Algeria: Systematic closure of churches

Like much of North Africa, Algeria’s history includes Roman rule, with its impressive public works and Christian influence, followed by Muslim conquest and French colonization. Algeria declared independence in July 1962 after 130 years of French colonial rule. 

Algeria is now primarily Muslim. According to Open Doors USA, the country is home to about 129,000 Christians, less than 0.3% of the population. While Algerian law guarantees the practice and expression of other faiths, it also restricts minority religions from actively seeking conversion to their religion or even building or repairing churches. Converts to Christianity may be investigated and searched by the authorities as well as punished. It is forbidden by law to “shake the faith” of a Muslim or to use “means of seduction” to convert a Muslim to another religion. 

Since 2020, Algeria dropped in its ranking on the World Watch List for religious persecution. Yet persecution does still exist. The nation’s restrictive laws (regulating non-Muslim worship, banning conversions, and prohibiting blasphemy) put Christians at extreme risk. Recently, the most visible example of persecution was the seemingly systematic closure of Protestant churches. In some of these cases, police forcibly expelled Christians in the middle of services. 

Christians also suffer from harassment and discrimination in their daily life and have to be careful about how they share their faith. Family members and neighbors try to force Muslim converts to adhere to Islamic norms and follow Islamic rites. Church leaders report that female Christians from Muslim backgrounds are sometimes placed under house arrest by their families when their faith is discovered. They are not allowed to meet other Christians or have any contact with them nor allowed to watch TV or listen to the radio. 

Churches are allowed to exist, but only if they agree to the government’s rules. These rules forbid churches to hold Bible studies, host foreign preachers, or even run a Sunday school. In addition, extremist Islamist groups continue pressuring the government to restrict Christians’ freedom.

In the past, Muslims in North African countries who wanted to know about Jesus might not know where to turn. But today, they naturally turn to the internet, and there they find resources and testimonies to bolster their own searching. 

“I searched on the internet, on Facebook and on YouTube,” Islèm reported to Open Doors about her search as a 15-year-old schoolgirl. “I tried to find people speaking about Jesus. I wanted to know more about the relationship between God and me. I was not a Christian, but I believed that there was someone named Jesus. . . . To tell you the truth, at that time I thought there were no Christians in North Africa. I thought I was the first person who might become a Christian in North Africa.”

*Name has been changed.

Please pray:

• For others like Islèm who are searching — that God brings them into contact with AMM’s online presence as well as with local believers, and that He keeps them safe.
• That Algeria would allow the reopening of closed churches.
• For the rise of mature believers who can build faith communities.

Click here to help AMM’s ministries reach Muslims in Algeria who are searching for the truth about Jesus, and encourage Christians in standing strong for Him. 

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Sources: “Algeria’s History,” Embassy of Algeria in New Delhi, algerianembassy.co.in; The World FactBook: Algeria, Central Intelligence Agency; Algeria, opendoorsusa.org; “How Muslims Are Finding Jesus Without Christians in North Africa” by Christopher Summers, May 12, 2020, opendoorsusa.org.