Beaming Gospel Searchlight on Afghanistan

Afghanistan evokes in many parts of the world, memories of brutal killings by Talibans and the long drawn battle with American led allied forces. But are these all that Afghanistan stands for? Khaled Hosseini spoke my mind when he said, “Too often, stories about Afghanistan centre around the various wars, the opium trade, the war on terrorism. Precious little is said about the Afghan people themselves – their culture, their traditions, how they lived in their country and how they manage abroad as exiles”. And I dare to add, not much is known about the struggles of the Christian minority
in the country either. As far as the world in concerned their oppression in the hands of the Muslim majority is a non-issue.

God has given us a platform to throw light on the plight of Christians in Afghanistan and to showcase the beauty of His creation in the country. We will present His canvass in nature, the culture of different ethnic nationalities represented in Afghanistan and the plight of Christians who do not have the means to go on exile, but worship God in secret. It is pertinent to note that thousands of Afghanistan Christians have fled to the West and less hostile neighbouring countries.

For those who are not familiar with Afghanistan, we will give you its brief history and geography. Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a multiethnic country in the heart of South-Central Asia. It connects southern and eastern Asia to Europe and the Middle East. An article by Nancy Hatch Dupree in the Britannica captures the complexity of the “country that has long been a prize sought by empire builders”.

It is noteworthy that many powerful nations invaded Afghanistan but met with strong resistance from its proud people. These include the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great, Rashidun Caliphate, the Mongol Empire led by Genghis Khan, the Timurid Empire, the Persian Empires, the British Empire, defunct Soviet Union and allied troops led by the United States of America. Some of the invaders left traces of their efforts in great monuments that have now fallen to ruins.

Dupree attributes the country’s resilience to its “forbidding landscape of deserts and mountains that have laid many imperial ambitions to rest, as has the tireless resistance of its fiercely independent peoples – so independent that the country has failed to coalesce into a nation but has instead long endured as a patchwork of contending ethnic factions and ever-shifting alliances”. In fact, Mike Malloy, an American radio broadcaster describes Afghanistan as the place “where empires go to die”.

However, our interest in the country goes beyond its geography and history. We want to show the world what God has done in that nation – the beauty of Afghan people and what we can do to further the preaching of the gospel there. We hope that this will encourage Christians to see beyond the media portrayal of Afghans through the prisms of what the Taliban has done or is doing in the country, to see the potentials in its people.

We want the body of Christ to fall in love with Afghan people because only a love relationship can energise our intercession for unsaved souls in the country. Intercession is a prayer of love. How can we love people we do not know? And how can we get to know people except through their history, struggles and pains? We pray that this project will capture the imagination of the children of God across the world and encourage them to pray for the salvation of unsaved souls in Afghanistan.