How does this environment impact Christians? Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says the Taliban sees anyone who turns from Islam to Christianity as an infidel worthy of death.

But a Christian presence remains in the country. Nettleton says, “I can tell you for sure there are believers left in the country. That is certain. In fact, in most of the provinces, there are still believers in Afghanistan. Certainly, their challenges are great with the Taliban in control of the country.”

Taliban Takeover

Meanwhile, a new report from a U.S. watchdog blamed the withdrawal of American troops as the biggest reason for the Taliban takeover.

In 2020, under the Trump administration, the U.S. first signed an agreement with the Taliban to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. The Biden administration held to this agreement, announcing a full withdrawal in April 2021.

Family persecution

But Nettleton says it’s important to remember Afghan Christians faced persecution under the U.S.-backed government as well. “The first line of persecution is your dad. It’s your older brother. It’s your own family members who say, ‘Listen, we are a Muslim family. You cannot be anything other than Muslim and be a part of this family.’”

“That’s all been true since 2001, the last time that Afghanistan was on the Countries of Particular Concern list.”

Last month, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) named Afghanistan a Country of Particular Concern with regard to religious freedom.

Ask the Holy Spirit to protect Afghan Christians and change the hearts of those who persecute them.

The header photo shows the U.S. negotiating with the Taliban in 2020. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of State from United States, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Ottoman Empire, which was based in modern-day Turkey, carried out the massacre. Todd Nettleton of The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “The U.S. House and the Senate have both passed resolutions in the past, calling it a genocide. But the President had never said that before. So this is a significant change to have our head of state identifying what happened as a genocide. And the Turkish Government, their response was very immediate, and it was very negative.”

Religious factors

Nettleton points out the massacre had some religious motivations. “Part of the average Turkish person’s identity is, ‘I am Turkish, I’m a Muslim.’ Part of the average Armenian person’s identity is, ‘I’m Armenian. I’m a Christian.’”

These fractures can still be seen today. Last year, Turkey helped Azerbaijan in a war against Armenia. Nettleton says, “This will be seen by some (In Turkey) as, ‘These Christians are attacking us. They’re saying these bad things about us.’ So we need to pray for Turkish Christians that God will watch over them and protect them. Because there is the potential for them to be harassed or targeted as sort of a proxy for the United States during this time.”

The header photo shows an Armenian leader visiting the site of a massacre that took place during the Armenian Genocide. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) 

Anne Hamming of Tent Schools International says most of these refugees come from dire situations, forced to leave their homelands. They have no money and must adapt to a new culture and learn a new language. “They face their resettlement with an astonishing and inspiring amount of hope. Because this is so much better than what they left behind. And they accept that it would never be safe for them to go back. By the time they get to the US, they’ve grappled with that heartache, and the grief over the losing their homes, their family members, many of their cultural traditions.”

Tent Schools’ work with resettled students

Tent Schools aids students of resettled families in the West Michigan area, supplying them with recycled computers. Hamming says, “It’s easy to forget in our homes where we may have four laptops. Try to imagine what it is like to not have the dollars on hand to buy a computer for your children. Even an inexpensive Chromebook is out of reach. So we heard over and over about children trying to do schoolwork on a parent’s phone.”

You can help with this program, even if you don’t live in the West Michigan area. Hamming says, “If you have old electronics, please do find your local certified electronics recycler. Many of the certified recyclers refurbish computers and sell them at a discount. Many of them also have community programs, where they will donate or steeply discount for people who are needing support.”

Also, pray the care of Christians for refugees will show who Jesus is and draw many to Him.

Header image courtesy of StockSnap from Pixabay.

Dr. Jonathan Kuttab is a leading human rights lawyer on the board of Bethlehem Bible College. He contrasts this policy against that of the Trump administration. “The [previous] US administration cut off and closed the diplomatic offices of the Palestinian Authority in Washington. They moved the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And they closed off the Palestinian section of that embassy. The new administration is reversing that. At least they are allowing new contacts with the Palestinian Authority, though not with Hamas and Gaza.”

