Algeria: Government denies church closures are discrimination

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. But the latest church closures saw two churches sealed by police in the north-western city of Oran. A week before, two more churches received a notification to close in the eastern city of Tizi Ouzou, while in November another church was closed down in Aïn Turk, 15km from Oran.

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 saw two churches sealed by police in the north-western city of Oran. A week before, two more churches received a notification to close in the eastern city of Tizi Ouzou, while in November another church was closed down in Aïn Turk, 15km from Oran.

"The institutions that were closed have been closed down because they were built without complying with the regulations of the Republic,” said spokesman Mohamed Aissa. “When a place of worship is built without any notice showing it’s a place of worship, which may enable the state to protect it, this place must be closed."

In response, a spokesperson from the Protestant Church of Algeria (known as EPA, its French acronym), said, "The government is simply implementing the 2006 law of regulating non-Muslim worship… It is the legal instrument that the government uses to silence the church. The purpose of this law is precisely to curb the activities of churches and to control them."

Operating ‘illegally’

Algeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion. But the law passed in 2006 states that permission must be obtained before using a building for non-Muslim worship, and that such worship can only be conducted in buildings which have been specifically designated for that purpose.

In practice, the authorities ignore almost all applications from churches for places of worship, including churches affiliated with the state-approved EPA, Algeria’s main Protestant body. Refused official permission, churches have been forced to meet elsewhere. Some churches either rent premises, which they turn into places of worship, while others gather in homes. In some remote areas, Christians meet in the forest or on the top of mountains to avoid hostile reactions from neighbours.

Instead of granting churches permission to meet, the law has been used to close churches down. Advocacy group Middle East Concern said earlier this year that the closures were part of a ‘coordinated campaign of intensified action against churches by the governing authorities’. The government appears to be ramping up the pressure on churches. Of the 45 EPA-affiliated churches, 25 have been visited since December by a committee of officials from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, national gendarmerie, intelligence department and fire brigade.

The churches were informed that the visits were aimed at checking compliance with safety regulations, and they were given three months’ notice. They were also advised to seek permission from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Algeria is number 42 on the 2018 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian.

PLEASE PRAY:

• For strength and courage for those whose churches have been closed down, that they would not give up meeting together to worship
• That God would change the hearts of those in government and in power, that they would allow the churches to flourish 
• For those who receive advocacy support through partnership with Open Doors, that they would be able to speak up on behalf of their churches