Home » Posts tagged 'Algeria'
Tag Archives: Algeria
Persecution Watch: Praying for Believers in Algeria
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us Friday, March 22, 2024, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
ALGERIA: Population 45.5 million, Christians 145,000 thousand
The major drivers of persecution in Algeria are society and extremist Islamic teachers who exert influence over state authorities. This means Christians experience persecution from their families, their communities and from the government.
Most Algerian Christians are converts from Islam. They face harassment and discrimination in their daily lives, and their families and community may try to force them to continue to adhere to Islamic norms and practices. They also face pressure – from both the government and their surrounding communities – to renounce their faith in Jesus and return to Islam. Many choose to keep their faith secret. Additionally, state pressure has increased on Protestant Christians to a level not seen in decades. Previously closed church buildings are still shut down, and many other churches were ordered to close. The government threatened to prosecute some church leaders if their churches continued to meet.
Algeria has laws restricting non-Muslim worship, including rules that prohibit anything that would ‘shake the faith of a Muslim’ or could be used as a ‘means of seduction intending to convert a Muslim to another religion’. These vague laws can be used to pressure Christians to keep their faith quiet and to beat down anything outside of the majority faith.
The majority of Christians live in the north of Algeria – an environment that has allowed Christian community to develop, although pressure from both government and society remains strong. But in other parts of the country, especially in the south, circumstances are difficult for Christians, with a very low number of available churches. While violent Islamic militants don’t have a wide support base among the general population, radical Muslim teachers exert an increasing influence over Algerian government and society.
Algeria has risen four places on the World Watch List. There have been increases in pressure in national life and church life – but it was the rise in violence score which had most influence on the overall rise. This was mainly caused by an increased number of churches being closed or forced to cease all activity. At the same time, a greater number of houses and businesses of Christians were raided, with the increased pressure forcing many to relocate both inside and outside the country.
Prayer Points
- Please pray to the Lord for the 78 year old President Abdelmajid Tebboune, that the Lord will touch him and soften his heart to start protecting the oppressed Christian minorities.
- Please pray to the Lord to be near to all our brothers and sisters and as they grow in the Christian way of life to keep them safe from harm.
- Pray to the Lord that the Holy Spirit will help the Algerian Christians to stand firm in faith.
- Pray to the Lord for the community leaders, that You would soften their hearts and that they would allow Your people to worship freely, without threat of arrest or harassment.
- Pray to the Lord that closed churches will be reopened, that the forces of darkness will not be able to hinder the efforts of the saints in this work.
- Pray to the Lord that each believer will have the opportunity to join with other Christians for fellowship and bible studies.
- Pray to the Lord for church leaders, that YOU Lord will encourage and protect them as they minister to the saints and may risk imprisonment just to continue to meet together.
- Pray to the Lord for believers who endure intense pressure to convert back to Islam and discrimination in their daily lives and work.
- Pray to the Lord against the ambiguous laws which hinder Christian activities by regulating non-Muslim worship, including prohibition of anything that would shake the faith of a Muslim.
- Pray to the Lord to bless and protect the NGOs who provide much needed support for Bible distribution, discipleship as well as leadership training as well as livelihood supplies.
- Pray to the Lord to open doors for evangelism and that believers can boldly share the good news.
- Pray to the Lord that in spite of the hostile climate more and more Algerians will embrace the Christian faith where their hearts and minds know His presence and peace.
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family and for the church.
- Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here.
- Armenian Genocide Happening Again. Read full report here: Genocide and Forced Deportation: Nagorno-Karabakh
- The Harvest: “37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
Andy, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Moderator
Please forward prayer points to your church, prayer groups and others who will pray.
Prayer Conference Call Details
7 nights a week on your phone
USA Time Zone:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: (667) 770-1476
Access Code: 281207#
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God. The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern time in the United States (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted, and the two missions became one. Brother Blaine passed into glory on December 26, 2019. It was truly a blessing for all of us to serve alongside this dear man of God and he will be greatly missed. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch remains an important part of our mission. Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with the dedicated Persecution Watch prayer warrior team.
Prior to the passing of Brother Blaine, he confirmed the passing of the torch as prayer conference call leader to Nadia Dybvik. Nadia has a burdened heart for the persecuted and is a prayer warrior standing in the gap for them. She joined the Persecution Watch prayer team in 2015 and has been part of the core ever since. Before becoming the prayer call leader, she served in the role of prayer moderator since 2016. Blaine chose Nadia for her faithfulness to pray for the persecuted and her strong commitment to the Persecution Watch mission. We are blessed not only with her gift of prayer, but her genuine love for every brother and sister in Christ that comes on the call to pray. May the Lord continue to bless Nadia and the prayer team in the mission and their personal lives.
