The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan last month likely signals heightened persecution against Christians and other religious minorities in the country. Afghanistan is a majority Muslim country, with only 1% of the population being “other.” There are various estimates regarding the number of Afghan Christians, ranging between 500 to 18,000 people.
After the withdrawal of the Soviet Union in 1989, Afghanistan descended into civil war. The Taliban, an Islamic extremist group, took power in the country. The organization ruled from 1996 until 2001, when an American-led coalition toppled the Taliban government in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
During that period of Taliban rule, rules were enacted that ostracized non-Muslims from public life by banning non-Muslim houses of worship, prohibiting non-Muslims from criticizing Muslims, and marking non-Muslim households with a yellow flag for identification.
Christians were persecuted and killed. According to the Taliban’s fundamentalist interpretation of Shari’a Law, any religious minority that has apostatized from the Islamic faith must be executed. Most Christians in Afghanistan were indeed converts from Islam. Thus, Christians had largely practiced their faith in secret, operating in underground churches.
The American-led coalition of troops captured Kabul and ended the Taliban government in November 2001. Though the Taliban was no longer in the seat of government, they still controlled territory in the country. They continued their attacks on Christians, including the capture of 23 South Korean missionaries and the execution of two of the male missionaries. In 2008, an aid worker was killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing, citing that she was working for an organization that was spreading Christianity.
The government supported by the U.S.-led coalition allowed for Christians to practice their faith, but the Constitution stated that nothing “shall contravene the tenets and provisions of the holy religion of Islam in Afghanistan.” Open Doors USA, a Christian organization that supports Christians facing persecution throughout the world, ranks Afghanistan as the second most repressive country for Christians in the world, behind only North Korea.
In 2006, Abdul Rahman was imprisoned for converting to Christianity. He was threatened with execution by Afghan courts, but was eventually released after significant international pressure. In 2010, the only Christian church in the country, which was located in Kabul, was closed and demolished. According to Caritas Italiana, a charity of Italian Catholic bishops, there had been a Catholic church that was operational from inside the Italian Embassy. Now Caritas has declared that they are ceasing operations in the country after the Taliban recaptured Kabul. They have also stated that priests are likely to leave the country, as the Taliban’s victory has sparked evacuation efforts by various groups who believe that they are in danger. The Taliban’s checkpoints around the Kabul airport have made it difficult for people to leave the country.
People in the street are being targeted for being Christian, according to Christian Today. The Taliban are alleged to be executing people who are discovered with the Bible app on their phones. The new government has a “hit list” of known Christians to be marked for execution, per the Underground Church of Afghanistan.
Sam Brownback, the former ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom during the Trump administration, said that he fears a “genocide” for religious minorities in the country, along the lines of what happened in Iraq after American troops withdrew.
Pope Francis has asked countries to welcome Afghan immigrants, and asked everyone to pray and fast for the people of Afghanistan.
“As Christians the situation in Afghanistan obligates us. In historic moments like this, we cannot remain indifferent. For this reason, I address an appeal to everyone to intensify your prayer and practice fasting, asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness,” the pope said in a tweet.
The USCCB will be working with various Catholic Charities nationwide to welcome some 7,000 refugees in the coming months, according to the National Catholic Register.
Featured image courtesy of Al Jazeera English via the Wikimedia Commons
Tom is a senior in the Lynch School, where he is studying Secondary Education, History, and Philosophy, with a minor in Restorative Justice. He is President of the Boston College Republicans, and President emeritus of the St. Thomas More Society. When not taking too many classes or writing for The Torch or The Free Press, Tom loves to watch sports, listen to metal music, and defend Leo Strauss against (unfair) accusations of Gnosticism.
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