lost my [06:09] father. As a result, I lost my school. I [06:12] was dep depressed, hopeless. Um I was [06:15] isolated. I didn't want to go out. I [06:17] didn't want to see my friends. Um I just [06:19] was broken and I had deeper questions of [06:22] life like uh it wasn't just you know [06:25] about uh what about my career, my [06:27] future. It's all about what is the [06:28] purpose of life? Why do I live in this [06:31] world? Like who made me? Who made the [06:33] the stars and the moon? And you know in [06:34] I I'm from Shira in south part of Iran [06:37] and summertime we sleep in the backyard. [06:39] You put a bed, you know, mattress and [06:41] just watch the stars and until you fall [06:44] asleep and the weather is like [06:46] Jerusalem. It's like cool, not hot, not [06:47] cold. But then I began to when I saw the [06:51] stars the the I began to question like [06:54] who made this? All of this is accident [06:56] like this just happened uh who made me [06:59] what am I doing here? If there's a god I [07:00] want to know him and if there's no god [07:02] then what is the purpose of life? And um [07:05] one thing that Muhammad did is u he [07:08] attached himself to Jesus, to Moses, to [07:10] Noah, to Abraham. So in my mind and I [07:13] thought all of them are the same family [07:15] like uh so when I said no to Islam in my [07:18] mind I said no to all of them. I thought [07:19] all it's the same thing all nonsense, [07:22] lies, deception. But then uh a few uh a [07:27] while after I heard a testimony on a [07:30] radio. It was um the power was out. We [07:33] had a radio that worked with battery and [07:35] I just was out of desperation. I just [07:37] was moving the knob on the radio and I [07:40] came across a channel that was [07:41] broadcasting from outside Iran and they [07:43] were somebody was sharing a testimony of [07:45] someone who was suicidal want to take [07:48] his own life and as he was going to take [07:51] his own life. He heard this uh beautiful [07:53] music and he followed the music and he [07:56] went to a church and there he became a [07:58] Christian his life changed became a [08:00] believer in in Jesus and I said no I [08:03] didn't make much of it but I felt [08:04] something happened to me it's like a ray [08:06] of light or hope came into my heart but [08:08] I didn't make much of it because I was [08:10] antagonistic to a religion because of [08:12] what happened to me uh but a few weeks [08:14] later through satellite I heard again [08:16] that Jesus loves me and he died for me [08:18] and he rose from the dead and if I [08:20] believe in him I'll be saved. you know, [08:22] he gave his life for me. I said, "No, [08:23] that's a bunch of nonsense." So, I [08:25] rejected that and because, you know, it [08:27] was too good to be true and I thought [08:30] this is like a western version of [08:31] religion like, you know, cuz we heard [08:33] the westerners are Christians, you know, [08:34] we saw on TV pope and Catholics and [08:37] cross and in the movies and stuff. So I [08:39] thought it's like something western. [08:40] It's same same thing as Islam. [08:43] And so I said no. But a few weeks later [08:46] I heard again that Jesus loves me and he [08:48] died for me and he rose from the dead. [08:50] And uh I I said no that's again it's [08:53] nonsense. I rejected that again. One [08:56] week later I heard again. So the last [08:57] time I heard I said okay Jesus if it's [08:59] really true as they say you died for me. [09:01] You rose from the dead. You're the son [09:03] of God. If it's true okay then you're [09:06] alive. then you hear my prayer. And if [09:08] you're not alive, if it's lie, then you [09:10] don't hear me. I want I want to hear an [09:12] answer. If it's true, I want you to come [09:14] into my life. Save me right now. If [09:16] you're if you're alive. And the moment I [09:18] say that, the heat went through my left [09:21] hand. A warmth. It went through all my [09:23] body. I began to shake. I began to cry. [09:26] I began to weep. And I felt somebody put [09:29] his hand into my heart and yanked out [09:31] all the hatred, anger, bitterness, [09:34] disappointment, depression. It was all [09:36] gone in an instant [09:38] >> and I was feeling this joy I've never [09:40] felt before. A peace that surpasses [09:42] understanding. It