“Pray for us” is the number one request that we hear from the persecuted. As the members of the first century Church was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters are invited to the conference call and share the trials they are facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer. Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone.
We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you. If you are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen in, and pray silently or mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader, and the Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign up at link below to be added in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
Persecution Watch: Pray for Believers in Algeria and Iran
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, in a prayer conference call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Algerian Government Continues Crackdown on House Churches, Limits Attendees, Arrests Pastors
(CBN) The Algerian government has ramped up its crackdown on Christian churches in the North African country, including sentencing several Algerian church leaders to prison, according to a report.
House churches can now have only limited meetings of 10 people, according to the persecution watchdog International Christian Concern (ICC).
According to the ICC, the Algerian government shut down at least 16 churches last year, continuing its closure of churches since the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
Life in the North African country has become even more difficult for Christians since the Israel-Hamas war began. The Algerian government regards Christians as supporters of Israel in the ongoing conflict, and also sees them as a part of the foreign and western influences corrupting the nation’s Islamic national unity, the ICC explains.
Much like the rest of the Middle East and North Africa, the country has experienced street protests over Israel’s latest war with Hamas in Gaza. The government has issued some of the region’s most supportive statements to the Palestinians, calling “Zionist colonial occupation” the heart of the conflict on the day Hamas militants first attacked Israel. But it has imposed restrictions on some street protests, including those organized by Islamists opposed to the government. Read full report.
‘Bringing God’s Word to My People’: Iranian Christians Translate Bible into Local ‘Heart Languages’
(CBN) Christians in Iran put their lives on the line each time they open the Word of God or share the Gospel with family members. Now some underground believers are risking their lives to translate the Bible into their local dialects so their friends and neighbors can have access to the scriptures.
Through the Bible translation agency unfoldingWord, thousands of Christians are translating the Word into their “heart language” or native language first learned at home.
“Every person in the world needs the Bible in the language they understand the best,” says unfoldingWord, a non-profit that helps church networks with Bible translation.
For many, that means the dialect native to their culture, region, or community.
“There are over 70 ethnic backgrounds in Iran. There are over 6,000 villages. From one village to another, the languages might change. Of course, Farsi is a spoken language, but 55% of Iranians don’t speak Farsi at all,” Iranian minister Lazarus Yeghnazar told unfoldingWord. Read full report
Again, we want to lift-up these persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, a prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison, for his family and for the church.
- Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, as he and his family are adjusting from his release from prison, that they may know what God’s will is for them now. Pray for the trauma they had to endure. UPDATE: According to Article 18, once sentenced to death for his “apostasy” has been “pardoned” and released after nearly five years in Tehran’s Evin Prison, but told Nadarkhani that he still faces flogging (30 lashes) and two years’ exile 2,000km from his home. Read the report here.
- Ryan Kolher Oct. 2023) PRAISE REPORT: Ryan, Annabel, and their two boys are now back in the United States! If you wish to pass along words of encouragement and praise to the Kohers, you may email them at prayforpilotryan@maf.org. Continue to pray, the case against him is not yet dropped.
- The Harvest: “37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
His Servant
Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Conference Call Leader
NOTICE: There will be no prayer call on Thursday, November 23, the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. The prayer conference call for the persecuted Church will resume on Saturday, November 25th.
Access Code: 281207#
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
INTERNATIONAL CALLERS Available International IDOP Prayer Conference Call Numbers at this link
(Note: If you will be using one of the international call numbers, you may experience issues in your country. If you are unable to connect, try using the VoIP dialer available at this link. Type the dial-in number in the blue box or click or tap the dial-in number on the keypad. Click Call and agree to allow access to your microphone. When prompted, enter the access code followed by pound (#) to be connected to the conference call.
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God. The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern time in the United States, please check your time zone. Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted, and our missions became one. He was also active in the relief mission and an advocate for our persecuted brothers and sisters. Brother Blaine passed into glory on December 26, 2019. It was truly a blessing for all of us to serve alongside this dear man of God and he will be greatly missed. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch remains an important part of our mission. Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with the dedicated Persecution Watch prayer warrior team.
Prior to the passing of Brother Blaine, he confirmed the passing of the torch as prayer conference call leader to Nadia Dybvik. Nadia has a burdened heart for the persecuted and is a prayer warrior standing in the gap for them. She joined the Persecution Watch prayer team in 2015 and has been part of the core ever since. Before becoming the prayer call leader, she served in the role of prayer call moderator since 2016. Blaine chose Nadia for her faithfulness to pray for the persecuted and her strong commitment to the Persecution Watch mission. We are blessed not only with her gift of prayer, but her genuine love for every brother and sister in Christ that comes on the call to pray. May the Lord continue to bless Nadia and the prayer team in the mission and in their personal lives.
