As a Christian in Iran, Nagme Panahi was arrested numerous times and once even had a gun pointed at her head.

But as awful as that was, Nagme says she endured something far worse when she began speaking out about abuse from her husband.

It was then that she faced persecution, not from radical Muslims, but from Christians.

Welcome to the Roy's Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church.

I'm Julie Roy's. And today you're going to hear my powerful interview at the Restore Conference

with Nagme Panahi. Nagme was catapulted into the national spotlight when her husband,

Pastor Saeed Abadini, was imprisoned for his faith in Iran. And with the help of Franklin Graham

of Samaritan's purse and Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice, Nagme launched

the Save Said campaign. The campaign garnered worldwide attention and it eventually led to

Said's release. But during this time, Nagme learned that Syed's violence, repeated insults, and

spiritual manipulation was not just a sign of a bad marriage. It was abuse. Yet when she spoke out

about the abuse, the backlash from Christians was virulent and cruel. And the psychological

and spiritual damage from that backlash was far worse than anything Nagme said she encountered in Iran.

In our interview, Nagme talks candidly about the abuse and the Christian community's failure to stand

with victims. But she also talks about the persecuted church and how the Western

Church's failure to care for the abused and broken is not a bug but a feature. I am so grateful

for Nagme's prophetic witness to the American church, and I'm confident that God is using that

witness, both through podcasts like these and in Dogme's book, aptly titled,

I Didn't Survive, Emerging Whole After Deception, Persecution, and Hidden Abuse.

We'll get to my interview with Nagme in just a moment, but first, I'd like to thank the sponsors

of this podcast, Judson University, and Mark Orde-Barrington. If you're looking for a top-ranked Christian University

providing a caring community and an excellent college experience, Judson University is for you.

...