was like I still had [09:44] the problems. Nothing had changed from [09:45] outside but from inside I was just [09:48] completely different. I began to even [09:50] forgive my enemies, those who hurt me, [09:52] those who beat me in jail. I began to [09:55] forgive them. I felt compassion for them [09:57] and I felt like they don't know what [09:58] they're doing. So I knew this was [10:01] something supernatural. I mean I felt [10:02] the power of God. I was it's like [10:04] somebody lifted 500 kilo of weight off [10:06] my shoulders. [10:08] >> So I was jumping up and down rejoicing [10:10] and I felt the power the love of God for [10:13] first time in my life. So imagine before [10:15] that when I was a Muslim we used to go [10:17] to the shrines of the imams to the [10:19] mosques beat ourselves you know uh weep [10:23] cry throw money inside trying to please [10:25] Allah and we ask we beg for for help and [10:29] never not even once Allah answer our [10:31] prayer. Not even once. [10:33] And first time I call on the name of [10:35] Jesus, he heard me and he answered me [10:39] and I felt the power and the love of [10:41] God. So I just was full of joy, full of [10:44] the love of God. And I ran to my mom's [10:46] house. My mom saw me. She said, "What [10:48] happened to you?" I said, "Why?" She [10:49] said, "Your face is shining because [10:52] before I was grumpy and and sour and [10:54] depressed and now she saw me, I'm [10:57] smiling and I'm rejoicing." She thought [10:59] I won the lottery or something. [11:01] But then I told my mother what happened [11:04] to me. I told her that I this I prayed [11:07] this and this happened to me and my [11:09] mother didn't have a bad reaction. She [11:11] saw that it helped me and because she [11:13] was concerned about me and then she had [11:16] my mother had a chronic disease. She had [11:18] ovarian problem and the doctor said you [11:20] have to do surgery. It's very dangerous. [11:21] She had pain all the time. And when I [11:23] went to see her, she had pain. And I put [11:26] my hands on her because see, I knew that [11:29] for first time I said, "Jesus, you help [11:31] me." And now I knew if I pray for my [11:33] mother, in the name of Jesus, he he [11:36] hears me. And I didn't even know I have [11:37] to put my hands or pray in the name of I [11:39] technical, but I guess I was led by the [11:41] Holy Spirit. I put my hands on my [11:43] mother. I prayed for her in the name of [11:44] Jesus. And my mom got healed. To this [11:46] day, it's been 20 years. My mom had [11:49] never had the same problem again. [11:51] >> Wow. And so my mother got healed and as [11:53] a result she became a believer. She was [11:55] a very devout Muslim. She became a [11:57] believer. Then one by one my sisters and [12:00] then my brothers uh two of my brothers [12:01] became believers and uh so my niece, my [12:04] nephew. So the kingdom of God is growing [12:06] in Iran. Millions of Iranians are sick [12:08] and tired of Islam and they're rejecting [12:11] Islam and there's a void and they're [12:12] looking for for truth just exactly like [12:14] what happened to me. So my story is not [12:16] unique. There are millions of Iranians [12:18] who are experiencing the same thing. And [12:21] as a result, many of them are coming to [12:23] the Lord. So the kingdom of God is [12:25] growing. People are finding the truth. [12:27] They're leaving Islam. And as a result, [12:29] they are loving Israel because they know [12:32] that Israel is not the enemy. They love [12:34] the Jewish people. They love Israel. And [12:36] this is a result of what God is doing in [12:38] Iran, turning an enemy nation to a [12:40] friend nation. And I believe Iran will [12:42] be free one day. So long story short, I [12:45] began to look for a Bible. It's illegal [12:47] in Iran. Eventually I came on the [12:50] internet. Uh I found it but they blocked [12:52] it the website. I uh broke the blockage [12:55] through VPN. I came I found all the [12:57] books of the Bible. I didn't know what [12:58] they are. I didn't know what was [13:00] Leviticus or you know Numbers or [13:02] Deuteronomy. I just all I knew was [13:04] Torah. When I was a Muslim they told us [13:06] Moses brought the Torah, Jesus brought [13:08] Enjil and Muhammad brought the Quran. [13:11] And they told us those two are expired. [13:13] So they told us Quran was the last and [13:15] the best. But then I became a believer [13:17] in Yeshua in Jesus. So I want to know [13:19] what angel says because they told us [13:21] Jesus brought. So I looked for an angel [13:23] and I saw four of them in the in the [13:25] list. