Pray for Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Stats

• Percentage of Evangelicals - N/A
• Human Development Rank - N/A
• Number of Unreached People Groups - 55
• Persecution Index - 4
• Population - 32,902,000
• Total Number of People Groups - 70
• Languages Spoken - 50

For decades, Afghanistan has been in devastated by Soviet occupation, civil war, Taliban misrule and the US-led invasion in 2002. Half of all housing, nearly all complex irrigation systems and a large portion of all livestock was destroyed. Now, the main crop is opium, and Afghanistan has become the world's largest producer and uses revenues to supply weapons to various warring factions. The Taliban gained control of the country in 2001 and began imposing a strict form of Islam. No laws are passed that run contrary to this harsh form of religious belief. This has further devastated the country, and has had a particularly harsh affect on the women of Afghanistan. There is almost no religious freedom and little prospect of that changing.

• Praise that the Taliban was overthrown in 2002, giving hope to the possibility of positive change
• New leadership has had a difficult time gaining full control over the country
• Decades of war have left the ecology, infrastructure and society in ruins; pray for peace in this beleaguered nation
• Afghanistan is one of the least reach countries in the world; there are over 48,000 mosques here but not one church building
• Fear and suspicion prevent the few Christians that can be found from meeting together; pray that there will be opportunities for them to come together in community, fellowship and worship
• Women were severely oppressed during Taliban rule and were denied education, health services, employment and were restricted from leaving their homes; depression and suicide are common
• Several Christian aid organizations have worked with the sick and destitute since the 1960s, but they have been targeted by Islamist terror groups; pray for their protection and that they will have a lasting impact on those they reach
• The bible is not available in most of the dialects and minority languages here; pray for the speedy translation and effective distribution of God's Word