Over 1,000 Afghan Christians Flown To Safety Amid Pressure On President Biden
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – More than 1,000 desperate Christians have been flown from Afghanistan after American radio host Glenn Beck and a group he founded raised millions of dollars to rescue them, organizers said Wednesday.
It came amid mounting frustration among rescue organizers about U.S. President Joe Biden’s perceived reluctance to rescue Christians from the Muslim-majority nation and his refusal to continue evacuations beyond August 31.
Beck’s organization, the Nazarene Fund, was founded to rescue Christians and other persecuted religious and ethnic minorities worldwide. Its mission in Afghanistan is its most extensive operation yet.
Beck claimed that $30 million had been raised through the Nazarene Fund’s website to fly airplanes in and out of Kabul to save at-risk Afghans.
Tim Ballard, CEO of the Nazarene Fund, said three airplanes funded by Nazarene donors had taken off from Kabul’s airport – each loaded with approximately 340 people. “That means that we have now been able to rescue over 1,000 people,” Ballard added in a video.
However, Ballard stressed that thousands more need to be rescued who are “our Christian brothers and sisters” or U.S. citizens. Many, he explained, are “texting us and scared to death because they can’t even get to the airport.”
STILL MOVING PEOPLE
Beck, who is in another country in the region overseeing the process, said in a video, “We are still moving people.” “At this point, it’s like, if you’re a Christian, if you’re a female judge – I don’t care, get on the plane,” he exclaimed.
Beck, though, claimed the State Department is slowing the process with many planes waiting to leave.
Supporters of the operation have accused the U.S. State Department of flying “unvetted Muslims” to enter the United States while stopping Christian Afghans. As a result, many Christians cannot flee to other nations willing to give them refuge, they say. There may be at least 18,000 Christians in Afghanistan, according to Christian sources.
Beck confirmed that the State Department is “the biggest roadblocks” and urged President Biden to extend the deadline for removing Americans and their allies. “We do not leave people behind – ever, ever ever,” Beck said about United States policies. “Call your senator, call your congressman. Tell them to put the heat on the State Department. This is an abomination of what is happening.”
The rescue operation comes amid new reports that Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban rulers take young women and girls. They give them away “as plunder” to their fighters, Christians said.
HUSBANDS ARE EXECUTED
“In young families, the husbands are being executed. And the women are being taken, raped, etc.,” said Joel Richardson, an author, and teacher linked to mission group Global Catalytic Ministries.
Some believers are fleeing to the countryside, Richardson stressed in comments published by the well-informed God Reports website. “They are going to the mountains, the ravines, sleeping out with their sleeping bags and blankets. They are trying to weather the intensity of this moment, assuming they can eventually go back to their villages,” he explained.
However, some choose to stay behind in Afghanistan to share the Gospel even with Taliban fighters, according to sources familiar with the situation. “They say, ‘we don’t care, we’re here because we love this nation. We love our people, and we’re going to share the Gospel regardless, even if it means losing our lives,'” added Richardson.
In one village taken over a few weeks ago, he recalled that Christians started sharing Bible stories with the Taliban. “And the Taliban in their village have been studying the Bible and praying.” However, he cautioned that the fighters “haven’t made a confession of faith yet, but seem very interested.”
While staying in Afghanistan isn’t an option for many Christians, Richardson said the “fearless nature” of Afghan believers reminded him of believers in the Bible’s Book of Revelation. “They did not love their lives unto death. We see that in real-time.”
The Taliban has introduced its strict interpretation of Islam, or sharia law, across the country. Under its sharia policy, Christians, most of whom are former Muslims, may face execution.
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