The Global Church Is Called to Stand with the Persecuted Algerian Church and Pray for the Algerian Government in its Decision-Making

By Raffi Chilingirian

News

Beneath the watchful and caring eyes of the global Body of Christ, the church in Algeria is undergoing a time of persecution as its houses of worship are being shut down by the government. Under the pretext of lacking official registration, they are being declared illegal as places to hold worship services.

According to a recent World Evangelical Alliance report, the Algerian authorities formed a committee in November 2017 to inspect the churches on their compliance with safety standards. The committee has further escalated the inspections, asking churches for their permits allowing them to hold religious services. Several churches and a bookshop have already been closed down, with the authorities demanding that these churches apply to their governorate for registration.

The Algerian churches are legally represented through the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA, French: Eglise Protestante d’Algérie), which is the officially recognized umbrella organization representing Protestant and Evangelical churches before the government. The EPA has legal status and has been operating legally in Algeria since 1974. In 1990, a new law, Ordinance 90-31, was passed in Algeria requiring religious organizations to update their status. The EPA failed to do so and was de-registered by the Algerian government, making it an illegal organization. In 2011, however, the EPA was granted re-registration by the Algerian government, making the EPA legal again.

Since December 2017, 25 out of the 45 churches affiliated with the EPA in Algeria have been visited by a committee of officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the National Gendarmerie (the national rural police force), the Intelligence Department, and the Fire Brigade.

Analysis

Ordinance 06-03, adopted by the Algerian Parliament in 2006 and put into effect in 2008, stipulates that all organized churches and non-Muslim religious groups must register with the government. The National Commission for non-Muslim Religious Services regulates the registration process.

The Algerian Constitution, which declares Islam to be the official state religion (Article 2), also declares that “freedom of creed and opinion is inviolable” (Article 36) and officially prohibits discrimination. Article 29 states, “All citizens are equal before the law. No discrimination shall prevail because of birth, race, sex, opinion or any other personal or social condition or circumstance.”

What, then, could be the Algerian government’s motivation in pressuring the churches today? Some suggest a possible correlation between the suppression of the churches and a desire to suppress Berber separatist aspirations. Some claim that the goal of the government is to limit the expansion of the church, even as many people are coming to faith through satellite television programming and other means. Another political analyst questions whether this move today is an act of diversion by the government to divert the attention of its citizens away from the real issues facing the country, primarily economic, which were highlighted in the IMES Regional Brief for March 2018.

Recommendations

The World Evangelical Alliance had issued a statement calling on churches around the world to join the Algerian church in prayer and fasting. As the Algerian church is undergoing persecution, the prudent approach seems to involve perseverance, wisdom and tactfulness as the global church joins in prayer and fasting alongside their sisters and brothers within the persecuted Algerian church. We likewise pray for the Algerian government in its decision-making and for the well-being of all Algerians as their country passes through difficult times.