Within hours of capturing Herat, the Taliban’s jihadist fighters were out patrolling streets trying to convince residents of Afghanistan’s third-largest city that life would soon return to normal.
“Business will continue as normal and people are happy with us and, with our services, they will be happier,” said a Taliban terrorist.
Hamid has serious doubts about those claims.
“Right now we fear elimination. The Taliban are going to eliminate the Christian population of Afghanistan,” he told CBN News.
Hamid, not his real name, is among thousands of Afghans who’ve come to faith in Jesus Christ over the past two decades. We’ve concealed his identity for safety.
“There weren’t a lot of Christians 20 years ago during the Taliban time but today we are talking about 5,000 to 8,000 local Christians and they live all over Afghanistan,” Hamid said.
In an exclusive interview from an undisclosed location, Hamid told CBN News he’s very concerned about the future of Afghanistan’s tiny Christian community.
“We know a Christian believer who we’ve been working within the north, he’s a leader and we’ve lost contact with him because his city has fallen to the Taliban,” Hamid said. “There are three other cities that we have lost contact with our Christian believers.”
According to Open Doors, Afghanistan is the 2nd most dangerous place to be a Christian in the world today, just behind North Korea. Most of the Christians there converted from Islam.
“Some of the believers are known in their communities, people know that they converted from Islam to Christianity, and they are considered apostates and the penalty for that is death,” Hamid said. “The Taliban are famous for carrying out that punishment.”
Taliban fighters are reportedly now going door-to-door forcing families to give up their daughters, some as young as 12, to be sex slaves for their men.
“I have four sisters that are single, they are at home and they are worried about this,” Hamid said.
David, a foreign national, has worked in Afghanistan for the past three decades. We’ve taken similar precautions to protect his identity.
He saw the Taliban’s brutality up close while living in Kabul during its last reign.
Now comes fear of a return to the days of regular executions, floggings, stoning to death, and hand chopping.
“They have a strict interpretation of Islamic law, not only from the Quran, but also from what they call the Hadiths, which are traditions, sayings, and practical applications of Islamic law,” David told CBN News. “They take these literally.”
Despite these threats, David says there’s a hunger among Afghans like never before to know God in an intimate way.
“People are really seeking in their heart for peace, seeking for a true relationship with God, for meaning in life and an understanding of who is this God.”
Hamid is asking people around the world to pray for his country during these uncertain times.
“The Christian community in Afghanistan is strong. They are trusting Jesus, they are walking with Jesus, despite the potential of being eliminated by the Taliban.”
HD Editor’s Note: Why Is This News Biblically Relevant?
United In Prayer For Persecuted Afghan Christians
Christian Ministries around the world have come out imploring the Body of Christ to pray for Believers in Jesus in Afghanistan now facing the take-over of the Taliban.
Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel, via Telegram, urged, “Prayers are needed for the local Afghan believers that request to be flown out of the country as they run for their lives!”
Pastor Jack Hibbs, of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, shared via Facebook: “Pray for the small group of believers in the country. Pray that they find strength, wisdom, and supernatural peace in God’s promises.” Hibbs also provided a full list, by OpenDoorsUSA on how you can pray for this country in its state of incredible crisis.
Ken Ham, of Answers In Genesis, reminded the Church of two things: “1. Pray for Christians/Christian leaders in Afghanistan as they will face intense persecution. 2. While we still have liberty as Christians in the USA (eroding daily as it is), use the time to stand boldly and proclaim unashamedly the truth of God’s Word & the gospel. There could come a time where we won’t have that liberty anymore. “making the best use of [redeeming] the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16).”
Anne Graham Lotz via her Social Media expressed the “very heavy burden” she feels, like many others, “to pray for Afghanistan,” specifically the Believers in Jesus Christ that are trapped and threatened in the country.
Anne shared with her Instagram and Facebook audiences her prayer concerning the persecution of Christians, writing:
