Afghanistan's covert Christians

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Small clandestine Christian congregations are slowly spreading in remote villages of Afghanistan, reliable sources in Pakistan and the United States told United Press International in recent interviews.

This development in a country run by Muslim radicals feeds chiefly on three sources, according to Gary Lane, news director of the Voice of the Martyrs organization:

First, Afghanis encounter local Christians in refugee camps in Pakistan; second, Christian short-wave radio stations broadcast programs in Pashtu, Dari and Farsi, the principal Afghan languages; third, thousands of Bibles in these languages are smuggled into the country by VoM.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a prominent Pakistani Christian corroborated these remarks.

"Afghanis walk sometimes for three or four days to attend Bible study classes in Peshawar and other places along the border."

He said a clandestine Bible school existed for this purpose, but would not name its location. Lane added that "There is also a correspondence school for Muslims who want to know more about Christianity."

Converts to Christianity risk execution, Lane and the Pakistani informant pointed out. However, they saw no direct link between this phenomenon and the case of eight foreign relief workers facing possible death sentences for allegedly having proselytized in Kabul.

The eight -- four Germans, two Americans and two Australians -- are in custody in a jail run by the Taliban. In a crackdown on Christians prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, 16 Afghanis were also arrested. Their whereabouts are unknown. All 24 were with Germany-based Shelter Now International.

Lane's organization supports persecuted Christians in Muslim and communist countries worldwide. He compared the mainly Protestant congregations in the Afghan hinterland to the house church movement in China and North Korea.

"They number about 30 to 40 families each," agreed the Pakistani informant, who was reached by telephone from Washington.

"To our knowledge there are, in remote areas of Afghanistan, Christian groups who quietly worship Christ even in their local mosques. Obviously, they do this with great circumspection."

"This would not surprise me," commented Lane, director of the VoM news service. "I have been in 70 countries, many of them Islamic, where I noticed a growing interest among Muslims in Christianity."

A renowned theologian of a major European denomination confirmed this. He told UPI that he was in touch with several Egyptian mosque congregations who were in reality secretly Christian, "their imams included."

The Rev. Stephen Snyder, president of the Washington-based religious rights group International Christian Concern, said he heard similar reports from Saudi Arabia.

Snyder attributed the current crackdown on foreign Christians in Saudi Arabia to a fear that their faith might be spreading among locals.

As in China, North Korea and Afghanistan, Christians in Saudi Arabia congregate illegally in house churches, of which there are more than 100, according to Richard Braidich, their Washington advocate.

Braidich represents an umbrella group called United Churches of Saudi Arabia. "I estimate that they have about 50,000 regular worshipers, almost all foreigners."

In recent months, 16 of these foreigners -- mainly Filipinos and Africans -- were arrested. Some of them had their computers confiscated. "Evidently, the religious police wanted to check their databases for names of clandestine Saudi Christians," Snyder told UPI.

What makes Muslims in countries such as Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia risk their lives by converting to Christianity? The VoM's Lane suggested, "New Testament stories of Jesus' miracles have a strong mystical appeal to them.

"What these Muslims like about Christianity is that it is a religion that heals."

One on the misinformation about this war is that the Islamic fundamentalist is a small minority. This maybe true to the degree of people willing to kill themselves for terrorists attacks; however, fundamentalist movement that hates the West, Jew, and Christian is much greater. It has been around along time and is growing.

True victory in the “war” probably lies in the apostletic movement in the Islamic world.

"Afghanis walk sometimes for three or four days to attend Bible study classes in Peshawar and other places along the border."

Should make one appreciate our freedom of religion much more. Sadly, the conditions in Afghanistan are not restricted, but all over the Muslim and Communist world, from China to Indonesia to Sudan. I certainly hope that, if possible, the US can secure religious freedom in Afghanistan should it and its allies topple the Taliban.

I hope this serves as a reminder that it is not "Arabs" or "Afghanis" or whatever that are at war against us. Our enemies are MOSLEMS, and specifically radical, extremist Moslems. There are Christians among all predominantly Moslem populations. As a Christian myself, these people are my brothers and sisters in Christ, NOT my enemies. If you are a Christian, you should have the same attitude toward them.

To obtain Bibles and other Christian media in Afghan languages go to AfghanBibles.com

Read the statement to moderate Muslims from the Center of Peace and Hope in Christ for Afghanistan on that site too.

The web site for the Afghan Christian Church is here.

Small clandestine Christian congregations are slowly spreading in remote villages of Afghanistan, reliable sources in Pakistan and the United States told United Press International in recent interviews.

Jonah Goldberg and the National Review won't like that.

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