This Crosstalk is an example of the inroads that Islam has made in America and the serious persecution that can result from holding an opposing viewpoint.

Ramin Parsa was born into a Shiite Muslim family shortly after the Iranian Revolution. He had a brother killed in the revolution and most of his family’s possessions were taken. He was raised to learned Islamic laws and was made to practice strict Islamic traditions. Following his father’s death, as a young adult, he began to seriously question his faith in Islam and called out to God to save him. He later fled Iran coming here to the U.S.

This program presents details about an incident involving Ramin, who was detained in August while leaving a coffee shop in Minnesota’s Mall of America. The reason for the detention was due to alleged solicitation. That charge was based upon a casual, unplanned conversation he had before entering the coffee shop as he answered questions from two Somali women about his conversion to faith in Christ.

Eventually the police were brought in and Ramin was arrested on grounds of criminal trespass. A settlement conference is set to take place on March 7th and if charges are not dropped, a trial will be held on April 29th.