We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you. If you are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen in, pray silently, or on mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
NOTE: Please use the sign-up link below to be added in our distribution list and receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events, and special guest speakers.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
Persecution Watch: Praying for Believers in Algeria
(Voice of the Persecuted) You are invited to join us on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in a prayer call for the persecuted church hosted by Persecution Watch.
Algeria: Population 43.3 million, Christians 129,000 [0.3%]
Before the founding of Islam in the seventh century and the subsequent invasion of Arab Muslims, Algeria was inhabited by the Berber people. Today, they live mainly in Algeria’s mountainous Kabylie area in the north, while Arabs inhabit the rest of the country. The Christian faith has a long history in North Africa, especially among ethnic Berbers. The early church father Augustine of Hippo is thought to have been a Berber from Algeria. After centuries of oppressive Muslim occupation, public Christian worship and witness have largely disappeared, but many Berbers are now rediscovering their Christian heritage. Churches have seen rapid growth, and Algeria has experienced one of the world’s largest movements of Muslims coming to faith in Christ. Algerian Christians are reaching out boldly to their Muslim countrymen, causing increased persecution in an uncertain political climate
Christian converts from Islam are persecuted by the government and their own family members. They also face a variety of hardships from the local community. Algeria is a shining example of church growth in North Africa and is also a leader for theological training and church development in the region. Nearly all of the church growth has occurred within the Berber community. Although churches are allowed to meet openly, in 2018 the government temporarily closed many church buildings and harassed congregations. Berber Christians, who are watched carefully, have gained a collective voice through an Evangelical association of churches. Sharing the gospel with Arabs can cause serious problems, but Berber Christians continue to share the gospel boldly in and around al-Qaida terrorist camps. Secret communities of Arab Christians exist throughout the country. While it is not common for Christians to be imprisoned, one believer was imprisoned for nearly a year in connection with a social media post. He received a presidential pardon in July 2017.
Pressure is also exerted by state officials receptive to the teachings of radical Islamic teachers. They use their influence to limit the freedoms of converts, including preventing them from expressing their views in public. Laws regulating non-Muslim worship prohibit anything that would “shake the faith of a Muslim” or be used as “a means of seduction intending to convert a Muslim to another religion.”
There is a Bible Society in Algeria, but the printing and importation of Bibles is carefully monitored, limited, and controlled by the government. Bible distributions are risky for the distributors and congregations involved, and Bibles are often confiscated by government officials.
NGOs relocates believers who are expelled from their homes. They print and distribute Bibles and literature and support front-line workers who reach out to Muslims. In cooperation with local partners and churches NGOs also train and provide advocacy and prayer support.
- Pray to the Lord that the Government will stop their persecution of the Protestant Church of Algeria [EPA]
- Pray that the laws regulating non-Muslim worship will be abolished.
- Pray that the Lord will make government and local leaders immune to the teachings of radical Muslims.
- Pray to the Lord that Christians will establish strategic relationships with local leaders and influence them to respect Christianity.
- Pray that all recently closed churches will reopen.
- Pray for the establishment of strategic relationships between Christians and local leaders of influence, which will inspire greater respect among communities towards Christianity.
- Request that converts who have counted the cost for Jesus will have access to a community of Christians to support and build them up.
- Pray for unity among Algerian church leaders.
- Pray for opportunities to distribute Bibles throughout Algeria, especially in the south.
- Pray for Christians whose churches were closed by the government. Pray for the protection and safety for the worshippers.
- Pray for those who hear the gospel through social media evangelism.
- Pray to give the persecuted the ability to pray for and forgive their persecutors.
- Pray for the gospel’s spread into majority Arab regions of Algeria.
- Pray to give the persecuted the ability to pray for and forgive their persecutors.
- Pray to the Lord that will grow His church in spite of the hostile environment, that there will be a spectacular increase in the number of Christians and that the forces of darkness will be unable to hinder the addition of new believers.
Again, we want to lift up persecuted witnesses to the Lord:
- Leah Sharibu, prisoner of Boko Haram since 2018. Pray for her release.
- Alice Loksha Ngaddah, kidnapped February 2019. She is a mother of two, working as a nurse for UNICEF. Pray for her release.
- Pray for Pastor Wang Yi to be released from prison.
- Pray for Anita, a Christian convert facing a long prison term who escaped from Iran and praying to go to a country where she can express her faith openly.
- For the release of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani from Iran, and his family as their Persecution continues. Pastor Nadarkhani is serving the second year of his six-year sentence.
Andy, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Moderator
Prayer Conference Call Details
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
From any location on your phone
USA Time Zone:
9:00 PM Eastern
8:00 PM Central
7:00 PM Mountain
6:00 PM Pacific
Call in number: 712 775-7035
Access Code: 281207#
Recommended: For those who may be subject to added charges for conference calls. Please download the app, it’s free!
