With the Taliban now firmly in control of Afghanistan after US President, Joe Biden, announced America’s withdrawal of soldiers on April 13, 2021, the country will become an increasingly dangerous place for Christians.

International Christian Concern (ICC), an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians around the world, estimates that they are upwards of 12,000 believers in Afghanistan (population 37 million), with most of them being converts from Islam.

The church operates largely underground, as there is only one church in the country, and it is a Roman Catholic Church located inside the Italian Embassy. It has been closed since the start of the COVID pandemic started, and it’s doubtful that it will reopen.

Prior to the take-over by the Taliban, Open Doors listed Afghanistan as the second most dangerous country for Christians, behind North Korea.

CBN recently reported on an interview that ICC had with an Afghani Christian pastor, who said he now fears for the safety of Christians now that the Taliban are in control.

Conversion to Christianity is considered an act of apostasy in Islam, and some Muslim extremists believe such conversions should be punished by death. The pastor expects that the Taliban will execute some of the more prominent Christians in the country to set an example to prevent other conversions.

The remainder of believers will be treated as second class citizens, that allows them to be legally discriminated against in every area of society including jobs.

With the Taliban now in control, Christians are particularly vulnerable to family and friends turning them in with hopes that such information will buy them a measure of safety from the Taliban.

The pastor added that the Taliban is already going to local Mosques and finding out who is attending and not attending from each of the families in the community.

The unidentified pastor also stated that the children of Christian parents will likely be targeted and taken from the families.

The boys will end up living at a Mosque where they will be trained in Islam and then forced to join the Taliban army as a fighter. The girls or older unmarried women will be used as wives or sex slaves for the Taliban soldiers.

Because Islam allows men to marry up to four wives, while allowing an unlimited number of concubines, there is a shortage of women available for marriage. The Taliban army has recruited heavily from the thousands of single men in that country.

READ: Afghan Christians Face Terrifying Future Under Taliban: ‘As Christians We Know There Is Persecution’ AND Uncertain Fate for Afghanistan’s Christians AND The Taliban Asserts Control as Afghanistan Collapses