Source: www.peresecution.org
Date: August 14, 2024
Afghanistan (International Christian Concern) — The Taliban celebrated the third anniversary of its takeover of Afghanistan on Wednesday with a military parade at Bagram Airfield, once the largest U.S. military base in the country.
The Islamic extremist group seized Kabul on August 15, 2021, after Afghanistan’s U.S.-supported government collapsed and its leaders fled the country. The anniversary falls a day earlier on the Afghan calendar.
Following the Taliban’s return to power, the religious and civil liberties Afghans had cherished for years rapidly deteriorated. Christians endured intense governmental and societal pressure and scrutiny. They faced regular raids on their homes and frequently received threats against their jobs and families. They also lost educational and economic opportunities.
Three years into the Taliban’s rule, life is not much different — especially for Christians.
In a report published earlier this month, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called religious freedom conditions in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan dire, documenting how the regime has continually worked to “repress and significantly stifle any action or behavior that does not conform with their strict interpretation of Islam.”
Since 2022, USCIRF has recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate Afghanistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) every year, but the designation has not been made. The State Department has never recognized the religious freedom concerns in Afghanistan by designating it as a CPC or Special Watchlist country. However, it did designate the Taliban as an Entity of Particular Concern (ECP) from 1999 to 2001.
Despite promises that it would rule with ideological moderation and restraint, the Taliban has implemented an extreme version of Sharia law in the country since regaining power. According to the USCIRF report, the enforcement of Sharia law includes “public executions, lashings and floggings, stoning, beatings, and acts of public humiliation, such as forced head shaving.”
Even smaller than it was before the Taliban’s takeover, the Afghan church is in a precarious position. Taliban restrictions have severely limited contact with the outside world, and any efforts to send assistance to the church are met with numerous legal and logistical difficulties. The Afghan church remains mostly isolated from the global Body of Christ.