In the recent headlines are the 10 Medical Aid Workers in Afghanistan who were killed by Taliban insurgents. According to the director of IAM, Dirk Frans, the Taliban murdered ten people execution-style for their Christianity. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed claimed responsibility for the attack, saying: “Yesterday at around 8am, one of our patrols confronted a group of foreigners. They were Christian missionaries and we killed them all,” according to Sky News.

The question is: were they teaching or promoting Christianity?

The group’s executive director, Dirk Frans denied accusations by insurgents that the group had Bibles in Dari or were otherwise engaged in proselytizing. The International Assistance Mission has worked in Afghanistan since 1966 and none of its personnel have engaged in missionary work, which is against the law in Afghanistan and a violation of the group’s own rules.

The Taliban believes that they were teaching and promoting Christianity, and so do I. They were living out their Christian faith by engaging in acts of kindness and mercy. Without a word about Jesus Christ or the Bible, they were simply being “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5) in the house of God. Their acts of kindness and mercy to those who are perceived to be the enemies of Christ were in fact acts of evangelism. This should not be missed.

And in like manner their cold blooded execution by Islamic terrorists for being Christian agents who were willing to live out their faith in the face of danger by bringing basic medical care to the poorest of the poor was an act of Islamic evangelism. Yes, the Taliban was also engaged in evangelism, teaching and preaching their religious beliefs–and for a similar purpose: teaching and promoting Islam. This should not be missed, either.