KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan authorities suspended two Christian foreign aid groups Monday on suspicion of proselytizing in the strictly Islamic nation and said a follow-up investigation would include whether other groups were trying to convert Muslims.
U.S.-based Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid will not be allowed to operate while the allegations are investigated, said Mohammad Hashim Mayar, the deputy director of the Afghan government office that oversees nongovernment organizations.
Both organizations denied the allegation, and Mayar said officials did not have any evidence of proselytizing beyond the television report.
The report, which interviewed local police saying they had heard rumors of the charities’ proselytizing, triggered a demonstration Monday by several hundred students at Kabul University. The Associated Press
