Saeed Abedini, a former Muslim turned Christian pastor, became famous after his 2012 arrest in Iran for allegedly “attempting to sway Iranian youth away from Islam” by creating a network of Christian home churches. During his four-year imprisonment, his then-wife, Naghmeh, worked tirelessly for his release by, among other things, meeting with the President, speaking at the UN and seeking help from Christian congregations nationwide. One that responded was Joshua Springs Calvary Chapel in Yucca Valley. Now the church is experiencing the apparent reality of the old saying, “No good deed goes unpunished.” Here with more is reporter David Haldane…
An Iranian prison, $200,000, and divorce. Those are the elements of a legal drama engulfing a Yucca Valley church that’s, well, worthy of daytime TV.
It all started back in 2013 when Joshua Springs Calvary Chapel decided to help the family of a jailed Christian pastor by raising enough money to buy them a house. Saeed Abedini, a former Muslim, had been jailed in Iran the year before for spreading Christianity.
The fundraising netted nearly $200,000. But Naghmeh Abedini—Saeed’s wife in Boise, Idaho—was too busy getting him out of prison to immediately make the purchase. And after his release last January, the couple got divorced.
Now Saeed is demanding the money, and the church—which still has it—doesn’t know what to do. “The funds may be subject to being returned to the donors,” it suggests in a lawsuit asking the court to decide.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled in San Bernardino on June 26.
JOSHUA SPRINGS CALVARY CHAPEL ASKS COURT FOR GUIDANCE AFTER FUND-RAISER