MOBILE APP: Free Conference Call HD also provides a quick and easy way for you to dial into conference calls without having to remember the dial-in credentials. Save all of your conference call dial-in numbers and access codes using this free app. With the Free Conference Call HD you can instantly dial into a conference call via 3G/4G data network and or regular mobile carrier. Google Play link or App Store – iTunes
If you are experiencing any difficulties joining the call, please let us know.
What is Persecution Watch?
Persecution Watch is a U.S. national prayer conference call ministry that prays specifically for the global Persecuted Church. For over a decade, Blaine Scogin led this national network of believers who faithfully pray for the persecuted and the global harvest for the Kingdom of God. The group meets via a free call-in service every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night at 9pm Eastern time in the United States (please check your time zone). Blaine also served as Prayer Director for Voice of the Persecuted, and the missions became one. Brother Blaine passed into glory on December 26, 2019. It was truly a blessing for all of us to serve alongside this dear man of God and he will be greatly missed. The prayer mission of Persecution Watch remains an important part of our mission. Voice of the Persecuted is committed to continue the prayer conference call for the persecuted along with the dedicated Persecution Watch prayer warrior team.
Prior to the passing of Brother Blaine, he confirmed the passing of the torch as prayer conference call leader to Nadia Dybvik. Nadia has a burdened heart for the persecuted and is a prayer warrior standing in the gap for them. She joined the Persecution Watch prayer team in 2013 and has been part of the core ever since. Before becoming the prayer call leader, she served in the role of prayer moderator since 2015. Blaine chose Nadia for her faithfulness to pray for the persecuted and her strong commitment to the Persecution Watch mission. We are blessed not only with her gift of prayer, but her genuine love for every brother and sister in Christ that comes on the call to pray. May the Lord continue to bless Nadia and the prayer team in the mission and their personal lives.
“Pray for us” is the number one request that we hear from the persecuted. As the members of the first century Church were moved by the Holy Spirit to pray, we too must continue to serve those suffering persecution by lifting them up to the Lord through prayer.
On occasion, persecuted brothers and sisters have been invited on the conference call to share the trials they are facing. The team serves to encourage them by washing their feet in Spirit led prayer. Time is often reserved for those on the call to ask questions. We believe this helps to gain a better understanding of the situation that persecuted Christians endure in their specific nations. Q&A also helps us to focus our prayers based on their current needs.
Persecution Watch also hosts callers who want to pray united from other nations. If your heart is perplexed by the sufferings of our persecuted brothers and sisters, you no longer need to pray alone.
We welcome all who desire to pray for the persecuted church and consider it a joy to pray together with you. If you are new to the call and cannot find your voice, listen in and pray silently or on mute. We are grateful and thank the Lord for bringing us all together to pray in agreement for our persecuted family in Christ. We can all be prayer warriors on this call!
God bless and protect you in your faithfulness to serve.
Lois Kanalos, Founder, Voice of the Persecuted, Nadia Nadia Dybvik, Persecution Watch Prayer Call Leader and the Persecution Watch Prayer Team
NOTE: Please fill out the form in the sign up link below to be included in our distribution list to receive urgent prayer requests, prayer points, notification of special prayer events and special guest speakers.
Note to Voice of the Persecuted (VOP) readers: The Persecution Watch prayer team is also the prayer team of Voice of the Persecuted. SIGN UP today.
Pastor of Church Ordered to Close in Algeria Sentenced to Prison
Algeria (Morning Star News) – Less than a week after a a court in Algeria ordered pastor Rachid Seighir’s church to close, a judge in a separate case today sentenced him to a year in prison and a fine for “shaking the faith” of Muslims with Christian literature at his bookstore, sources said.
Pastor Seighir’s Oratoire Church building in the city of Oran was one of three ordered to be sealed in western Algeria’s Oran Province on Wednesday (June 2). On Sunday (June 6) he and bookstore salesman Nouh Hamimi were sentenced to a year in prison and a fine of 200,000 dinars (US$1,494) in a ruling on their appeal of a prior sentence of two years in prison and a fine of 500,000 dinars (US$3,745).
The pastor was the manager of the now-closed bookstore in Oran, a coastal city 268 miles west of Algiers. The judgment in March read that he and Hamimi were condemned for “distributing publications or any other propaganda undermining the faith of a Muslim.”
Pastor Seighir has said the conviction was mere retaliation in a conflict over the bookstore going back to 2008, when he was convicted of the same charges and acquitted on appeal. The governor of Oran ordered the bookshop closed in 2017, but in April 2018, a court ruled the closure order was invalid due to procedural problems – though authorities continued to keep the bookshop closed, he said.
