Population
26 million
38% Pashtun
25% Tajik
19% Hazara
6% Uzbek
12% Other
Capital City
Kabul
Leadership
Interim Gov't Chair
Hamid Karzai
Religion
Sunni Muslim 84%
Shi'a Muslim 15%
Zoroastrian, Jewish,
Christian, Baha'i 1%
Afghanistan Ambassador
to the
U.S.
No official current diplomatic relations
BIO While
the beautiful country of Afghanistan has faced over two decades of war, its most turbulent times
may be more recent as well as yet to come. Having been
relieved from Taliban rule, the new government, temp-
orarily headed by Hamid Karzai, isn't without resistance
in its efforts to keep order. Many of the newly appointed
leaders have had attempts on their lives, with a few
assassinations having been successful.
While
many of the multi-ethnic groups of the region could
be blamed for the upheaval, it is
impossible not to attribute
some blame to the behaviors and rules
modeled by the
Taliban. With their grotesque interpretations
of Islamic law
and the Koran, they easily justified
control by threat and
violence. Women were required to be covered
from
head to toe and forced out of jobs and
schools, elim-
inating wage-earning potential from many
homes. Enjoy-
ment in any form was practically outlawed,
even for-
bidden among the male Muslim population,
those
seemingly with an upper hand in the
situation.
More closely watched than any other,
perhaps, were
the Christians, Jews and other minority
religions in the
area. Those who adhered to such faiths were
forced
to hide their beliefs for fear of
harassment, discrimination
and possible death.
Can you recommend some
other Afghanistan websites?
This reality was further
evidenced by the arrest and detainment of a group of aid workers in
2001,
accused of spreading Christianity.
Among them were Americans Dayna Curry and
Heather Mercer.
They were detained, awaiting trial with an
inevitable death sentence upon conviction. However,
following the terrorist attacks of
September 11th, and America's subsequent war declaration against
Afghanistan, the detainees were forcibly
liberated by locals and friendly military.
The
new administration of Afghanistan, having received authority upon the
ousting and hunting down
of Taliban and al Qaeda operatives as a
result of 9/11, has attempted to open the door to renewed
human rights for women and minorities in
the country. However, as Christians in the area would tell
you, the threat is still very real.
Christians are as likely to be killed by a Muslim neighbor as they were
by their Islamic rulers of the past. The
fear continues for minority religions in Afghanistan, and until
reasonable order and a fair justice process
are in place to punish the persecutors, Christians will re-
quire your prayer and intervention to keep
them safe.