At least 64 Algerian Christians are awaiting trial for activities related to their faith. “Pray for justice and mercy for all 64 cases,” said a front-line worker. He also asked that people pray for the Christians and their families to sense God’s peace, to be strengthened and to not lose heart.
Read MoreWhen Algerian Muslims become followers of Christ, they often experience rejection from their families or job loss. Once the local Muslim community knows of their new faith, Christian converts may struggle to find replacement work. With the help of the global body of Christ, one convert who has had difficulty providing for his family since becoming a Christian is now starting a dairy business, hoping to sell cheeses to provide for his family. Another Christian, who formerly worked as an Islamic teacher in an area where many radical Islamists live, is struggling to provide for his family since losing his job.
Read MoreTwo Christians are struggling with health problems as they wait for their court cases to be resolved. Soon after Murad became a follower of Christ, he was active in telling others the Good News and eventually became a pastor. The Algerian government took notice of his Christian activities, arresting him and charging him with numerous violations of religious laws. If he is convicted, Murad could face several years in prison. He has appealed his case to the Algerian Supreme Court, but the stress of his legal ordeal has created some serious health complications. A member of his congregation was also arrested, and his ongoing court case has also created health problems for him.
Read MoreThe Algerian Christian community has struggled in multiple ways since the government forced numerous churches across the country to close in 2017. While some Algerian followers of Christ have faced governmental pressures, others, especially those who have left Islam to follow Christ, are dealing with opposition from their own families. Malak is an Algerian Christian who is currently facing both pressures.
Read MoreIn 2019, the Algerian government permanently closed many churches, and several others that closed temporarily during the pandemic have not been allowed to re-open. “Many believers have gone for months or even years without gathering with their brothers and sisters in Christ,” a front-line worker said. While Christians in Algeria are receiving biblical training via the internet and Arabic Christian satellite TV channels, relying on the internet and other media sources can leave them vulnerable to false teaching and manipulation.
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Ali was a jihadi. He had a long beard, wore white clothing and trained to fight alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan. As a devout Muslim, he exhorted his mother and two sisters to be more religious, forbidding them to watch TV. One of Ali’s brothers, however, had become a Christian. “I thought he had left the true religion, and according to Islamic law he deserves to be dead,” Ali said. “I would show him the Quran verses and tell him, ‘Look, you have to believe. You have to believe back to Islam.’ Every time we would start talking about this, he would tell me that God loves me and would talk about God’s love.” Ali belonged to an Islamist cell group that distributed tracts about fasting, Islamic dress and joining the jihad. But in 1992, following a crackdown on Islamists, he suddenly found himself at the top of the Algerian government’s most-wanted list. His options were to stay inside all the time or venture out and risk arrest. One day, frustrated with his self-imposed house arrest, Ali went for a bus ride and got off at a random stop. A young woman at the bus stop caught his eye, so he
Read MoreChristians in Algeria report suffering from a systematic campaign of government persecution. Since the end of 2017, the government has reportedly closed 30 of the 47 Protestant churches in the country.
Read MoreIn December 2021, Algerian police raided a worship gathering and arrested 12 Christians. The believers spent 48 hours in jail before being charged with “unauthorized worship” and sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence and a $1,380 fine.
Read MoreAnother Algerian church has been ordered to close in an ongoing campaign by authorities to silence any witness for Christ in Algeria. The church of Aouchiche received notice on April 6 that the governor had issued an administrative closure order and that the church should cease worship immediately.
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Simo is a tall man with straight posture, hinting at his careers in the army and later as a police investigator. Like many of his countrymen, Simo was born a Muslim but had always held his faith lightly. It was tradition and it was culture, but he had felt more loyalty to his country than to his Muslim religion. In the early ’90s, Algeria transitioned from a one-party political system to a multi-party system, and surprisingly an Islamist party then won the election. To avoid the possibility of a government led by extremists, the army quickly took over, launching an insurgency that lasted six years. Simo served as a police detective during the insurgency, and one day he found himself interrogating a young Muslim man who justified his violent actions by citing the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. “I thought, if all this is right and Islam is telling us to kill, then Islam is not a religion and I cannot follow it anymore,” Simo said. Disillusioned with the religion he had grown up in, Simo began to consider Christianity. After visiting some churches, including a Kabyle Protestant church, he noticed a real difference between followers of
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