Sunday’s appeal ruling came after postponements of scheduled hearings on May 16 and May 30. The Christians’ attorney, Farid Khemisti, said they would appeal on Wednesday (June 9) to the Court of Oran and, if necessary, to the Supreme Court.
Algeria’s 2006 law regulating non-Muslim worship, known as Law 03/06, criminalizes the publishing or distributing of any materials “which aim to undermine the faith of a Muslim.” Punishment can range from two to five years in prison and fines of 500,000 to 1 million Algerian dinars (US$3,745 to US$7,490).
Church Closures
The court ruling on Wednesday (June 2) ordering the closure Pastor Seighir’s church building and those of churches in El-Ayaid and Ain-Turk came as a result of efforts to seal the buildings by the governor (wali) of Oran Province.
“This is a judgment that the wali of Oran won against us,” Pastor Seighir told Morning Star News. “It is ordered to proceed with the immediate closure of the three places of worship.”
Ain-Turk is about 35 kilometers (21 miles) west of the city of Oran, and El-AIyaid is about 35 kilometers east of Oran.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t understand what’s going on,” Pastor Seighir said. “This is purely an attack against us Algerian Christians and the churches. There have been three different walis, and that did not prevent the charges against us from remaining. It is therefore clear that the source of our trouble comes from those higher than the walis.”
On Dec. 28, 2017, the then-governor of Oran Province, Mouloud Cherifi, had sent notice that the Oratoire church was “not in accordance with the laws in force,” namely registration under Law 03/06, which regulates non-Muslim worship. The 2006 law requires non-Muslim worship buildings to be licensed, but all applications to do so have remained unattended.
The ruling against Pastor Seighir and Hamimi comes after a Christian who had received and reposted a cartoon of the prophet of Islam on his Facebook account three years ago was sentenced to five years in prison and fined 100,000 dinars (US$750) under an Algerian law against insulting Muhammad.
Christian Interrogated
In Ain-Defla Province about 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Algiers, Gendarmerie stopped two Christians preparing to travel to worship in the capital, holding one for four hours of interrogation, he said.
Ahmed Beghal (name changed for security reasons) said officers also searched his home and seized Christian books and personal documents.
On May 11 at about 7 a.m. Beghal and his friend had yet to leave his town of Ain Seltane when officers stopped them on the road, he said. Taken to brigade quarters, Beghal was held for questioning while his friend was quickly released after separate questioning.
“Not knowing the reason for our arrest, I questioned the head of the brigade,” Beghal said. “The latter replied, ‘There are many rumors and accusations circulating about you. You are very active, it seems.’”
Beghal, whose wife and children left him in 2017 because of his conversion to Christianity, said that the day before the arrest he and others had shared the gospel with people.
After officers questioned him, they took him to his home to search it.
“They took all my books and documents,” Beghal told Morning Star News. “They told me that to get them back I have to go to the public prosecutor.”
Beghal, who wrote to the prosecutor asking for his belongings to be returned to him, is scheduled to appear before a judge on June 16. He is accused of fundraising for the creation of a Christian association without authorization.
Islam is the state religion in the 99-percent Muslim country. Since 2000, thousands of Algerian Muslims have put their faith in Christ. Algerian officials estimate the number of Christians at 50,000, but others say it could be twice that number.
Algeria ranked 24th on Open Doors’ 2021 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, up from 42nd place in 2018.
New Christian in Algeria Sentenced for ‘Organizing Worship’ in His Home
Tent set up after authorities closed church building in Azaghar, near Akbou in Algeria. (Morning Star News)
(Morning Star News) – A judge on June 16 handed a Christian father of two in northwest Algeria a suspended prison sentence and a hefty fine for holding worship at his house, four days before another judge fined the owner of land that a church uses.
Prosecutors had sought a six-month prison sentence and a fine of 500,000 Algerian dinars (US$4,200) for the 35-year-old father in Mostaganem, a coastal town about 350 kilometers (217 miles) west of Algiers. The judge instead delivered the two-month, suspended prison sentence and a fine of 100,000 dinars ($840) to the new Christian, who requested anonymity as he fears for his life in the officially Muslim North African country.
For inviting a Christian couple to pray with him, an area source said, he was accused of organizing Christian worship in his home under Algeria’s notorious religion law of June 2006, commonly known as the 03/06 law, which forbids non-Muslim worship for unregistered churches. The law stipulates that churches must obtain the permission of a national committee to be registered, but this committee has never met, and no church request has been officially considered or approved, sources said.
“Incredible but true, it was enough that a neighbor denounced him and accused him wrongly, and he is condemned, all because he welcomed a Christian couple to pray together,” said the area source, who cannot be identified for security reasons. “He is frightened and shocked by this accusation.”
