She Escaped Iran—Now She’s Telling the Truth

ABOUT SAMA 

Sama served beside her parents, Rev. Hekmat and Mahindokht, in Iran’s underground church.  An English teacher, she began translating Christian books and other materials into Farsi, Iran’s principal language, for publication by Elam Ministries.  Today, Sama serves with Heart4Iran under Dr. Mike Ansari, supporting underground churches in Iran through broadcasting, continued Farsi translation, and creating content for the ministry’s social media platform.  She also speaks publicly and appears in the media as a voice for the persecuted church.   

THIRTY YEARS UNDER TYRANNY 

Sama grew up in Iran’s underground church, the daughter of an Anglican priest who came to Christ shortly after the Islamic Revolution, and served for over thirty years across Iran as church planter, pastor, and Bible teacher.  A convert from Islam, Rev. Hekmat was repeatedly imprisoned for his faith.  The entire Salimi family was routinely arrested, interrogated, and threatened. As a mere six-year-old, Sama clearly recalls the many police attacks on their home in Iran, the broken glass, and hiding under the bed while authorities pushed their way into their home to arrest her father for religious disobedience.  While there, they would confiscate all the Christian items in the house.  On one occasion, he was sentenced to 75 days in solitary confinement.  He always came home, but the authoritarian control continued in the form of telephone tapping, being followed, and even sexual harassment. 

In September 2016, fresh threats of imprisonment and execution left Sama and her parents fleeing Iran.

Like Israel’s exodus from Egypt, they faced continued danger and dispossession as refugees before finding asylum in the U.S.  They are not alone.  Globally, over one hundred million Christians are persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ.  Sama: A Modern Exodus shares the Salimi family’s story of faith, courage, and God’s continued faithfulness in the darkest moments of persecution, and the long, weary wanderings of their modern exodus to a new home and promised land.  It also chronicles a movement of God that has spread like wildfire across Iran, reaching hearts and lives with the unshakable truth of the gospel and love of Jesus Christ.  The vision behind the book is threefold – to awaken the global Church to the reality of persecuted believers in Iran, shed light on the unique struggles of MBBs (Muslim Background Believers) and offer readers an honest, compelling testimony of redemption in Christ.   
 
Having lived in Iran thirty years, Sama has a unique perspective of how the people there think and feel about their government and the current political situation.  

To learn more about Sama Salimi Sadi, or to purchase her latest book, Sama: A Modern Exodus, click the LINK!

CREDITS

Author, Sama: A Modern Exodus, 2025, (Self-published) / serves with Heart4Iran, supporting underground churches in Iran through Farsi translation, and creating content for the ministry’s social media platform / speaker / media contributor for the persecuted church