From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
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AFGHANISTAN: CHRISTIANS FACE ESCALATING THREAT
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In light of the apostasy case against Abdul Rahman, German publication Der Spiegel published an excellent article on Christianity in Afghanistan. Written by Matthias Gebauer in Kabul, this article entitled, "A Community of Faith and Fear", dissolves the fantasy and exposes the reality of life for Christians in Afghanistan. Gebauer interviews Afghan Christian Hashim Kabar (not his real name) who says, "We must recognize that freedom of religion, as promised by the Afghan constitution, does not exist. But maybe it's good that the international community is now aware of that."
Der Spiegel notes that when the Taliban came to power in the mid-1990s, its "Supreme Leader Mullah Omar ordered his men to raze churches to the ground, to lynch Afghan Christians and to kill or drive out foreigners who followed Jesus Christ". This posting contends that the recent apostasy debacle and a resurgent Taliban are about to make the situation for Afghan Christians much worse.
As the Der Spiegel article concludes: "Even though Afghanistan has dismissed its case against Abdul Rahman, this is a cold comfort for Kabar. He and his friends fear that anger among Islamists over Rahman's release could spur them to take matters into their hands and act even more brutally toward converts. 'Abdul Rahman's release is a good thing,' he says. 'But the international community needs to keep its eyes open.'
'"According to Kabar, the worst thing would be if the resolution of the case leaves the impression that everything is now OK for converts living in Afghanistan. If that happens, he says, the case would have done more harm than good. 'We are going to stand by our faith,' he adds on parting. 'Any kind of support would help us a lot.'"
It may be that the "only" help and support we can give is to pray -- we need to remember our Brothers and Sisters in Christ daily.
jma
ARTICLE LINK:
A Community of Faith and Fear
By Matthias Gebauer in Kabul 30 March 2006
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,408781,00.html
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