<p>Iran (MNN) — Artificial intelligence, or AI, is doing more than <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.eurasiantimes.com/after-hypersonic-iran-says-its-new-missile-is-a-i-enabled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improving Iran’s military might</a></strong></span>. It’s also helping the Islamic regime clamp down on civilians.</p>
<p>Soon after <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/news/suspicious-death-spotlights-anti-hijab-movement-in-iran/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mahsa Amini died</a></strong></span> in 2022, the Iranian government allowed police to use AI-assisted tools to crack down on protestors. This <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.cfr.org/blog/ai-assault-women-what-irans-tech-enabled-morality-laws-indicate-womens-rights-movements" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly led</a></strong></span> to more than 20,000 arrests and the killing of 500+ young protesters.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/mission_groups/heart4iran/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Heart4Iran</a></strong></span>’s Laurelle Gallant says, “Iran has been pursuing a goal of becoming a top 10 AI nation [<a href="https://aibusiness.com/verticals/iran-vies-to-become-top-10-ai-nation-by-2032#close-modal" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>by 2032</strong></span></a>.] The country has made significant progress in AI research and applications such as license plate recognition [and] face recognition.”</p>
<p>Today, AI-powered surveillance helps police identify and oppress women who flaunt the hijab laws. Authorities use the same types of tools to target Christians.</p>
<p>“The development of AI in Iran could pose challenges and opportunities for our work,” Gallant says.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>“On one hand, [AI] could make it harder for us to operate safely and effectively in a hostile environment. On the other hand, it could create new avenues for us to communicate and connect with Iranians who are curious and hungry for the Gospel.”</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Gallant describes four ways you can help Iranian Christians through Heart4Iran.</p>
<p>First, “Listeners and readers who are concerned about the situation in Iran and the fate of Iranian Christians should respond by praying for them fervently and regularly,” she says.</p>
<p>“Number two, they [can] <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://raisedonors.com/heart4iran/tgive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">support Heart4Iran’s work financially</a></strong></span> to provide Bibles and other resources to deepen the walk of believers in Iran and set the tone for future generations.”</p>
<div id="attachment_206300" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-206300" class="size-medium wp-image-206300" src="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-300x300.jpg 300w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-768x768.jpg 768w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-180x180.jpg 180w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-100x100.jpg 100w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-500x500.jpg 500w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-350x350.jpg 350w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https://www.mnnonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/H4I_story-pic.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-206300" class="wp-caption-text">(Graphic courtesy of Heart4Iran)</p></div>
<p>Research paves the way for a third way to help. Believers can “educate themselves and others about the reality and the needs of Iranian Christians and advocate for their rights and freedoms” by visiting <a href="https://heart4iran.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Heart4Iran’s website</strong></span></a>, Gallant says.</p>
<p>Finally, “you should share the love and hope of Jesus Christ with Iranians and Muslims you may encounter in your community or online. It’s a shame and honor culture, so evangelizing will be different than evangelizing to Westerners,” she continues.</p>
<p>“[At Heart4Iran,] we offer and host a Muslim next-door training at churches. We can come to your church for a day or half a day and give training to help you understand the cultural differences and help cause your evangelism to Muslims to be more effective.”</p>
<p><a href="https://heart4iran.com/pages/reaching-the-muslim-next-door" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Contact Heart4Iran here</strong></span></a> to learn more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Header and story images courtesy of Heart4Iran</em>.</p>