09/02/2021 Afghanistan (International Christian Concern) – Writing for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said he fears the ground has been laid for a “potential genocide” of Afghanistan’s Christians. This dire statement comes days after the U.S. fully withdrew from Afghanistan, ceding control of the country to the Taliban.
“The humanitarian crisis that is developing as the Taliban returns to power is likely to become a genocide against Christians if the Biden Administration does not act,” Pompeo wrote. He went on to warn that the persecution of Afghan Christians is “only just the beginning.”
“Given that many of them are Muslim converts – a crime punishable by death under the dictates of Shariah Law which the Taliban has openly embraced – the possibility of there being a genocide against Christians in the wake of this withdrawal is extremely high,” Pompeo continued.
With the Taliban’s victory now complete, minorities in Afghanistan are bracing for increased persecution, including the country’s small and secretive Christian community.
“Some known Christians are already receiving threatening phone calls,” the Christian leader told International Christian Concern (ICC) in the days following Kabul’s fall. “In these phone calls, unknown people say, ‘We are coming for you.’”
While ICC has not confirmed any targeted killings of Christians, Release International’s spokesman, Andrew Boyd, claimed at least one Christian has been killed by the Taliban.
“The Taliban have been checking phones to check if there are any bibles downloaded onto their phones,” Boyd told GB News. “We have a report that at least one Hazara has been killed as a result of this.”
Afghanistan’s Christian community is almost exclusively comprised of converts from Islam. Some estimate the Christian population to be between 8,000 and 12,000, making it one of the country’s largest religious minority groups. However, due to extreme persecution, the Christian community remains largely closeted and hidden from the public eye.
Their status as converts makes Afghan Christians direct targets for persecution by both extremist groups and society in general. In Afghanistan, leaving Islam is considered extremely shameful, and converts can face dire consequences if their conversion is discovered.
In many cases, known Christians must flee Afghanistan or risk being killed.
According to the Taliban’s ideology, Afghanistan is a Muslim country, and non-Muslims must leave Afghanistan or accept second-class status. For Christians coming from convert backgrounds, the Taliban will consider them apostate and subject to Shariah’s deadliest consequences.
For interviews, please contact Addison Parker: press@persecution.org.