Police had summoned the Christian for questioning several times, the source said.
“During these visits to the police station, the poor man had to endure terrible pressure and intimidation, though he was known as a man of peace,” he said.
‘Intimidation’
In Akbou, about 185 kilometers (114 miles) east of Algiers in Bejaia Province, Kabylie Region, a judge on Thursday (June 20) fined the owner of a church that was ordered to close in October 2018.
Prosecutors had sought a 500,000-dinar (US$4,200) fine and six months in prison for Amar Ait-Ouali, owner of the land where City of Refuge Church meets in Azaghar village near Akbou, for allowing a worship tent on the land after authorities closed the 300-member congregation’s church building on Oct. 16, 2018. The judge instead fined Ait-Ouali 50,000 dinars (US$420), Ait-Ouali said.
“I’m not afraid of them, and all their intimidation is just wind,” Ait-Ouali told Morning Star News. “I have the right to be a Christian, and I also have the right to make my home and my land available to the church. All this is injustice. ”
His attorneys, a group of human rights lawyers, said they would appeal.
The pastor of the church, Jughurtha Sadi, said the congregation is trusting in God for the outcome.
“We have nothing to fear,” the pastor said. “The EPA [Protestant Church of Algeria, an umbrella group] is on our side to support us. Whatever they do, we will continue to praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Gendarmerie had questioned Ait-Ouali following the installation of the tent for the church, which began meeting in November 2013. After the church building and two others in the region were closed and the Azaghar church began meeting in the tent, soon gendarmerie visited Ait-Ouali and threatened to arrest him if he did not remove it, he said.
The church continued to meet, and he received a court summons in Akbou.
In Tigzirt, 34 kilometers (21 miles) north of Tizi-Ouzou, a judge summoned Nouredine Benzid, pastor of a church in Makouda, on Thursday (June 20), after Islamists pressured local officials into seeking to seal his church building, sources said.
He answered accusations by the Makouda administration that the church did not have permission to meet, they said.
Prosecutors seek to fine him 500,000 dinars (US$4,200). A verdict is expected on Thursday (June 27).
The church of Makouda, also affiliated with the EPA, has more than 300 members.
These cases follow the sealing of another church building and its Bible school in northwestern Algeria on May 22. Citing the 2006 law requiring authorization for non-Muslim places of worship, gendarmes locked the doors of the evangelical church building in Boudjima, 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Tizi-Ouzou, capital of the province of the same name in Kabylie Region.
While three churches in Oran Province that the provincial head closed in November 2017 and February 2018 have since reopened, others that authorities closed last year in Akbou, in Kabylie Region, remain sealed. On Dec. 30, authorities ordered the closure of an evangelical church in Ait-Jimaa village, 45 kilometers (27 miles) from Tizi-Ouzou.
The EPA has 45 affiliated churches throughout the country with nearly 50,000 Christians. Since November 2017, “building-safety committees” have visited most EPA-affiliated churches and inquired about licenses required by the 2006 law regulating non-Muslim worship, according to advocacy group Middle East Concern (MEC). Officials have yet to issue any license for a church building under the regulation, according to MEC.
Several churches have since received written orders to cease all activities, and authorities have closed a number of them for operating without a license.
Islam is the state religion in Algeria, where 99 percent of the population of 40 million are Muslim. Since 2000, thousands of Algerian Muslims have put their faith in Christ. Algerian officials estimate the number of Christians at 50,000, but others say it could be twice that number.
Algeria ranked 22nd on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, up from 42nd place the previous year.
Sentence Upheld for Pastor in Algeria Stopped for Carrying Christian Literature
Creative Commons 3 – CC BY-SA 3.0
Algeria (Morning Star News) – A case that began with police in Algeria stopping a Christian suspected of carrying Bibles in his car ended yesterday with a large fine for the church leader.
A judge in Tiaret, 600 kilometers (372 miles) southwest of Algiers, on Wednesday (May 16) denied pastor Nouredine Belabed’s appeal of a sentence of a 100,000-dinar (US$868) fine and payment of court fees under a controversial law that forbids “undermining the faith of a Muslim.” Belabed had received the sentence on March 8, including a three-month suspended prison term reduced from what had been a two-year prison term.
The 37-year-old father of three was traveling with a companion, identified only as 26-year-old Khalil, to Tiaret on March 14, 2015 when gendarmes stopped their vehicle, Pastor Belabed told Morning Star News. National Gendarmerie in Tiaret had contacted officers in Sidi Abderrahmane to report two suspects driving an Opel Zaphira coming from El-Bayadh toward Tiaret with Christian books on board.
