Iranian Christians share their reaction to the election results

Christians in general voted Mousavi and are hoping for new elections, according to Open Doors spokesman John Fox. "We cannot generalise our observations to all Christians," he said, "but we asked 29 Christians from Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan and all voted Mousavi."

Explaining his choice, Iranian believer Goudarz* says: "I voted Mousavi, because he is more open-minded and democratic than Ahmadinejad. Now we hope and pray that the situation will change soon or that we can have new elections. When the government orders new elections, it will be the first national victory in 30 years of dictatorship. The next government then owes it to the people to give them more freedom."

Another Christian, Firouzeh*, responded by saying, "This is a new experience for our country and we don't know what will happen now. Until now the government is sticking with Ahmadinejad as the chosen president; but the people are saying 'no' and the liberals feel backed by international support and are not even afraid to die for justice." Firouzeh added, "Even if Ahmadinejad stays president, we are not sure what the effect will be on the church. It could be one of two extremes: more pressure to keep control, or earn trust with the people by giving more liberty. We have to wait and see."

Talking about how the younger generation has reacted to this situation, Saeed* shares: "I do not know about all Christian votes of course, but I did not hear of anyone who voted Ahmadinejad. What I know is that several church leaders and quite a few middle-age Christians did not vote at all. In the big cities young believers are involved in the street protests and people from smaller villages have joined them. Young Christians have put very open reactions on the internet via facebook and other sites."

"Even if Mousavi becomes president instead of Ahmadinejad, this is no guarantee that things will change for the better," warns John Fox. "Of the 475 registered candidates, Mousavi is one of the only four candidates approved by the strict Guardian Council. So he fits the qualifications of the religious leaders and endorses the present Islamic system. This uproar however will be a serious warning for Mousavi to really work on reformation should he yet be chosen as Iran's next president."

*name changed for security reasons