06/19/2019 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan claims that there are no Christians living within the borders of the country. Jeremiah, a leader of a large, under­ground MBB communi­ty in Afghanistan, would disagree.

Jeremiah’s radical conversion to Christianity should not have even happened. He was raised in a strict, Muslim family. He attended a madrassa throughout high school, where he was fully immersed in the Islamic teachings. He spent long hours memorizing the Quran and praying to Allah – the typical activities of a good Muslim son.

But there was always that nagging feeling of doubt at the back of his mind. He tried to con­nect with Allah, to build a relationship with the Al Muqit, the great Nourisher of the universe, but it never happened. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was praying to his prayer mat.

This lingering doubt followed him to university, where he studied radiology and physiology. The complicated mechanisms of the human body, tuned just right to life on earth, gave Jeremiah pause. Everything that he studied pointed to intelligent design.

Jeremiah’s life changed when Korean Christians at the university gave him a copy of the Bible. The trembling fear that he felt as he opened that illegal copy of the Bible quickly vanished, overcome by encouragement, revelation, and fulfillment. For the first time in his life, he felt the powerful presence of God. He committed his heart to the Lord immediately, and went from praying to a mat to entering into the most intense relationship of his life, a relationship that he kept hidden for years.

In most Muslim cultures, it is illegal to convert from Islam to Christianity. In Afghanistan, it is illegal to even be a Christian. Apostasy is incorporated into the law, and converts to Christianity are often severely punished or even sentenced to death.

Jeremiah lived in a small town of 20-25,000 residents. Over the course of his life, Jeremiah witnessed an MBB mother torn from her children and a doctor lose all of his patients after being labeled an “infidel” for his faith.

Becoming public about his faith in an honor and shame culture would lead to the loss of his family, inheritance, social standing, job, or even life. In Afghanistan, converting to Christianity would bring shame upon one’s entire family, destroying their image in the eyes of society. Jeremiah didn’t have the luxury of anonymity that a public believer may have in a large city. Raw, gut-wrenching fear compelled him to stay silent about his faith for years.

Stay tuned for Part 2, coming tomorrow.

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