Exiled Afghan Christians in Delhi appeal for prayer

Church in India have been requested to pray for Christians in Afghanistan who are facing severe persecution for choosing to convert to Christianity.

In a letter written by members of the Afghan Christian community living in exile in New Delhi, Church was asked to pray for "those who are being arrested and sentenced to death" for their faith and belief in Jesus Christ.

"We left our country because we were sentenced to death on the account of our Christian faith, as Afghanistan is a Muslim Country and Islam is the only formal religion of the country," stated the letter representing about 150 Afghan Christian refugees and asylum seekers in the capital.

"Please come together and help your Afghan brothers and sisters in Christ who are arrested, sentenced to death and put under investigation because we believe in Jesus Christ. This is the day that all of us should come together and pray, think, help and raise our voices to the International Community, to put pressure on the Afghan Government to stop killing, persecuting and executing Afghan Christians, to give us freedom of religion, to respect and accept us as Afghan Christians," the letter urged.

Obaid Christ, a member of the Afghan Christian community in Delhi, says the government there, including the Parliament and Senate has made statements demanding the search and arrest of Afghan Christians.

The protests in the government and political circles were triggered earlier this month after a television broadcast claimed Westerners were baptising Afghans. Although the channel said it has no substantial evidence to support its claim, it led to widespread demonstrations by university students and Islamic leaders.

Shockingly, several members of the Afghan Parliament have reportedly called for death penalty to any Afghan leaving Islam for Christianity.

Last month, the government there also suspended two church-based aid groups over allegations that the organizations were proselytising. Both have strongly denied the claims.

Since the allegations, says Obaid, "many believers have been arrested, our houses are checked by police and intelligence people, our families and parents (though they are Muslim) are under investigation and even arrested."

He questions why the "Global Church is silent and closing their eyes while thousand of their brothers and sisters are in pain, tortured and called criminals because they believe in Christ."

Obaid asks Christians to "wake up and speak up today". Christians must show their care and concern by "helping the persecuted part of the body of Christ, for His glory," he adds.

"If our own brothers and sisters are in pain and we are silent of their suffering, then the question is that do we really obey the commandment of Lord in loving Him and our neighbor?" he asks.

Since the 2001 US-led invasion in Afghanistan, several hundreds of Christians have fled the country specially in the backdrop of growing threats and persecution by Islamic militants.

Several years even after the Taliban overthrown, conservatives still dominate the Afghan judiciary. The laws there punish any Afghan converting from Islam to non-Islamic religions.