Over the past two decades, Christianity has grown in Afghanistan, but now believers there are being threatened by the Taliban. Since taking over the country, the terrorist organization has sent letters to house church leaders there saying they will be coming after them.
Wendy Wright of Christian Freedom International (CFI), an organization that provides spiritual and physical help for suffering Christians to live in the dignity of God's love and rise above their circumstances, tells American Family News they are, among other things, demanding of Christians a monthly tax called a Jizra.
"There are reports of the Taliban ordering lists of girls who are over 15 and widows under 45 in order to marry them off to Taliban fighters," Wright continues. "Everyone is at risk right now in Afghanistan, but really, those at greatest risk are women, children, and Christians."
The Church there will most likely have to go deeper underground in order to survive.
"The Church has already had to be very careful in Afghanistan; it was already listed as the second most dangerous place to be a Christian," the CFI spokeswoman reports. "But at this point it's really a death sentence. Many of the Christians in Afghanistan are converts, and that is considered apostasy to Muslims."
They will either be required to pay the high tax or convert back to Islam -- that is if they are even given a choice and not killed by the Taliban for the crime of being Christians.
Christian Freedom International is calling for the church worldwide to pray for their Middle Eastern brothers and sisters in Christ.
