Recently, there has been growing pressure on the few Christian Afghans in Afghanistan. A news service with good contacts in the country has recently received several calls to pray for the two men Saied Musa and Shoaib in particular. Saied Musa is in prison in the capital Kabul and Shoaib in the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif. They are both accused of apostasy from Islam, a crime punishable by death under Afghan law. They are both Muslims who have become Christians and have therefore been arrested by the police and imprisoned.
Many around the world are praying for these two men. Shoaib was due in court on January 3, and many prayed for him then, and it seems to have worked somehow. Shoaib's case was postponed as the public prosecutor wanted to investigate his case further. It is not impossible that the Afghan government is sensitive to international pressure to respect religious freedom and release the two men.
Shoaib himself says he is certain he will be sentenced to death if or when his case goes to court. At the previous hearing, the judge gave him one last chance to renounce his faith and return to Islam within a week or he would be hanged or otherwise killed for his faith. Shoaib declared that he has put his life completely in the hands of Jesus and that he was happy for the battle, the spiritual battle. "Without my faith, I would not be able to live," he told the news service on the phone. Then the phone connection was disconnected.
