A Quiet Faith: Exploring Jehovah's Witnesses In Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a country where the majority of the population are Muslims, with 99.7% of Afghans following Islam. The country has a history of religious persecution, with the Taliban imposing strict interpretations of Sunni Islam and harassing, detaining, and even killing members of religious minorities.

Jehovah's Witnesses are among the religious groups that have faced challenges in Afghanistan. According to a 1971 Yearbook, there were seven Jehovah's Witnesses in Afghanistan, but their current presence is unclear. The group has faced restrictions and challenges in their activities, as they are not allowed to preach Christianity to Afghans due to the country's Islamic religious context.

In recent years, Afghanistan has been listed among the worst of the worst violators of religious freedom by a U.S. advisory body. The report highlights that religious minorities, including Jehovah's Witnesses, have faced significant challenges and even danger in practicing their faith in the country.

Jehovah's Witnesses in Afghanistan must confine their work to the transient foreign community

Jehovah's Witnesses have been present in Afghanistan since 1957, when the first Witnesses, Philip Zimmerman and his family, moved to Kabul. However, due to the country's Islamic religion, the preaching of Christianity to Afghans has never been tolerated. As the king is a Muslim, anything said against the Koran or the Muslim religion is viewed as lese majesty, which is sufficient grounds for expelling a foreigner from the country. Therefore, Jehovah's Witnesses must confine their work to the transient foreign community while using ingenuity to spread their message to the local population.

The population of Afghanistan is mostly illiterate peasants who speak either Pushto or Dari, the Afghan form of Persian. Educated Afghans usually speak at least one European language. Due to the nature of his occupation, Zimmerman was not able to do much consistent preaching, but he and his family were able to spread the word to some locals before they left for the 1958 New York international assembly.

In 1959, Brother Werner Schwarze travelled from Kabul to Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on a motorcycle to attend a circuit assembly. He had only recently arrived in Afghanistan from Germany to serve where the need is greatest. On his return trip, he carried a suitcase full of literature, which he distributed to locals despite his limited knowledge of the language.

In 1962, Milton Henschel, from the President's office, visited Kabul, indicating some easing of restrictions. However, in 1964, the Zimmermans left Afghanistan, leaving only five publishers to serve the country's millions: Brother Schwarze, his wife, his daughters, and Brother Muecke, the husband of one of the daughters.

In the house-to-house work, Witnesses must become expert at recognizing non-Afghan names on the gates of homes in Kabul. They usually have high walls around them, and when you knock on the gate, an Afghan servant responds. You must ask him in Persian if a foreigner lives there; if not, you apologise and try another house.

The work of Jehovah's Witnesses in Afghanistan has always been challenging, and it continues to be dangerous. In recent years, the Taliban has imposed a harsh interpretation of Sunni Islam on the country, and religious minorities have faced harassment, detention, and even death. The Islamic State group has also attacked and killed members of minority religious communities.

The population of Afghanistan is almost entirely Islamic

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. The population of Afghanistan is almost entirely Islamic, with approximately 99.7% of the population being Muslim. The country's religious minorities, such as Hindus and Jews, enjoyed "complete religious freedom" in the early 1970s. However, the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the subsequent rise of the Taliban led to increased religious persecution and a decline in religious freedom.

Islam in Afghanistan began to be practiced after the Arab Islamic conquest of Afghanistan from the 7th to the 10th centuries, with the last holdouts to conversion submitting in the late 19th century. It was generally accepted by local communities as a replacement for Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, and local tribes began converting to the new religion. Today, roughly 90% of Muslims in Afghanistan practice Sunni Islam, while around 10% are Shias. Most Shias belong to the Twelver branch, and only a smaller number follow Ismailism.

The Shia Muslims in Afghanistan, particularly the Hazara ethnic group, have faced discrimination and abuse by successive Afghan governments for over a century. During the 1990s, Taliban forces targeted the Shia for mass killings and other serious abuses. With the Taliban back in power since 2021, the Shia community, especially the Hazaras, continue to face persecution and violence.

In recent years, Afghanistan has been designated as one of the "worst of the worst" violators of religious freedom by a U.S. advisory body. Religious minorities, including Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, and Jews, have fled the country or are worshipping in secret due to fear of persecution. The Taliban's interpretation of Islamic law and its strict rules, particularly regarding women's rights and education, have further isolated the country from the international community.

Despite the religious and political turmoil, Islam remains a central and pervasive influence in Afghan society. Mosques serve not only as places of worship but also as community centers, schools, and shelters. Islam provides a unifying symbolic system that offsets the divisiveness caused by deep-rooted tribal loyalties and honor codes prevalent in multitribal and multiethnic societies such as Afghanistan.