The witness of Palestinian Christians

Palestinian Christians want to see Israelis and Palestinians live together in peace and equality. That doesn’t happen very often, and the COVID-19 vaccine distribution situation in Israel and Palestine shows it. Israel has been one of the world’s most successful countries in vaccinating. But Kuttab says, “They are refusing to give vaccination to the Palestinians. And we have no ability to obtain them on our own because we are not recognized as a country.” Read more about the situation here.

Kuttab talks about the witness of Bethlehem Bible College in this context. “We have to deal with our own community, the majority of which are Muslims. We have a very good relationship in that community and a very good reputation. At the same time, we have to deal with the Israeli occupation. Even though we are pacifists, and we don’t believe in violence, we care about justice. So we’re trying to be a small candle in this very dark situation.”

Please join these believes as they pray for peace, justice, and love.

The header photo comes courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College on Facebook.

President Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to meet with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un when they held a summit in June of 2018. The leaders met twice more, but no deal was reached.

(Map of North Korea courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Eric Foley of The Voice of the Martyrs Korea says most North Koreans won’t notice a difference in how the U.S. administrations handle the North Korean government. “Most North Korean people have very low levels of awareness of the international political dealings of their government. They know only what they hear. They describe themselves as being like frogs in a well, only seeing the space that’s directly above their heads.”

Nor have these kinds of politics created much change in the past, Foley says. Twenty years ago, he was told it was pointless to work with North Korea because the political environment would lead to the collapse of the government. That didn’t happen.

Focus on the mission

Foley and his team don’t worry about international politics but focus on getting Bibles to North Korean Christians. He describes how this process works. “It’s a network of people that are already there, inside North Korea, China, Russia, Mongolia, Southeast Asia. We are wherever North Koreans are found. They’re found in all those places because they’re sent out by North Korea to make money for the government. We find them in the upper reaches of the taiga in Russia. We find them working on construction in Dubai. In all of those places, North Koreans need the Bible. And it is their fellow North Koreans for getting it to them.”

Foley asks readers to pray for every person involved in this process, and that the Holy Spirit would be present in each step. “Sometimes people talk about the Underground Railroad or people escaping from North Korea. But I think the far more daring thing is this supply chain of Bibles that makes it possible for the Bible to reach North Koreans wherever they’re found.”

The Monument of Party Founding in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo courtesy of Steve Barker on Unsplash)

The statement aligns with the general attitude of the Trump administration towards religious freedom internationally. It often pushed for greater cooperation and dialogue between countries about religious freedom, as well as higher accountability.

A new administration

This photo shows a Uighur woman in Xinjiang, China. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/alior/, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https: //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Today marks the beginning of a new presidential administration in the U.S., as Joe Biden is inaugurated. How will this affect U.S. policy on international religious freedom? Rex Rogers of SAT-7 USA says, “In general, I have always appreciated the Trump’s administration’s support for religious freedom internationally. And I’m hoping under the Biden administration there will be a continuation of support for what we’d call First Amendment freedoms, or what the UN would call basic human rights.”

Some members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom believe Biden, a Catholic, will continue this stance while making several policy changes in other areas. The administration will face a major test of religious freedom policy immediately: China’s treatment of the Uighur Muslims.

The importance of international religious freedom

The USCIRF was first founded in 1998 with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The commission releases an annual report with a list of the most concerning countries in regard to religious liberty. These efforts have aided improvements for religious freedom in certain countries, most notably Sudan in recent years.

Most countries have laws allowing for some kind of religious expression, Rogers says. “[Many] don’t allow switching or changing one’s religious preference, which we are free to do in the United States.”

Rogers says Christians are experiencing record levels of persecution around the world, often because they share their faith with others. “I wish religious liberty for anyone and everyone. I believe that in a place of religious liberty, Christians have an opportunity to express themselves, to live out their faith, to interact with those around them that do not share their faith in a way that is a fantastic testimony.”

Header image by David Mark from Pixabay