Martyrdom is very real today

Afghanis are deeply entrenched in their families, villages, tribes and own people. If someone dares to turn from his tribe and age-old values to embrace something new and maybe even seen as foreign, it results in high pressure to return to tradition or otherwise be branded a traitor and excluded from the community. This applies to all “deviations” but even more so if someone turns to Christianity. The Christian religion is still considered to be a Western religion and hostile to Afghan culture, society and Islam. It is unlikely that the situation for Christians will improve in the near future. The withdrawal of the international forces in 2014 will probably lead to a new phase in which the current regime will have to deal with the threat of the Taliban, as well as the different ethnic factions in the country.