EMERGENCY: Christians in Afghanistan Fear for Their Lives as Taliban Seizes Control, Abandoned by President Biden, Urgent International Intervention Is Needed

By 

Jordan Sekulow

|
August 25, 2021

4 min read

Persecuted Church

A

A

Right now the future of Afghanistan looks grim. For Afghan Christians, it looks deadly.

After a 20-year war, the Taliban once again controls Afghanistan. ISIS has been resurrected. And the people of Afghanistan are afraid for their lives.

As we have reported, President Biden’s hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan presented exactly the opportunity the Taliban was poised and waiting for to quickly descend from the mountains and seize control of the entire country. Any assurances of a peaceful transition should be disregarded.

President Biden has utterly failed, abandoning Afghan Christians, helpless women and children, and even U.S. citizens. At the ACLJ, we are working to warn world leaders of the dangers posed to Christians, women, U.S. citizens, and anyone who helped our military. The international community must intervene.

History has revealed who the Taliban really is, and the devastation has already begun to repeat itself. The Taliban is notorious for its violence and terror against Christians and its many human rights abuses against women.

There are already multiple reports of the Taliban going door to door looking for Christians to kill, and unmarried women to take captive. Christians in Afghanistan fear the genocidal persecution suffered by Christians in Iraq and Syria. There are also disturbing reports that the Taliban is actively targeting anyone who worked with NATO or the Afghan government.

We have already heard of Christian organizations telling believers to not leave their homes for fear of what the Taliban will do to them. Many Christians rightly fear they will be hunted down, abused, and even killed because of their faith. U.S. citizens, refugees, and other foreign nationals are now trapped, unable to flee.

And now President Biden has announced that he still intends to adhere to the “red line” date of August 31st mandated by the Taliban to evacuate all U.S. troops and civilians, as well as Afghans who aided us, despite the entire world believing it to be a seemingly impossible task. It is highly unlikely that we will be able to evacuate all those people in such a small time frame, and we know too well what fate will meet anyone we leave behind. We also know all too well what will happen to the Christians left behind.

Think about that. The President of the United States is capitulating to the orders of the Taliban – and putting more innocent lives, including U.S. troops, in danger.

Afghanistan is in turmoil. The Afghan people are terrified for their future. Christians face the unthinkable. And thousands of American civilians and soldiers are still trapped inside the unstable nation.

The Taliban is not peaceful. It is a dangerous, radical militia that places no value on human rights and poses a deadly threat to Christians, other non-Muslims, and women. Swift international intervention is imperative.

The international community – including the U.S. – must take whatever action is necessary to protect Christians, religious minorities, and women in Afghanistan and to stave off any impending human rights abuses and bloodshed now, before it’s too late.

Throughout history, Afghanistan has been conquered by infamous warlords like Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. Now the Taliban has returned to conquer Afghanistan again to inflict its own hard-fisted interpretation of Sharia law upon its own people and, if it had its way, on the world. Remember it was the Taliban that provided safe harbor for Osama bin Laden, the ruthless architect of the horrific 9/11 attacks.

History is unfolding right now; and unless the entire world takes action, the future for the Afghan people – and specifically Christians – looks grim.

At the ACLJ, we are preparing to take two direct actions:

First, I am personally preparing to present an oral intervention to the U.N. Human Rights Council via video at its session next month.

Second, the ACLJ is preparing to file a critical Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in the coming days about the unmitigated disaster unfolding in Afghanistan, which will include questions specifically about what the Biden Administration knew and did or did not do as it prepared to abandon Christians to what could become a slaughter or, at the very least, a living nightmare of persecution. It is very likely that the Biden Administration will attempt to withhold these documents (they always do), and we will be prepared to go to federal court to expose the cover-up.

We must do everything within our power to protect Christians who are preparing for the absolute worst in Afghanistan. At the ACLJ, we believe it is our sacred duty to act now MORE THAN EVER. Take action with us by signing our petition.