by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - International Christian persecution watchdog groups have ranked Afghanistan the number one most dangerous country in the world for believers since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021, Christian Today reports.
Afghanistan’s top ranking was given in separate reports by the International Christian Concern (ICC) and Open Doors USA organizations.
In its recent report, International Christian Concern (ICC) said the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the imposition of harsh Islamic Taliban rule "put a death sentence on Christians," Christian Today reports.
According to ICC, the number of murders and beatings of Christians has increased dramatically - which is all the more alarming because the situation for believers was perilous even while the US was present.
"Within the Taliban's hardline fundamentalist version of Islam, Afghan Christians—many of whom are former Muslims—are branded as apostates deserving of death," ICC said in its report.
"By the end of 2021, the Taliban employed harsh tactics to expose the country's Christians and implement their Islamic justice. This brought persecution in Afghanistan to its highest levels since the Taliban's first government in 1996."
Placing Afghanistan in the number one spot on this year’s annual World Watch List of top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted, Open Doors USA said in a
statement.
"It is impossible to live openly as a Christian in Afghanistan. Leaving Islam is considered shameful, and Christian converts face dire consequences if their new faith is discovered. They either have to flee the country or they will be killed. This was true before the Taliban takeover: the situation has become even more dangerous for believers this year."
“The Taliban will make sure that Islamic rules and customs are implemented and kept. Christian converts don't have an option but to obey them,” Open Doors USA said.