Afghanistan
From the Capitol insurrection to the Taliban takeover: The defining religion stories of 2021
By RNS staff — December 31, 2021
(RNS) — Religion was no minor character in 2021's most significant news stories.
As Afghan evacuees overwhelm US aid agencies, Jewish groups step in as partners
By Yonat Shimron — December 9, 2021
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — The refugees are not Jewish. But as grandchildren of refugees, American Jews want to honor their ancestors by helping others.
Kardashian West helps fly Afghan women soccer players to UK
By Jill Lawless and David Keyton — November 18, 2021
A plane chartered by the reality star and carrying more than 30 teenage players and their families, about 130 people in all, landed at Stansted Airport near London.
Afghan girls, faraway relatives worry over dreams disrupted
By Noreen Nasir and Mariam Fam — November 4, 2021
From her home in Illinois, Asma Yawari has built a relationship with her younger cousin in Afghanistan that’s made the geographic distance between the two teenagers’ worlds seem, well, not quite so distant. They never met but have bonded over phone calls and messages — swapping family photos and language lessons, sharing hair routines and […]
What 20 years (and counting) of the war on terror must teach us
By Diane Randall — November 1, 2021
(RNS) — Given the experience in Afghanistan, it’s clearer than ever the global war on terror has been an unmitigated humanitarian and strategic disaster.
Woman now thought to be Afghanistan’s last Jew flees country
By Ilan Ben Zion and Llazar Semini — October 29, 2021
JERUSALEM (AP) — For years, Zebulon Simentov branded himself as the “last Jew of Afghanistan,” the sole remnant of a centuries-old community. He charged reporters for interviews and held court in Kabul’s only remaining synagogue. He left the country last month for Istanbul after the Taliban seized power. Now it appears he was not the […]
How ethnic and religious divides in Afghanistan are contributing to violence against minorities
By Abdulkader Sinno — October 25, 2021
(The Conversation) — A scholar of Afghan affairs explains the religious affiliations of different ethnic groups in Afghanistan and why they may not share a common understanding of Islam.
Rescuers: Last Jew of Kabul making his way to Israel
By Josef Federman — October 18, 2021
Zebulon Simentov, who lived in a dilapidated synagogue in Kabul, kept kosher, prayed in Hebrew and endured decades of war, fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.
Afghan women have a long history of taking leadership and fighting for their rights
By Helena Zeweri and Wazhmah Osman — October 11, 2021
(The Conversation) — Two Afghan women scholars write about how Afghan women’s groups have been fighting for human rights, both now and historically.
Taliban say they won’t work with US to contain Islamic State
By Kathy Gannon — October 11, 2021
Senior Taliban officials and U.S. representatives are meeting this weekend in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Officials from both sides have said issues include reining in extremist groups and the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country.
How one Chicago church is stepping up to help Afghan evacuees
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 8, 2021
WARRENVILLE, Ill. (RNS) — Across the country, churches like Immanuel Presbyterian Church are finding practical ways to partner with refugee resettlement agencies as they assist Afghan evacuees now settling into their new homes.
IS bomber kills 46 inside Afghan mosque, challenges Taliban
By Tameem Akhgar and Samya Kullab — October 8, 2021
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Islamic State suicide bomber struck at a mosque packed with Shiite Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 46 people and wounding dozens in the latest security challenge to the Taliban as they transition from insurgency to governance. In its claim of responsibility, the region’s IS affiliate […]
Woe to you, Washington! Woe to you, New York!
By Thomas Reese — October 4, 2021
(RNS) — God does not punish us. He tells us when we are punishing ourselves.
White Christian nationalism found fertile soil in post-9/11 America
By Robert P. Jones — September 22, 2021
(RNS) — Since the Bush era, the attitudes of Republicans, including white evangelicals who comprise the party’s base, have increasingly aligned with a worldview rooted in centuries of white supremacist theology.
It’s time at last for an ethical conversation about Afghanistan
By Jim Wallis — September 15, 2021
(RNS) — What have 20 years of war done to our values?
