Privately, many of the international aid workers have been critical of the foreign employees of Shelter Now International for putting their Afghan staff at risk by visiting their homes, which is strictly forbidden.
Known as a missionary organization among expatriate workers in Afghanistan, Shelter Now International was forced to close in neighboring Pakistan during the early 1990s after its employees were said to be proselytizing in Afghan refugee camps.
One of the books the Taliban say they have confiscated from Shelter Now International in Afghanistan was entitled "Sharing your Christian faith with Muslims," which the ruling militia considered a book about proselytizing.
"It is one thing to put yourself in danger. That's OK. But you don't have the right to put those you are responsible for in danger. That is criminal," said Karla Shefter, a German national who has worked 12 years in Afghanistan in the health field.
"It is very clear for any expatriate who works in Afghanistan you cannot preach Christianity. It is criminal in Taliban time, or any other time," she said.
The fear that the Afghan employees of Shelter Now International may receive the death penalty has made Afghans working for other Western aid organizations nervous. International aid workers say their Afghan staff no longer want to be seen in public with them.
In Afghanistan, where the average monthly income is $4 and jobs are scarce, employment with a Western aid organization has long been considered a coveted position.
"But I know that no Afghan in their heart will ever leave their religion," Shefter said.
The other six foreign aid workers being held have been identified by the Taliban as Germans George Taubmann, Margrit Stebnar, Kati Jelinek and Silke Duerrkopf, and Australians Peter Bunch and Diana Thomas.