“We went to El-Bayadh to see our Christian brothers, but also to answer the call of a man who contacted us to know Christ,” Pastor Belabed told Morning Star News. “I do not know him, but we are used to working that way. But once there, he called me to apologize for not being able to come. Back at a gendarmerie checkpoint at a junction, we were stopped to search the vehicle from top to bottom. I was sure someone pointed us out.”
A thorough search followed, ending with the officers seizing 56 books, according to a police report delivered to prosecutors at a court in Frenda, 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Tiaret. The books included the Gospel of Mathew, Bibles, a Bible commentary, a book on church history and some pamphlets.
Pastor Belabed told officers that he had bought them at a Christian bookstore in Algiers after a meeting with other church leaders at the headquarters of the legally recognized Protestant Church of Algeria (l’Église Protestante d’Algérie, or EPA). He told them he meant to distribute them free to other Christians or any other person who wanted to know Christ, he said.
“They detained us at the gendarmerie brigade from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. after photocopying each of the books we were carrying,” he said. “Since then we did not hear of this case. I thought they had forgotten us.”
Nearly two years later, around Christmas of 2017, he was informed that a security warrant had been issued on him and that he had been sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 50,000 dinars (US$434) by a court in Frenda. The judgment was dated October 27, 2015.
“It was at the police station that I was informed,” he said. “The two of us had been sentenced for possession and distribution of Christian articles in order to destabilize and undermine the faith of Muslim according to article 02/11 of the Law 03/06.”
Law 03/2006, commonly known as Law 03/06, calls for a prison term of two to five years and a fine of 500,000 to 1 million dinars (US$4,343 to US$8,687) for anyone who “incites, constrains, or utilizes means of seduction tending to convert a Muslim to another religion, or using for this purpose the institutions of education, health, social, cultural, or educational institutions, or other establishment, or financial advantage; or makes, stores or distributes printed documents or films or other audiovisual medium or means intended to undermine the faith of a Muslim.”
Christian leaders say the charge is unconstitutional, citing the Algerian constitution’s Article 42, which guarantees freedom of belief, opinion and worship.
During interrogation Pastor Belabed told officers he converted from Islam to Christianity in 2003, and Khalil said he had converted in 2009.
Judge Rebukes Pastor
While the pastor secured an attorney with the EPA’s help, Khalil fled the country for Europe with others in a makeshift boat at the risk of their lives, Pastor Belabed said.
After he fought the sentence with legal defense, in March a court in Frenda convicted both Christians of undermining the faith of a Muslim and sentenced them to pay the fine and court fees; the two-year prison sentence was cancelled in favor of the three-month suspended sentence, while the fine of 50,000 dinars was doubled.
The pastor opted to appeal, and the case was transferred to the Tiaret Criminal Court. On May 9, he appeared before the same judge who had sentenced him in 2015.
“When I saw and recognized the judge, knowing that it was the same who had sentenced me in Frenda, I was scared,” Pastor Belabed said. “But, encouraged by the Lord, I tried to defend my cause somehow. But the judge was harsh and said, “Why do you carry those Christian books, Are not you ashamed?’ The judge used intimidation and told me repeatedly, ‘You’re not ashamed to do that? Algeria is a Muslim country.’”
He replied that he was a Christian who loved Muslims and did not seek to harm their peace, he said. The pastor said he told the judge, “I did not do anything wrong, judge. The Bibles I carried were intended for members of our community, our Tiaret church, which is affiliated with the EPA. I did not give them to others or try to evangelize anyone.”
The May 16 verdict did not appear to mention Khalil.
“Nouredine B. alone was found guilty for carrying and distributing Christian articles in order to undermine and destabilize the faith of a Muslim, in accordance with Article 11/02 of Law 03/06, and for that he is ordered to pay a fine of 100,000. DA ($ 862),” the verdict read.
Pastor Belabed said he would not file any more appeals.
“I am tired,” he said. “The police keep watching us, my wife and me. They watch all our movements. I do not want to inflict more on my family than that; I decide to choose to pay the fine.”
Algeria ranked 42nd on Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2018 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
‘Finally my father is home’ – Slimane Bouhafs released after 18 months in jail
(World Watch Monitor) The daughter of Slimane Bouhafs, an Algerian Christian who has spent the last 18 months in prison for insulting Islam and its prophet, has announced her father’s release.
“Finally my father … has been allowed back to us,” his daughter, Tilelli, wrote on her Facebook page on Easter Saturday. “Thank you for your support.”
Algerian newspaper El Watan reported that Tilelli and her mother had been on their way to visit him in prison when he called, saying that he had been released and was about to take a taxi home. Tilelli reportedly told him to wait, after which they picked him up and travelled home together.
“I am filled with joy to be reunited with my family, who have suffered tremendously,” El Watan reported Slimane Bouhafs as saying. “It was too much… I suffered a terrible injustice. I did not hurt anyone, I did not kill anyone. I was deprived of my freedom unfairly.”
