The Life-Changing Acceptance of Christ

by Jacob Clagg

Alireza (Ali) Majidi found at the University of Findlay (UF) what he had been searching for much of his life, a sincere relationship with God, and a way to express his beliefs without being rejected.

It’s something that Ali says his family has wrestled with in the Islamic country of Iran, and it was the very reason he left. Ali, who just finished his sophomore year at UF, is now a born-again Christian who cannot return to Iran until the government changes its mood toward non-Islamic faiths. Ali’s story is a powerful reminder that following Jesus in a world that frequently rejects Him comes at a cost, and how impactful radical Christian hospitality can be.

In 2022, riots broke out in Iran over the imprisonment and subsequent death of a woman by the name of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for wearing her hijab incorrectly. Alireza, whose family has always struggled with Iran’s severe enforcement of Islamic law, recounted how his own sister had faced similar, but thankfully non-lethal, targeting by police years before. She was once taken off the street by the police and held in custody for four days. The police refused to respond to the family’s calls or tell them where she was. Ali said, “This kind of thing put so much anxiety in my mother’s eyes. I was asking myself, ‘Why? Why is this happening to us?’”

It wasn’t just the ideological pressure on his family that moved Ali. His own feelings of rejection were palpable in our discussion. Ali told me that he was always an inquisitive student of history and religion, and yet his views were never accepted when he talked about them in public. “Every time I wanted to express myself in the society, in every community that I was in, I was rejected. For every reason. For any reason.” As Iran became increasingly authoritarian, Ali’s family grew increasingly isolated and events like this helped solidify his plans to eventually leave.

“When I became 18 or 19, I decided to not spend my whole life in that kind of society,” he said, while reflecting on his complex emotions around leaving his home country. “It kind of seems like I was a coward, like I just wanted to get out and get rid of Iran. But honestly, you cannot do anything.”

Ali’s arrival at Findlay was never a forgone conclusion and the United States wasn’t even Ali’s first choice. Initially, he had planned on studying in Italy or Germany, but Covid restrictions made even getting an audience at the embassy too high a hurdle to overcome. Ali then pivoted to the United States which posed other challenges. Living in Iran, Ali couldn’t go to a US embassy because, well, there isn’t one and there hasn’t been since the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Instead, Ali had to enter Armenia and go to the embassy there in order to begin the visa process.

Ali was applying for his initial visa in the aftermath of Covid, which resulted in many higher learning institutions simply closing their doors to international students. Getting into the US and getting to a school that was willing to host students was a frustrating process, typified by the University of San Diego initially accepting Ali and allowing him to begin the registration process, only to reverse their decision and cancel all international student applications. Lucky for Ali, one of his friends knew about UF and suggested he apply.

Ali wasn’t expecting to find his faith at UF. “That was not part of my mindset at all. My mindset was just studying and graduating, and that was it,” he said. He had hoped to study biology and do some medical work. Anything outside of that professional scope wasn’t part of his plans. In the newly built College of Business and Student Life (CBSL), Ali saw a banner for the film society on campus, a Campus Ministries group that watches films and discusses them. Having an interest in film, Ali attended and quickly found people who were interested in talking to him and hearing more about his life. From there, Ali learned about Campus Ministries and all the other events, Bible studies, and book clubs they have on campus. His first semester on campus was fairly light so he had plenty of free time and decided to go to those things too.

Having very little experience with Christianity, Ali admitted that he was “enjoying reading the Bible,” but his first deep dive into Christian belief was eye opening and it challenged the Islamic perspective he had been taught. Ali recounted what shocked him the most when he was first learning about the Christian perspective of Jesus. “The first time I heard Pastor Matt say that Jesus is the Lord, fully God, fully human, I was really surprised,” he said. “I thought Jesus was just a prophet. This is the Islamic perspective of Jesus.”

After this, Ali began attending church in Findlay. In fact, he attended numerous churches, wherever his friends might take him. “I tried most of the churches in Findlay,” but in the end it came down to a church he could easily and reliably walk to. After church, Ali’s friend would listen to him talk about his beliefs and he had questions about how his understanding of God from his Islamic perspective differed or aligned with what he had heard in that morning’s message. “They would listen and care and they would pay attention,” Ali said, gratefully. “That was the first time I was expressing myself and not being rejected.”

Over the months, it was this feature of Christianity that drew Ali in more and more. “They were very patient and eager to answer my questions. That love that was present in their community, that attracted me. And I told myself that, if this love is what Christianity means, then I want to be Christian.”

Ali was officially baptized last year, in 2022, and he called his parents the very next morning to tell them. “I said, if they don’t agree, then that’s okay. Because I wasn’t afraid that I might be rejected by my family. I was so excited and interested in Christianity. That love I saw; it was like you had seen God himself. It changes you a lot. I’ve changed a lot.”

Ali spoke about what it was like telling his parents the first time, and how they were both very worried for him. “They were shocked,” he said. “They knew I had been going to a church… but they didn’t expect me to become Christian.” And one can easily imagine the logical leap Ali’s family made. Now that he was a Christian, it wouldn’t be safe for him to come back home. For his parents, it meant they might not see their son again for many years. When asked if Ali ever plans to go back to Iran, his answer was a tentative, “No.” He said, “It’s Islamic law that if someone changes their religion, they would be persecuted… It’s not safe for me to go back to Iran right now.”

But that hasn’t stopped Ali from enjoying his life here in the US, and being grateful for the opportunity to know God that Campus Ministries has provided. “Now I have a purpose, everywhere I go, I can be a representative of Christ. I can show God [to others] by showing love to other people.”

In order to stay in the United States, and avoid persecution back home, Ali is currently seeking asylum to stay in the United States and is currently waiting to hear about when he’ll be going to court. Many Americans don’t know that the asylum seeking process is one of the most rigorous ways to gain permanent entry into United States, and for Ali, it could take up to 5 years from start to finish. Thankfully, Ali has his authorization card to work in the United States to support himself. “My biggest concern is how I’m going to meet my tuition needs,” Ali told me. As a foreign citizen, scholarship opportunities are hard to come by, and tuition assistance is almost non-existent. This is compounded by the continually worsening value of Iranian currency, the Rial, which has seen more than 30% inflation rate for multiple years in a row. Altogether, each semester will continue to be a challenge for Ali to make tuition payments, even as Campus Ministries tries to help support him.

Campus Ministries has played a pivotal role in transforming Ali’s life, and he wanted to make sure people knew how impactful Pastor Matt has been on his life. “Pastor Matt has been a bigger brother for me,” he said. Ali explained in our conversation how Pastor Matt has been guiding Ali through his financial issues as well as his faith, but admitted he struggled to express his gratitude fully. “I don’t know how to thank him for all he’s been doing. I’m thankful he’s my pastor.”   Regardless, Ali’s giving back by working at CGGC camps. My interview with Ali took place over a Zoom call while he was on a break from working at Campy Otyokwah in Ohio, helping prepare the camp for the summer rush. If you feel called to help support students like Ali who are finding their purpose in God at UF, you can donate to the general Campus Ministry fund on our website under “Partnerships,” or by mail using the giving code: CM1500.

Alireza finished our conversation by telling me that he wants everyone to experience the love of God he experienced, “even those people who might hurt me before, even those people, I want those people to experience that love and what I saw,” he said. “I think that should be the purpose of all of us.”