August (Web-only) 2001

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"This is one of those tragic stories where the people who are trying to help and make a difference are the ones cracked down on," says James P.Dretke, executive director of the Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Zwemer Institute of Muslim Studies.

The Taliban government claims it caught two Shelter Now staffers "red-handed," attempting to teach Muslims about Christianity. The authorities confiscated dozens of video and audio tapes, Bibles translated into Pashtu and Farsi, and the book Sharing Your Faith with a Muslim (Bethany House, 1980).

Taliban officials shut down Shelter Now's Kabul office and imprisoned 16Afghan, 4 German, 2 American, and 2 Australian aid workers on August 5. Of the eight foreigners, six are women. Family members met with the two American captives in late August.

Harsh Measures The Taliban captured Kabul, the Afghan capital in 1996, and now controls a majority of the country. Since then, it has implemented Islamic law. Taliban authorities decreed in June that anyone attempting to convert an Afghan would face execution and that any Afghan who converted to another religion would be executed. Observers predict that the 16 imprisoned Afghans will almost certainly be executed. The fate of the eight foreigners remains uncertain, but one Taliban official at ...