He added that he had “seen unbearable things in prison” and thanked people from all over the world for sending him letters of support.
Who is Slimane Bouhafs?
Slimane Bouhafs, a convert from Islam, was arrested on 31 July 2016 for posting a message on social media about the light of Jesus overcoming the “lie” of Islam and its prophet. He also published photos showing the execution of a civilian by an Islamist terrorist.
He was adjudged to have insulted Islam, the state religion in Algeria. The penal code provides for a penalty of three to five years in prison, along with a heavy fine, for such an offence. Bouhafs was initially given the maximum sentence, before it was reduced to three years and then, following a presidential pardon, further reduced.
However, the family’s request for parole in October, owing to Bouhafs’ ill health, was rejected.
A source who preferred to remain anonymous told World Watch Monitor at the time of the initial sentencing that a five-year sentence was “severe in view of a rather minor offence”. Such comments on social media are common in Algeria without usually triggering the wrath of the authorities, the source added. In January 2017 a court in Bouira (100km east of Algiers) sentenced another Algerian Christian to a year in prison for items he posted on his Facebook page, adjudged to be insulting to Islam and its prophet.
During his incarceration, Bouhafs spent time in three different prisons. Initially he was imprisoned in the northern city of Setif, but was then transferred to Constantine and later Jijel, despite the family’s request that he be moved to Béjaïa – in the Kabylie region where he is from and where there is a relatively large Christian community.
While in prison, his health deteriorated due to his inflammatory rheumatism, a disease that worsens under stress and requires a special diet. He also reportedly suffered aggression from his fellow prisoners because of his Christian faith.
Protests
Bouhafs’ family protested against the verdict, supported by Algerian and international human rights groups. His daughter Tilelli stressed that her father had only shared someone else’s posts on Facebook, adding: “I wonder why there is this rage against my father, who did not have a high profile on Facebook.”
Another daughter, Afaf, described her father as a man who had always defended the interests of his country from a young age. She said he is known for his commitment to democracy and religious freedom in all his writings published on his Facebook page.
According to Said Salhi, vice-president of Algerian League for Human Rights (LADDH), the verdict was “part of an escalation” and a result of “abusive” use of article 144 (bis) of the Algerian law.
In October 2016, a crowd gathered in the northern city of Tizi Ouzou to lobby for Bouhafs to be allowed access to medical treatment.
They also called for a change to the law that punishes anyone deemed to have insulted Muhammad or “denigrated the dogma or precepts of Islam”.
In May 2017 the LADDH organised a rally in support of Bouhafs in Béjaïa’s city centre. In a statement the group said the Algerian government had been responsible for “repeated violations of human rights and freedoms” and demanded “the release of all detainees of political or religious opinions”.
Bouhafs’ conviction was seen by some as a means of silencing him because of his political activism. He belongs to a movement for the self-determination of Kabylie (known as MAK), a separatist group not tolerated by the authorities. MAK activists are regularly harassed and arrested.
Algerian Christians: ‘We Must Not Bow to Fear’
This banner, which reads “Kabylie in solidarity with Iraqi Yezidi and Christians,” was hung between 2 trees in front of a police station. (World Watch Monitor)
The assassination of a French tourist by militants in Algeria has raised the fear of new terrorist attacks in the country. Hervé Gourdel, 55, was beheaded on Sept. 24 by a radical Islamist group “Soldiers of the Caliphate,” linked to Islamic State in Iraq, in the northeastern region of Kabylie.
Gourdel, who was an experienced hiker, was kidnapped on Sept. 21, along with five Algerians, but his companions were released 14 hours later.
His murder has sparked a wave of indignation and anger, notably via social media. It reminds Algeria and the world of the civil war of the 1990s, also known as ”The Black Decade” when more than 150,000 people died violently, while thousands of others went missing. This followed the annulment of an election won by an Islamist group, after which the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) sought to gain power, opposed by the Algerian military.
Now, members of the Christian community in Bejaia, one of the main cities in Kabylie, are particularly concerned over the threats posed by militants. “If we consider the fate reserved by IS fighters for Iraqi Christians, there is genuine reason to express concerns over the church in Algeria. That is why we must be vigilant,” said Omar, 31, a member of a Protestant church in Bejaia.
For Selma, 26, another Christian in Bejaia, the church constitutes a potential target for terrorists, who have shown “their desire to establish an Islamic theocratic regime everywhere they stamp their feet, to the cost of other beliefs.
“Frankly, I am worried. Christians should be mobilized in prayer against this approaching darkness.” READ MORE
VOP: Please pray for Christians needing Divine peace and to not be overcome by fear.
VOICE OF THE PERSECUTED 