Conversion from Islam to another religion is punishable by death in Afghanistan

The Afghan government's interpretation and application of religious freedom and laws vary and are often influenced by powerful religious leaders and institutions. The Taliban, for example, has historically imposed strict interpretations of Islam and has targeted and killed individuals for their religious beliefs or links to the government.

The risks associated with converting from Islam in Afghanistan are not limited to legal consequences. Individuals who convert may face ostracism, violence, or death threats from their families and communities. They must also appear outwardly Muslim and fulfil the behavioural religious and cultural expectations of their local environment to avoid sanctions or violence.

Despite the dangers, there has been an increasing number of Afghan converts to Christianity. However, these converts often keep their new faith private to avoid persecution.

Jehovah's Witnesses were active in Pakistan before 1947

The zealous activity of an Anglo-Indian telegraphist named Frank Barrett brought some of the Society's literature to the northern province of Punjab and its capital, Lahore. Barrett had a co-worker in Lahore, a man named Harvey, who had shown great interest in the Kingdom message. To visit Harvey, the newly appointed branch servant for India, F. E. Skinner, travelled to Lahore.

In addition to Barrett and Harvey, there was another man in the province of Baluchistan, 700 miles west of Lahore, who was active in spreading the Kingdom message. Walter Harding was a railway guard who would often offer passengers something to read, thus sharing the message effectively. After Harding's death in 1933, his wife and family became some of the first publishers of the congregation in Karachi.

In August 1929, two brothers, Claude Goodman and Ron Tippen, arrived in Bombay to have a considerable share in the expansion of the preaching work under the India branch. They travelled to Karachi and distributed many cartons of literature in English, which was the official language in India at the time.

In 1932, two more brothers from England, Randall Hopley and Clarence Taylor, arrived in Karachi to help in the gathering of the "genuine sheep" of the Lord. The nucleus of a congregation had been formed in Karachi, and there was much interest in the so-called Christian villages around Lahore.

In 1942, a special pioneer was arrested and placed in custody under the Defence of India Rules. In 1943, the British rulers of India banned the importation and printing of the Society's literature, resulting in great hardship for the pioneers. However, the ban was lifted in 1944.

In 1947, India achieved independence, and the country was partitioned into what is now India and Pakistan. This separation resulted in one of the bloodiest upheavals in history, as the Hindus fled to India and the Muslims fled to Pakistan. Less than twenty of India's proclaimers of the "good news" found themselves overnight in a new country.

In 1951, due to difficulties that developed between India and Pakistan, it became virtually impossible for the Indian branch to supervise the work in Pakistan. As a result, Pakistan was made a separate branch, and Brother Goodman, who had been serving faithfully, was appointed the first branch servant.

Jehovah's Witnesses have been criminalised in Russia

Jehovah's Witnesses have been present in Russia since the early 1990s, but their activities were banned in 2017 when the Supreme Court ruled that the group was an extremist organization. The Witnesses have faced persecution in Russia since the 20th century, but the 2017 ban has led to an escalation of raids, detentions, arrests, and imprisonment.

The Jehovah's Witnesses are a Christian denomination with around 8.5 million members worldwide. They are known for their literal interpretation of the Bible and their belief that Armageddon is imminent. The group has a significant presence in Russia, with around 170,000 members.

In April 2017, the Russian Supreme Court ruled that the Jehovah's Witnesses were an extremist organization and liquidated the group's Russian headquarters and 395 local religious organizations. The ruling meant that the Witnesses' evangelizing and meetings were forbidden, and their property could be seized by the state.

Since the ban, Russian authorities have targeted individual Witnesses, raiding their homes and subjecting them to harsh interrogation and abuse. Hundreds of Witnesses have been sentenced to pretrial detention, imprisonment, or house arrest. As of April 2024, 123 Witnesses are imprisoned in Russia.

The European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations Human Rights Committee have all condemned Russia's persecution of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Despite international outcry, Russian authorities continue to convict Witnesses of extremist activity and impose harsh sentences.

For example, in January 2024, Sona Olopova, a 37-year-old married woman, was sentenced to two years of forced labor in a correctional facility. In February 2024, Dmitriy Barmakin was taken into custody from a courtroom to complete serving his eight-year sentence. Aleksandr Chagan, a 53-year-old married man, was sentenced to eight years in prison, one of the longest prison terms given to Witness men in Russia.

The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia has been characterized by raids, detentions, and harsh sentences. The Witnesses have been targeted due to their religious beliefs and practices, which are viewed as extremist and a threat to public order. The Russian Orthodox Church, which has grown in influence under President Vladimir Putin, has also been critical of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

The crackdown on the Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia has escalated in recent years, with increasing numbers of raids, detentions, and arrests. The group's activities remain banned, and members continue to face persecution and imprisonment for their religious beliefs and practices.

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