Book Synopsis: The story of the capture and imprisonment of eight Western aid workers in Afghanistan by the Taliban. For three months in 2001, the desperate plight of aid workers kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan captured the attention of the world. With the growing specter of U.S. retaliation for 9/11, the Taliban and Osama bin Laden attempted to use their Western hostages as bargaining tools. What the captors did not count on was coming face-to-face with the enduring faith of people who know their only hope was in Christ.Kabul 24 revisits their grueling interrogations, their sham trials before the Taliban Supreme Court, their peril during the bombing of Kabul, and the crushing sense that the world had abandoned them. It reveals not only the eight Westerners' 105 days in captivity but also the gauntlet endured by their 16 Muslim coworkers who, after being taken to the notorious Pulicharki Prison, were beaten and tortured, having been accused by the Taliban of converting to Christianity.
This is for sure not a light read, at times heartbreaking and disturbing but also laced with hope. Even the opening pages are enough to make you a bit queasy with the brief story of a woman named just "The Burka"she's running for her life but soon is kicked, beaten and murdered in a football stadium surrounded by angry blood lusty men. The Burka reflects on the safety she feels inside her cloth prison, thus setting the tone for this hostel environment. Kabul 24 is a story of faith in the midst of persecution and uncertainty. The setting is Afghanistan just before 911, the Taliban and Al Qaeda have run of the place. The Shelter Now organization who has been serving the people of Afghanistan faithfully for years is unwelcome and in danger. Eight foreigners and sixteen nationals are arrested and detained, Kabuel reflects on their captivity.
The prisoners draw strength from God and focus their thoughts on Bible studies and prayer. They never seemed to lose their sights on God, the difficulties never seemed to shake their faith. Their determination is to be admired and the authors of the book were very effective in portraying the eight foreigners with honesty and taking you through the different emotions they are going through. The writing was a bit choppy at times particularly when trying to describe aspects of Christian life and culture to the reader, that said it wasn't a poorly told story. I would have liked to learn more of the Natives stories and had the focus been on them more it might have been a more in depth book.
My rant and only negative on this book was the fact that it emphasized in the book the SNI workers were not trying to share the Gospel with hopes of conversions in Afghanistan. I mean I thought this was their whole reasoning for being there! They seemed to be ok with people being good Muslims and not speaking of faith in the least. Kind of defeats the purpose of being a Christian missionary! So that did not make sense, I would think more direction toward Christianity would at least be salted in the daily conversations. Over all its an easy read, I have some questions that weren't answered but learned about Muslim culture and para- church ministries.
3/5 Non-fiction Inspirational
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