Recently, Algeria’s government shut down yet another church. On January 20, officials ordered the closure of a church in Ain Turk. More details here.
According to Middle East Concern, 19 churches have been closed in the past two years; at least 13 of the church buildings were sealed shut. Read our coverage here. “The government tries to limit the growth of the church because the Protestant church in Algeria has been growing quite significantly over the last few decades and continues to grow,” MEC’s Daniel Hoffman says.
For example, “there is much less pressure on the Catholic church because the Catholic church is not growing,” he adds.
Algeria’s constitution establishes Islam as the national religion. A 2006 law makes it extremely difficult for non-Muslim religious groups to function. More about that here.
Under the 2006 law, Christians have to get a license from a special national committee in order to use a building for church purposes. “But, the committee has never met, and therefore has never issued a single license,” Hoffman explains.
“Now, the government is saying these churches are illegal because they’re operating without the proper license [but]… they make it impossible for churches to obtain this license.”
SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth
All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source