Taking the gospel to Taliban country

On Oct. 24, Mozhda TV launched as the first ever Christian satellite TV channel available in Afghanistan. Christian programming has been available in Afghanistan for years, but this is the first time an entire TV channel will be devoted to reaching Afghan audiences. Programs will air first in Dari and Pashto, the two most common languages, but there are plans to add additional languages in the future. The channel will offer evangelistic outreach, sermons, and training, as well as resources specifically for women.

Never before in the history of the world has so much Christian media content been available for consumption. In addition to printed materials and radio broadcasts, the dawn of the internet age has made it possible to access the gospel, the Bible, sermons, theological training, and devotional material from anywhere in the world. And yet, many of our Christian brothers and sisters live in places where resources may be available, but access is severely restricted, such as in Afghanistan.

Following the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban quickly took over control of the country. Despite the attempts of the United States and our allies to promote democracy and individual freedom, the Taliban declared that they would rule according to Islamic law (sharia), based on the Qur’an and Muhammad’s traditions.

Waheedullah Hashimi, a Taliban commander, said in an October 2021 interview, “We will not discuss what type of political system should we [sic] apply in Afghanistan because it is clear. It is sharia law and that is it.” In 2024, when the Taliban celebrated three years of rule, supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada reiterated, “As long as we are alive, we will uphold and apply Allah’s (God’s) faith and sharia upon ourselves and others.”

The Taliban’s strict interpretation of sharia includes severe punishments for many crimes. Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, a member of the Taliban’s initial interim government, announced in 2021 that executions and brutal punishments would return, such as cutting off hands: “No one will tell us what our laws should be. We will follow Islam, and we will make our laws on the Quran.” In 2022 another Taliban leader instructed Afghan judges to impose punishments such as public amputations, stonings, and public executions.

History is clear that the Taliban will apply these punishments ruthlessly and systematically. From 1996 to 2001, when the Taliban was last in control in Afghanistan, they frequently did so. Amnesty International reports from 1998 (and here) and 1999 document executions, stonings, floggings, and amputations. In 2024 the Taliban introduced the Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice that severely restricts human rights and criminalizes non-Islamic practices and faiths.

While all Afghans are at risk of mistreatment under sharia law, Christians are especially vulnerable as they have faced targeted persecution. Christians are considered “apostates” according to the sharia law because they converted from Islam. With the Taliban in charge, Christians face threats of violence, forced conversion, and imprisonment, according to Fereshta Abbasi of Human Rights Watch. An October 2021 report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom highlights additional challenges that Christians face in Afghanistan, including ostracization and the threat of honor killings. As a result of these threats, Christians practice their faith in secret, with little access to the Bible, sermons, or Christian fellowship. But now, Mozhda TV offers hope.

When the Taliban took over in 2021, they banned or destroyed Christian materials, and access to the internet is inconsistent. However, many Afghans have a TV and a satellite dish. Mozhda TV will proclaim the gospel and provide much-needed biblical training and spiritual encouragement to Afghanistan’s beleaguered Christian population that the Taliban denies even exists. And all of this will be delivered via satellites that the Taliban cannot control.

In recent decades, Afghanistan has witnessed numerous wars and the persistence of violent Islamic jihadism. The United States spent 20 years and more than $1 trillion to eliminate the Taliban and ensure peace, but to no avail. Before U.S. forces had even finished their withdrawal, the U.S.-backed government collapsed and the Taliban reasserted its dominance.

Why? There are many reasons why the war in Afghanistan failed. But fundamentally, the truth is that war, money, and the promise of democracy cannot bring true lasting peace to Afghanistan, or anywhere else for that matter. Only a fundamental change of heart, a new life brought by the Spirit of God, will bring real change, from the individual to the nation as a whole.

At a recent launch event, the executive director of Mozhda TV, Masoud Ghorbani, encouraged the attendees to see the Afghan people as Jesus sees them, as “sheep without a shepherd,” referring to Mark 6:34. They have endured years of persecution and suffering, but that is not the most important issue. The greatest tragedy for Afghanistan, he said, is that it does not know its true shepherd, citing John 10:11. Mozhda TV will now make the Good News of Jesus available to every house in Afghanistan with a satellite dish, even those of the Taliban.

Afghan Christians continue to suffer under Taliban rule, and the programming on Mozhda TV will surely be a source of great comfort and biblical instruction. But while this encouragement is needed, there is something more that the new channel offers. The real hope of Mozhda TV is that all Afghans, including the Taliban, will hear the source of true peace in this world: the gospel of Jesus Christ.