Algeria

The family is the source of greatest pressure for Christians in Algeria, most of whom are converts from Muslim backgrounds. Pressure also comes from the law. A 2006 law, forbidding public assembly for purposes of practising a faith other than Islam, has created a more restrictive environment for Christians. This affects most Christian places of worship, except for Catholic churches and one Protestant church. In addition, Islamist movements such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are increasingly making their presence felt.

Algerian pastor ‘amazed’ as three churches told they can reopen

June 13, 2018 Aïn Turk, Algeria, Bejaia, Kabylie, Mâatkas, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria, Tizi Ouzou

Three churches recently closed down by authorities in Algeria’s northern province of Oran have been told they can reopen. The three churches, located in Oran city, Ain Turk (30km west of Oran), and El Ayaida (35km east of Oran), were closed between November 2017 and February 2018. On Sunday, two […]

Algeria: two more Protestant churches closed down by government

May 29, 2018 Algeria, Mâatkas, Protestant Church of Algeria

The authorities in Algeria have closed down two more Protestant churches, amidst growing pressure on the country’s Christian minority. Over the past weekend, police sealed off two churches in the north-eastern province of Kabylie, where much of the growth in the Church is happening. One church is in Ait-Mellikeche, a […]

Protestant churches in Algeria call on government to treat them fairly

May 23, 2018 Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Aïn Turk, Algeria, Algiers, Idir Hamdad, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria

The organisation linking 45 Protestant churches in Algeria, l’Eglise Protestante d’Algérie (EPA), has called on the Algerian government to lift its measure for closing down churches, and to give equal treatment under the Maghreb country’s constitution. “As full citizens, we call on the highest authorities in the country to ensure […]

Algerian Christian’s fine for importing crucifix keyrings ‘ridiculous’, says lawyer

May 10, 2018 Algeria, Algiers, Idir Hamdad, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria, Tizi Ouzou

A court in Algeria has overturned a prison sentence, but upheld a fine, against a Christian man convicted for carrying a Bible and other Christian items. Idir Hamdad, 29, had been convicted in absentia on 28 September 2017 (though he only learned about this five months later) and given the […]

Algeria: church-run nursery ordered to close

April 24, 2018 Algeria, Kabylie, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria, Tizi Ouzou

Authorities in Algeria’s north-eastern city of Tizi-Ouzou, in the Kabylie region, have closed down a day-care centre for Christian children. The Early Childhood Home was established more than 10 years ago by Église Protestante du Plein Évangile (The Full Gospel Protestant Church), also known by its French acronym EPPETO. EPPETO […]

‘Finally my father is home’ – Slimane Bouhafs released after 18 months in jail

April 3, 2018 Algeria, Bejaia, Blasphemy, Constantine, Jijel, Kabylie, MAK, Religious freedom, Setif, Slimane Bouhafs, Tizi Ouzou

Slimane Bouhafs has been released after 18 months in prison for alleged blasphemy on Facebook. (Photo: 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 […]

Algeria closes fourth church in four months

March 22, 2018 Algeria, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria

Another church has been closed down in northern Algeria, as pressure against Christians intensifies in the Maghreb country. The village church in Azaghar, near the town of Akbou, was forced to stop all activities on 2 March. The church had been running for over five years. Two weeks earlier, on 18 […]

Algeria government criticised over heavy fines for transporting Bibles

March 16, 2018 Algeria, Protestant Church of Algeria

The Algerian government has once again been criticised for alleged discrimination against the country’s Christian minority, this time by handing large fines to two brothers for carrying over 50 Bibles in their car. Prosecutors claimed the Bibles were to be used for proselytism, though the brothers said they were for […]

Algeria government denies church closures are discrimination

March 9, 2018 Aïn Turk, Algeria, Bejaia, Churches, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria, Religious freedom, Tizi Ouzou

"Notre Dame d'Afrique", the Roman Catholic Basilica in Algiers, Algeria. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The Algerian Minister of Religious Affairs has denied discriminating against the country’s Christian minority by ordering the closure of several churches in recent months. The latest church closures took place last week, as two churches were sealed by police in the north-western city of Oran. A week beforehand, two more churches […]

Algerian pastor decries church closure

March 5, 2018 Aïn Turk, Algeria, Oran, Protestant Church of Algeria

The leader of a Protestant church in Algeria’s north-western town of Aïn Turk (15km from Oran city) has denounced the closure of his church four months ago. Youssef Ourahmane founded the House of Hope church more than 20 years ago – in 1997 – but on 9 November, 2017, the […]

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