"You cannot be a Christian in Afghanistan," says Maalek,* who works on one of the projects supported by Danish European Mission donors. He is from Afghanistan, but fled because of his faith. One day, when he came home from work in Afghanistan, the police were waiting for him. When he saw the police cars in front of his apartment, he knew what time it was and fled the country. Now he evangelizes among the Afghan diaspora and wants to tell people about the Christians in the country. Because even though they don't officially exist - and even though Maalek began the interview by saying that you can't be a Christian in Afghanistan - it's a truth with modifications.
Maalek is still in contact with Christians in the country, and one of the Danish European Mission's contacts estimates that there are between 1,000 and 2,000 Christians in the large Muslim country. But it is associated with great risk, says Maalek, who became a Christian on a trip outside Afghanistan.
"When my family found out I was a Christian, they were furious. They forced my wife to divorce me and I didn't dare visit my family when I came back. It was too dangerous for both them and me. When you convert away from Islam, you bring shame to your family. Even though I came from a relatively open-minded family, they had no choice but to ostracize me. Because if the family doesn't distance themselves from you when you become a Christian, they are ostracized by the rest of society. So the first people who come after you when you become a Christian are your family."
Therefore, it is also associated with great risk when the convert chooses to tell their spouse about their new faith. One of Maalek's friends had become a Christian through a computer course, and after much deliberation and conversations with Maalek, she decided to tell her husband about her faith. Shortly after, the man called Maalek.
"I was scared, because he had good reason to be furious. I had spoken to his wife without him knowing - and you don't do that in Afghanistan. But when he started talking, I could hear that he was happy. He thanked me for talking to his wife. She had just told him about her faith, and he was happy to tell me that he had been a Christian for 10 years. He had become a Christian during his student days and had kept his faith a secret from her since then. He told me that he should have told her, but that he hadn't dared. Now they could practice their faith together."
Another friend of Maalek's came to faith through a program for alcoholics. He was treated for two years and finally asked where all the teaching, support and prayers came from. The organizers told him that the program was rooted in Christianity, and he became a Christian.
"His life changed when he became a Christian. But when his family discovered his faith, he had to flee the country. His wife divorced him and the government arrested several people from his church network," says Maalek.
Maalek's own path to faith was somewhat circuitous. He was not a Christian, but worked as an interpreter for some soldiers. They gave him a Bible so he could better translate into the culture they came from. When Maalek went home from the military camp, he sometimes transported his belongings in some of the military's empty boxes.
"The neighbors thought I had weapons and explosives at home, so they reported me. The police came and searched my house. They didn't find any weapons, but they found my Bible and I was taken to the station. The soldiers signed that they had given me the Bible for my work, and I could honestly confess that I was Muslim - because I was at that time. But they still wanted to sentence me to hang for having a Bible. Before I was arrested, I fled the country. While I was out, I met a Christian and got a new Bible. When I read it, I understood why they didn't want people to read it. I started going to church and learned more and more about Jesus. And then I was a Christian."
*Maalek is an alias that we use for security reasons.
