More Islamic-style interfaith outreach.

TEHRAN, Jan. 7 (UPI) — Amid widespread outrage over Christian persecution, Iranian authorities said they arrested dozens of Christians who had converted from Islam.

Tehran Gov. Morteza Tamadon said Iranian Christians were arrested during the Christmas holiday for converting from Islam or trying to convert others to Christianity.

“Just like the Taliban, who have inserted themselves into Islam like a parasite, (evangelicals) have crafted a movement in the name of Christianity,” he was quoted by Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying.

The Wall Street Journal reports that about 1 percent of the Iranian population is Christian. Iran enjoys a relatively open religious society, though Iranian law prohibits Bibles and the Christian mass in Persian. Christians don’t allow Muslims into their services.

An Iranian evangelical group in Canada, the Journal notes, claims plainclothes security guards stormed Christian households during the Christmas season looking for religious items.

Note: This is an update to a post on the Zip Wire a few days ago.