Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for Christians and other religious or ethnic minorities, including Hazaras, Hindus, and Sikhs.
The Taliban offer neither religious freedom nor freedom of speech, enforcing their extremist Islamism with violence, imprisonment, and oppression throughout the nation.
Yet even in this backdrop, a few brave individuals are standing up for their rights.
An Afghan Christian known only as "Timothy" refused to renounce his Christian faith despite brutal torture and the threat of execution, defying the Taliban’s orders on the threat of death.
"They used 10 kinds of torture on me," Timothy explained. "Electric shocks, boiling water, beating with iron...the evidence is available on my body now."
Timothy was imprisoned for nine months in a Kabul jail after Taliban authorities discovered Bibles and evidence of the underground Christian church he hosted in his home. During his imprisonment, he witnessed the execution of two fellow Christians.
Timothy when he got out of prison and was reunited with his relatives
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"In front of my eyes, they killed two brothers because of torture, and they beat them a lot, and their bodies were weak," he said. "They called them ‘infidel’ when they died. They even put their body for dogs to eat because, they said, ‘They are ‘infidels,’ and we don't allow them to be buried’."
The most climactic moment of Timothy's ordeal came when his Taliban jailer delivered an ultimatum: revert to Islam or face execution.
"You have two choices," the Taliban commander told him. "You have to accept Islam and come back to Islam. Otherwise, we are going to kill you."
Timothy stood his ground, refusing to let the Taliban dictate his religion. He clung to his Christian beliefs, saying, "You can kill me. I'm ready to die, if I die. No problem. I will be in heaven…” In response, the commander placed a gun against his head and demanded for the final time that he recite the Islamic declaration of faith, the Shahada, or be executed.
"I closed my eyes. And I thought, ‘It is the end of my life,’" Timothy said. But the Taliban officer hesitated. While other prisoners cursed their captors, Timothy had consistently responded with compassion.
"When he was beating me…I didn’t say anything negative to him," Timothy explained, “I called him ‘brother,’ and I said, ‘I love you, brother’.”
The way that Timothy continued to practice his Christian faith left his captors bewildered. One officer said that he had never had someone say “I love you” while he was beating them.
Timothy’s defiant kindness ultimately saved his life. Not wanting to execute the man he had spent months torturing to receive only gentleness in return, the Taliban commander put down the gun…and found a way to secure his release.
Timothy was reunited with his relatives after help from the UK Charity Help The Persecuted
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He told Timothy that he would be executed if he was found practicing his Christian faith again, and so Timothy fled to a neighbuoring country. He lost everything, but he had stood up for his right to be a Christian in the face of an Islamist regime.
In his new country, Timothy encountered the UK Charity Help The Persecuted, which is dedicated to directly helping Christians facing persecution for their faith.
The charity was active during the 2021 evacuations from Afghanistan, ultimately saving the lives of nearly 750 people by coordinating two emergency evacuation flights. All 750 individuals were Christians and ethnic minorities that the Taliban were targeting. Since then, Help The Persecuted has been actively working to support Christians in Afghanistan and help them find safety.
Help The Persecuted’s UK Ambassador Tim Osmond, gave an update on how Timothy is doing today. "He is now living in another country, not in Afghanistan, and is being cared for by one of our team members,” he said.
Timothy is part of a particular Help The Persecuted initiative called ‘Enduring Shepherds Ministry’ that supports Christian leaders who serve in regions of the world where religious freedom and freedom of speech are non-existent, putting their lives at risk.
According to Tim Osmond, “Timothy is one of the thousands of persecuted Christians who are standing up for their faith against an authoritarian regime that threatens the lives of anyone who stands up for his or her right to choose their own religion. There are many others who have died or who are in prison with their lives on the line because they refuse to concede their rights.”
At the same time, other Christians and religious minorities in Afghanistan continue to practice their faith in secret, risking imprisonment, torture, or death.
Through their on-the-ground indigenous team members in Afghanistan and 14 other countries, Help The Persecuted is committed to holistically supporting them. They rescue believers from immediate danger, restore them physically and spiritually, and help rebuild their lives through pathways to dignity and independence.
Timothy shared his story in his own words on Help The Persecuted’s podcast, ‘Prisoners of Hope’ (you can listen to it here).
You can help persecuted Christians throughout the Muslim world by donating to Help The Persecuted here.
