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Algeria

The Church grew to be very strong in North Africa in the first six centuries after Christ, producing such famous figures as Augustine, Cyprian and Tertullian. Sadly after the Arab-Muslim invasions the Church was eliminated and disappeared for over a thousand years.

 

Algeria_Tamezgida_Feladelfya_Church_house__Boghni_2007__4_
Algerian believers worshipping together.

However, there has been a great work of the Holy Spirit over the last 25 years, and once again many thousands of Christians are to be found among Algeria’s 31 million population, though they are still a tiny minority in a country that is over 99% Muslim. There are no official records of the number of Christians, but it is thought there are now at least 50,000 to 60,000.

Christians enjoyed six years of relative religious freedom following the end of the civil war in 2000, but in 2006 new restrictions were introduced by the government after pressure from radical Islamists. Christian activity is once again severely hindered, as it was prior to 2000. Evangelism to Muslims is prohibited, and is punishable by a fine or imprisonment. Evangelists face the prospect of a lengthy term of imprisonment for distributing Christian material.

It can prove very difficult for a church to obtain official recognition from the authorities, who sometimes stall applications for long periods. Churches that are not registered may encounter opposition from neighbours and local authorities, and Christians are also threatened and harassed by Islamists.

Despite the granting of a licence to the country’s largest Protestant group, the Algerian Protestant Church Association (EPA), for its affiliated churches to meet and worship freely, not all the churches who want to register have yet been able to, and some still experience harassment. In July 2012, a mob of villagers in El Majene village entered a house where church services were being held and demanded that the EPA-affiliated worshippers return home because they were meeting “illegally”.

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Daily prayer

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  • On 20 January 2013 the Eritrean security police raided the homes of various Christians and arrested 50 people. One of them was a lady of 85, detained for hosting an underground church in her house. They joined hundreds of other believers currently held in Eritrean prisons, some of them in appalling conditions. Many more have fled the country to escape the persecution and have ended up in prison in Egypt, where they have been subjected to rape, beatings and starvation. Pray for all those Eritrean Christians suffering for their faith in their own country and beyond, that the Lord will be their help and shield (Psalm 33:20). Pray too for a prison ministry, supported by Barnabas, that visits and helps Eritrean Christians jailed in Egypt. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 21 hours ago

  • Pray for the families of Abdoulaye and Abakachi, two converts from Islam to Christianity who were shot dead by Islamists in northern Cameroon. They were travelling with two other converts around Lake Chad on 19 February when their vehicle was stopped by four armed men who were looking for Abdoulaye. He was the leader of the converts from the Kotoko people group and had last year received a threat from militant Islamist group Boko Haram. The gunmen opened fire, killing Abakachi on the spot. Abdoulaye and another man were also shot; Abdoulaye later died of his injuries. He left a wife and 13 children; Abakachi left a wife and four children. Boko Haram had previously warned all Christian converts in northern Cameroon to return to Islam or “face Allah’s wrath”. Pray that the Lord will protect these vulnerable believers. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Thu, May 2013 00:00

  • Give thanks to the Lord for the courage and boldness of the Christians in North Korea who carry on witnessing for Christ despite the savage penalties imposed by the Communist regime. Those who share their faith or distribute Bibles risk torture and probable execution if they are caught, and their families may be dispatched to the country’s infamous labour camps to be starved or worked to death. Yet remarkably, the Church in North Korea is growing well, and some who have fled abroad and become Christians there have even gone back to share Christ with family and friends in their poverty and distress. Pray that God will keep His brave witnesses from harm and continue to add to their number (Acts 2:47). Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Wed, May 2013 00:00

  • Mohamed Ibaouene (36), a convert from Islam to Christianity, was convicted in July 2012 of “proselytising” in Algeria. The verdict was passed in his absence and without his knowledge. He was later sentenced to a year in prison and fined 50,000 dinars (£420; US$630). Mohamed challenged the conviction, and on 13 February 2013 the appeal court rescinded the jail term but doubled his fine. A Muslim colleague had brought the accusation against Mohamed after the latter refused to renounce Christ. Pray for justice for Mohamed and that the rights of Algerians to freedom of religion will be respected both by other citizens and by the law. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Tue, May 2013 00:00

  • The various measures recently taken against Christian churches and institutions by the government of Sudan add up to a ruthless campaign that may be intended to eradicate Christianity from the country altogether. They were launched by a media drive against alleged “Christianisation” and have focused in particular on those involved in Christian ministry. Numerous church buildings have been demolished, and Christian literature has been seized. President al-Bashir has declared his intention of making Sudan entirely Islamic and of strengthening the place of sharia. Pray that God will frustrate the plans of the authorities and that the churches of Sudan will remain faithful in the face of intimidation. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Mon, May 2013 00:00

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