Christians in Algeria report a concerted campaign to rein in the church as the government starts to use laws limiting evangelism.
At least seven house churches have been closed down in recent months. And several believers have been formally charged under legislation that has lain dormant for two years. Newspapers have published false claims that churches ‘pay’ their members for converts.
Within the last week, a source told RI that the authorities were not renewing residency visas for foreign church workers.
RI’s sources believe that the government is yielding to pressure from Muslim leaders to use laws which were adopted in March 2006 but never implemented. The laws forbid anyone from trying to ‘shake the faith of a Muslim’ and order non-Muslims to register all buildings used for worship. Penalties include heavy fines or up to five years in jail.
One of the first to be convicted under this law was a French pastor given a one-year suspended prison sentence in Oran in January. His crime: praying with Cameroonian immigrants at a private home not registered for worship. His co-defendant, a Muslim doctor, was sentenced to two years in jail for giving the immigrants medicine provided by a church.
Three Algerian Christians, awaiting sentence for ‘insulting Islam’, have been told to expect a three-year jail term. And at least two other Christians are due to stand trial over the next two months. Christians make up less than one per cent of Algeria’s population of 33 million.
• Ask God to strengthen the faith of Algerian Christians who are under pressure.
• Pray that charges against Christians tried in the coming months will be dropped.
Sources: Assist News Service; CBN News; China Aid; Christian Solidarity Worldwide; Christian Today; Compass Direct; International Christian Concern; International Crisis Group; Jubilee Campaign USA: The Voice of the Martyrs Canada.
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