(excerpts)
Afghan Christians at risk of death for apostasy
Barnabas Fund, 26 April 2022
The annual report of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has argued that Christians in Afghanistan are still at risk.
Since the August 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover, the threat to Christians – all considered apostates from Islam – has increased.
USCIRF has recommended that the US Government designate Afghanistan a “Country of Particular Concern” saying “Christian converts are among those who practice their faith in hiding due to fear of reprisal and threats from the Taliban and separately from the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).”
Taliban have gone door-to-door searching for Christians.
“One leader of a house church network received a threatening letter in August from Taliban militants.”
Taliban rule also places believers at greater risk of violence and death at the hands of their neighbours, including even friends and family.
Since mid-2021 the Taliban have said that Christians must leave, re-convert to Islam, or face death.
Western governments have also largely failed in assisting Christians who have fled for their lives from Afghanistan and need safe places to re-settle.