Al-Qaeda is back in Afghanistan. It is a threat to Christians around the world
By 
Dr Martin Parsons2023-07-03T12:44:00
When US and UK troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban promised that foreign terrorists would never again find a home in the country. Now a new UN report says al-Qaeda is alive and well in Afghanistan once more. Here’s what it means for Christians there and around the world
Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the terrible news about the 9/11 terror attacks. I was about to pick up my boss who had just flown into the UK. We had both worked in Afghanistan for Christian development organisations. That afternoon, we walked around my garden discussing what the future meant if, as seemed likely, the awful events unfolding on our TV screen had been carried out by al-Qaeda, who were then hosted by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
What happened next is history. The western military intervention was designed to prevent any such attacks on the West ever being carried out from Afghanistan again. The central part of the 2020 US deal with the Taliban, agreed by President Trump and implemented by President Biden, was that the US would withdraw its forces in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing that foreign terrorist organisations, such as al-Qaeda, would never be allowed on Afghan soil again.
Related articles
-
ReviewsSmyrna: This shocking history lesson is hard to watch. But it’s important
This portrayal of the horrors of war and inter-religious violence, makes for difficult viewing says Krish Kandiah
-
News Analysis‘Close your school or we kill the girls’ – Why fundamentalist Islam is running rampage in Afghanistan and Iran
Women are an easy target for Islamic fundamentalists.
-
Testimonies‘I was a Muslim consumed by hatred. But now I serve Jesus in Afghanistan’
One year on from the Allied’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, one man tells his remarkable story of finding Jesus among the pain of war, and how he is sharing the hope of Christ with his fellow countrymen
More from Opinion
-
OpinionFeeling stuck this Advent? Don’t worry - God says your waiting won’t be wasted
Advent reminds us that, even when we can’t see it, God is working - just as he was in the 400 years of silence before Christ’s birth. Even when it’s hard, Ayoola Bandele says the invitation of advent is not to grit our teeth and deny our longings, but focus on what God is doing in us anyway
-
OpinionThis Christian student was given an F after citing the Bible in her essay on gender. Here’s my open letter to her
A University of Oklahoma student has made international headlines after she wrote a Psychology essay which said it was “demonic” to argue there are more than two genders. Samantha Fulnecky’s work was deemed “offensive” by her instructor who failed her, and said the student should have cited “empirical evidence” rather than only quoting scripture. Fulnecky pushed back by claiming her religious freedom was under threat. The University has since stated the assignment will not be factored into her final grade following mass public backlash. Here, Christian and academic Krish Kandiah pens an open letter to Fulnecky, and urges her to remember four key principles when discussing the Christian faith in public
-
OpinionOre Oduba’s brave porn confession contains a lesson for Christians
The Strictly star’s decision to discuss his decades-long struggle with pornography raises searching questions for the Church, says Tim Parks. When three quarters of Christian men and almost half of Christian women say they watch it, what does this means for discipleship, honesty and formation?
- Issues
- Topics A-Z
- Writers A-Z
- © 2025 Premier Christianity
Site powered by Webvision Cloud