a house divided, 1933–73in Washington were accused of smuggling 40 kilograms (22 lb) of heroin
into the United States in the diplomatic bag. Indonesia too expelled the
Afghan ambassador following the discovery of machine guns in a consign-
ment of goods addressed to the embassy in Jakarta. Relations were further
strained by the expulsion of Western Christian aid workers and the destruc-
tion of the new, international Protestant church, the Community Christian
Church of Kabul (ccck). In March 1973 unnamed individuals alleged
that some expatriate workers in the noor Blind Institute and the Medical
Aid Programme (map) in the Hazarajat were proselytizing and import-
ing Christian literature. It was no secret that the International Afghan
Mission (iam), 56 the umbrella organization of these programmes, was
funded by foreign churches, mission organizations and Protestant Trusts;
indeed when the iam was set up in response to a specific invitation by the
government in 1966, its protocol clearly stated it was a faith agency. By 1973
the iam’s various projects, particularly its ophthalmic work in the noor
hospital, 57 had earned the widespread respect of the king, government
officials and the public at large.
The Community Christian Church of Kabul just before its destruction by government order
in February 1973. From the outset the new building was surrounded by controversy. Eight
days after the construction began the minister, Rev. J. Christy Wilson, received an order
from the government to stop building. Church members were also divided over
the appropriateness of this new and imposing structure.