afghanistan
The accusations appear to have originated from Islamists angered at
the construction of a new church in Dar al-’Aman, which was intended
to replace the rented house used by the ccck for the foreign Protestant
community. The building was a grandiose affair and some mullahs
complained that the roof of the church, in violation of Islamic tradition,
was higher than the minarets of the nearby mosque. Shafiq ordered an
investigation that revealed irregularities in the building consent process.
The iam became embroiled in the controversy after it emerged that the
majority of the church board were iam visa holders. Shafiq ordered the
newly completed church to be demolished, but in the process of destruc-
tion the contractors, government officials and local people looted the
marble from its walls and floors and most of the fittings. The government
then suspended church services in the old building, but in a gesture of
ecumenical solidarity Father Angelo Panigati, the Papal representative,
offered the use of his chapel in the Italian Embassy instead.
The government then closed the map programme, nationalized noor
and the Blind Institute, and expelled all their expatriate volunteers. The
iam was informed that the visas of its expatriate workers would not be
renewed and any staff members currently abroad would not be allowed
back into the country. The American Minister of the ccck, the Reverend
Dr Christy Wilson, and his wife were also declared persona non grata.
This action was a substantial overreaction by Shafiq to a situation that
ought to have been handled in a more diplomatic, low-key manner. The
diplomatic fallout for the Afghan government was serious. The usa and
European nations formally protested at the expulsions of their nationals,
while the Western press attacked the government for its repression and
lack of religious liberties. The reaction was particularly strong in the usa,
for the majority of those expelled were American citizens. Furthermore,
under an informal agreement with the Afghan government, the u.s.
Embassy processed Wilson’s visa, while the new church had been paid for
by u.s.-based churches, trusts and para-church organizations.
The destruction of the kccc and the subsequent expulsions were head-
line news in America’s influential Christian press. The evangelist Billy
Graham and other Christian leaders raised the issue with Congressmen
and the White House. The State Department too came under considerable
pressure to demand the Afghan government reinstate the visas, reopen
map and the Blind School, and compensate the ccck for the destruction
of the church. The u.s. government was constrained by the Constitution’s
separation of church and state, but Ambassador Neumann did what he
could. He and the British ambassador suggested that all iam expatriates
nandana
(Nandana)
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