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I [13:28] didn't know why there were four. So I [13:29] download I began to read and I began [13:32] from Matthew and by the time I got to [13:34] chapter 5, I was just crying because [13:36] first I saw the genealogy that Jesus was [13:39] a Jew. He was from Israel, was born in [13:42] Bethlehem. And then I saw the magis came [13:44] to worship Jesus. They brought gifts, [13:46] you know, myrr and they brought gold and [13:49] they brought Frankenstein for for Jesus [13:51] and worshiped him. It was Persians. And [13:54] how did I know? Because it says the word [13:56] magi and magi were the Persian astronom. [13:59] So I just was undone and I saw the [14:02] sermon on the mount. Matthew chapter 5 [14:04] verse 44. He says, "Love your enemies. [14:06] Pray for those who hate you and [14:08] spitefully use you. Blessed are the poor [14:10] in the spirit for kingdom of heaven [14:11] belongs to them." So I saw the words of [14:14] Jesus were so simple but so profound and [14:18] he was talking to me and I was crying [14:20] because it was first time I heard those [14:22] words in my life and imagine in contrast [14:24] to in Islam it says kill those who don't [14:26] believe in Allah fight you know the Jews [14:28] and Christians kill them kill the [14:30] infidels behead them and all these [14:32] things Muhammad cursed his own uncle he [14:34] cursed the Jews and Christians in surah [14:35] 9:28 so when I contrast was so vast and [14:39] I knew this was heavenly because a [14:41] normal human being like a a person from [14:44] this earth could not talk like that [14:46] and it was just the the the words that [14:49] was so powerful that was like talking to [14:52] my heart and so I read continue to read [14:56] came to you know Mark Luke and John [14:58] Jesus say I'm the good shepherd the good [14:59] shepherd laid his life down for his [15:01] sheep and I saw that Jesus say I am the [15:04] resurrection and life and those who come [15:06] to me will be raised at the last day I [15:08] am the way the truth and life no one [15:10] comes to the father except through me [15:12] introducing God as a loving father and [15:14] opposed to an angry judge who wants to [15:16] punish all the time. And in in Islam, we [15:18] were always afraid of Allah that he [15:20] would punish us. And even if somebody [15:22] would break his leg, they said, "Oh, he [15:24] did something wrong, so Allah punished [15:25] him." But then I saw the love, the [15:28] compassion of Jesus. He was [15:30] compassionate towards sinners. He talked [15:32] about mercy, forgiveness. It's better to [15:34] have mercy than to judge and then to be [15:36] angry and then to So I was just undone. [15:39] And I just was crying and I said why [15:41] this book is illegal. There's nothing in [15:43] it against anyone. It's all about love, [15:45] forgiveness, eternal life, hope. So I [15:48] began I said everyone should know about [15:49] this. So I began to copy on city back [15:52] then you had city and I began to go on [15:54] the streets and give to people and I was [15:57] going to a gym and uh because before I [15:59] was depressed I was isolated at home and [16:01] now I'm going to gym. I'm going to the [16:02] streets. I'm praying all the time [16:04] talking to Jesus. And I went to this uh [16:06] gym and there's so many young people [16:08] there and I was talking to one of them. [16:10] I gave him a CD. I said this is uh Jesus [16:13] uh it's Anjil and people heard me around [16:16] and they ran to me. They say can I have [16:18] one please too? Can you give me one too? [16:20] So the hunger the Iranian people are [16:22] hungry. They want to know the truth. [16:24] They're sick and tired of this hatred [16:26] anger and always fighting with others. [16:29] You know it's the regime in Iran is [16:31] always fighting against Israel. They [16:32] want to destroy Israel. They want to [16:34] bring the mai, you know, the 12 imam and [16:37] the esquetology. They they want to just [16:39] destroy the