The head of one of the world’s largest persecution watchdogs has called for a shift in strategy to protect Christians in Afghanistan.
President and CEO of Global Christian Relief David Curry says there’s an urgent need to help get Christians solidified and stablised in the country.
He indicated that may require Christians operating from inside the strictly Islamic nation.
He said there was a need to build the Church and build Christian influence there in the name of Jesus.
Dr. Curry said the Taliban cannot be allowed to continue its draconian, medieval rule.
He noted that girls can’t go to school, women can’t hold jobs and all female faces are covered.
He accused the Taliban of “extreme, bizarre and brutal punishments” against anyone who challenges Islam or its rule.
The Global Christian Relief boss says that’s left the nation in total chaos.
“Christians and religious minorities within Afghanistan face enormous persecution,” Dr. Curry conceded while noting that many believers have escaped and left.
“The Christians who remain are underground or on the run, and we can’t just look at this cut-and-run strategy as a long-term solution,” he explained.
He encouraged believers everywhere to pray for persecuted Christians stuck in Taliban-controlled areas.
Faithwire reports Dr. Curry kept returning to his call to build up the church there.
“A lot is going on that’s both brutal and bizarre. And we need to do everything we can to strengthen the church,” he stated.
He believes the US has a central role to play in that respect by calling out the Taliban government and adding Afghanistan to the State Department’s Countries of Particular Concern list — a designation targeting nations restricting religious freedom or complicit in violations of it.
Release International, a UK-based group monitoring Christian persecution, believes Christianity could exponentially expand in Afghanistan.
Despite noting “the persecution of Christians is continuing unabated,” it observed that “there are early signs that the Christian faith could be growing among Afghans despite — or because of — violent persecution.”
Shoaib Ebadi, president of Square One World Media, a Christian media organisation, told the Voice of the Martyrs the chaos could lead young people to seek other options, like Christianity.
“They are eager to hear about new things because their way of life that has continued for centuries has not brought peace or forgiveness, and the people are not prospering,” Mr. Ebadi noted.
“It’s always fighting and revenge. They are questioning everything: their own faith, their past, their present, their future.”
