Eyewitness reports from inside Afghanistan reveal the Taliban is now gearing up to search and destroy Christians and other converts from Islam wherever they may be found.
US persecuted church agency International Christian Concern reports that the Taliban government that seized power last year in the renamed Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has just sent a letter to local Taliban forces throughout the country. It orders them to find and kill every convert – women and children included. The letter highlights the apostasy of more than 20 families who have turned away from Islam and says that local forces must act immediately to identify them and then to apply Sharia Law rigorously, ‘as a lesson for the infidels and their supporters’.
The sources also report that the Taliban has already begun grabbing people. Eight weeks ago a family disappeared, certainly now all killed, and three days ago a friend’s brother went missing. He too will have suffered a similar fate. But the persecution is of a different order than that in many other countries. It does not take place in the open, through court cases or with publicity in the media. By contrast, in Afghanistan the persecution is entirely covert – by kidnap, torture and assassination. The Taliban will not claim or accept responsibility for their actions.
Release International confirms that the situation is worsening for Afghani Christians.
According to a partner organisation: ‘Christians are afraid of being reported by family members or neighbours, and fear violent treatment by the Taliban. Homes are being searched and individuals are receiving threats.’
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also backs up those reports. It has documented and received what it calls ‘credible reports of violence including executions, disappearances, evictions, desecration of houses of worship, beatings, harassment, and threats of violence to members of particularly vulnerable religious communities.
‘Converts who already faced ostracism and the threat of honour killings by family and village members are now at heightened risk with the Taliban in power.
‘The Taliban regime and rival militant group Islamic State have intimidated, threatened and targeted members of religious minority communities, and carried out violent attacks. It has been going door-to-door looking for US allies, former government workers, rights activists, and Christian converts’.
Release International CEO Paul Robinson warns: ‘In 2022, there is a very real threat of higher levels of violent persecution in Afghanistan.’