Jews and all so forth and so [16:41] on. But in the gospel is all about love, [16:43] forgiveness, turn the other cheek, have [16:46] mercy, have compassion. And u so it just [16:50] young people are hungry and thirsty for [16:51] the word of God. So after 8 months, [16:53] somebody stabbed me. I was on the [16:56] street, somebody came and they stabbed [16:57] me and run away and they took me to the [16:59] hospital and they stitched me up. after [17:01] I've recovered um I felt God told me to [17:04] leave. I didn't have a passport because [17:06] in Iran you have to have a passport to [17:09] go to military to have a passport. So I [17:11] didn't have a passport and I run away. I [17:14] came to the border of Turkey. One night [17:16] they grabbed my bag, threw some clothes [17:17] in it. I came to the border of Turkey [17:20] and there's some smugglers there and [17:22] they helped me Kurdish smugglers. They [17:24] smuggled me to Turkey. So now I'm in [17:26] Turkey and God just miraculously led me. [17:28] I went to a church and somebody gave me [17:31] a place to stay. Then I applied for [17:33] asylum from United Nation and after two [17:36] years I was approved as a refugee and I [17:38] sent was sent to America and I went to [17:41] America uh and I went to a Bible [17:43] college. I studied more Bible. I was a [17:45] pastor. I was uh uh pastoring Iranian [17:48] church and hundreds of Iranians came to [17:50] our church and became believers and the [17:52] Muslims became believers. And then uh in [17:55] 2020 I met my wife uh she's an Israeli [17:59] um messianic and she saw a video from [18:03] Iran that the students refused to step [18:06] on Israeli flag and American flag. The [18:08] regime put the Israeli flag on American [18:10] flag and the students refused to step on [18:13] them. So they went around it. They [18:15] circumvented it and she was so touched [18:18] by it because she thought Iranians hate [18:19] Israel the people. But she saw that the [18:21] people are different than the [18:22] government. So she want to send the [18:24] message back to Iranians that we [18:26] Israelis, we love you too. We're not [18:27] your enemy. So she as an artist, she [18:29] began to draw and she draw two hands in [18:32] the shape of a heart and one is Israeli [18:34] flag and one is the the ancient Persian [18:36] flag with a lion. And uh so she drew [18:40] this and then uh while she was doing it [18:44] her mother came across my story online [18:46] and she sent it to her say hey Iranians [18:49] are becoming believers h Iranians are [18:51] leaving Islam becoming believers. So she [18:53] saw it and uh so in the video we talk [18:56] about how to follow me on the social [18:58] media and she followed me and she was [19:00] following a lot of Iranians so when she [19:02] publishes her art they will see it they [19:05] see the message. So, and I did when she [19:08] published it, I saw the two hands and I [19:10] it says, "Shalom from Israel. We love [19:13] you." And I saw this message and I said, [19:15] "Wow, from Israel. Who is this?" And [19:18] then we start talking and we immediately [19:20] connected. She talked about that she's [19:22] um she loves Iran and she has a heart [19:24] for the Iranian people. She wants Iran [19:26] to be free. So, every day we're talking [19:28] about the history, Bible, politics. And [19:32] eventually we got married in 2020. uh [19:34] late 2020 in December we got married and [19:37] um she came to the states we lived there [19:40] for two and a half years and right [19:41] before the war in March 2023 we moved to [19:44] Israel and uh we have a son now 8 months [19:47] old uh and we live here and when the war [19:50] began I was volunteering taking food to [19:53] the soldiers and cooking for displaced [19:56] Israelis and ministering to them and [19:58] even to this day we take we take food [20:00] for uh like um uh the checkpoints and we [20:04] go to the bases. We helped as much as we [20:06] can. And so this is the story how we [20:09] ended up here and we came to Israel. [20:11] >> What a beautiful testimony we've heard [20:13] from Raine. We will follow this story of [20:17] Raine in the next segment. So if you're [20:20] not subscribed, subscribe. Like this [20:23] video so more people can hear about it [20:24] here on All Israel News. Thank you.
