During a two-week combat operation in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, I had the honor of befriending an Afghan Christian. As you will discover in his story, being a Christian in Afghanistan is quite dangerous and hard. To protect his identity I will call this man “Paul” to limit what he already faces on account of his faith.

Interestingly, when I first arrived in Southern Afghanistan, some Afghan Muslims told me there were no Afghan Christians. That they sincerely believed this was quite telling about the numbers of Afghan Christians and what they face. By Islamic law, a Muslim who changes religion is to be put to death. Likewise, a non-Muslim who attempts to bring his faith to a Muslim is to be put to death. This prescription comes from Mohammed’s recorded words: “If a Muslim changes religion, kill him.” How Paul, an interpreter who spoke excellent English, became and remained a Christian is a fascinating story.

Paul was one of the many Afghan children displaced by the Soviet invasion and then succeeding Mujahideen and Taliban periods. He was born a Muslim to a Muslim family in the 1970s before the invasion, but was quite young when the Soviet onslaught ensued. As a boy, Paul and part of his family moved through Pakistan and India to search for a better life in the United States. For many years, Paul lived in Los Angeles and was unfortunately sucked into the gang culture there.

By his own admission, Paul realized he was on the wrong path in life. He learned about Jesus Christ, became born again and left the life of gangs. For a while after becoming a Christian, Paul continued to live in the United States. However, as a young man, Paul left the United States and went to India to become a missionary. Finally, due to his many family members still in Afghanistan and his Afghan citizenship (Paul never gained full U.S. citizenship), Paul went back to Afghanistan.

Part of this was to help his family with the money he would make as an interpreter.

When I met Paul, he was working as an interpreter for coalition forces. Paul stuck out from other Afghan interpreters due to his “glow” of joy and helpfulness to all around him. Though he was not the interpreter for my specific unit, Paul worked for one of the elements in the same operation. When we struck up conversation, I soon discovered Paul was Christian. Though seemingly joyful, Paul had been beaten by fellow Afghan interpreters (on numerous occasions) after they discovered his Christianity. He was ostracized as a seeming traitor among Afghan Muslims I knew to be generally nice to most other people. In discussing his family, Paul told me he was ostracized due to his faith. This despite the money he sent home to help them. Fortunately, over time some family member began to grudgingly accept Paul’s presence. Paul worried about his life, as he knew that many Muslims believed ex-Muslim Christians should be executed.

Technically, that is the law of the land in Afghanistan. What Paul had in his favor, compared to other ex-Muslim Christians, is that he had left Afghanistan and then become Christian at such a young age.

To contrast Paul’s open faith: I had met another ex-Muslim Afghan Christian before this operation. This was also an interpreter whom I will call “Peter.” Peter clearly attempted to conceal his faith and seemed disturbed when I asked him (though we were out of earshot of others). Peter admitted he was a Christian, but quickly wanted to know how I found out. Peter had also been beaten by his peers and ostracized as a traitor. When someone asked one of Peter’s fellow interpreters his thoughts, this normally kind man became visibly angry and said he considered Peter a traitor. Peter told me he was worried about his life and from all accounts wanted to find a way to ensure nobody else discovered he was Christian. I suspect other Afghan Christians are of the same attitude about their faith. But not Paul.

Since the combat operation, I have stayed in touch with “Paul” to offer encouragement. In our last discussion, Paul asserted that he was planning to go back to India because he just could not take the persecution in Afghanistan. In particular, Paul wanted to eventually get married (he is 30 years old). However, in Afghan society, parents must agree to marriages and no Muslim parent was going to allow a Muslim daughter to marry a Christian. This is also clear Islamic law: A Muslim man can marry a non-Muslim woman, but a non-Muslim man can NEVER marry a Muslim woman.

If Paul were to live out his life in Afghanistan, he would remain single. Despite all of this, Paul continues to keep a smile on his face. His Christian faith is as strong as ever and Paul has told me he knows God has a purpose in his current tribulations. May we all take strength in Paul’s example and pray Christians in Afghanistan may eventually find the freedom of worship so many in our blessed nation take for granted. God Bless America.

Lt. Col. Bill Connor, an attorney from Orangeburg, recently returned from service with the S.C. National Guard in Afghanistan. He presently is completing a book about his experiences.

You must be logged in to comment.