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TechnoratiAlgeria, a close to fully Sunni Muslim country in northern Africa, has ordered 13 Protestant churches to shut down since November, the head of Algeria’s Protestant church group said Monday.
Churches were told to close their doors until they are issued a permit that allows non-Muslim groups to hold organized worship.
Algeria passed a law in February 2006 that required non-Muslim congregations to obtain a permit from their regional prefecture to hold worship gatherings. It also banned the production of media intended to “shake the faith of a Muslim,” according to Compass Direct News.
After the law’s passage, however, there had not been any enforcement and no Christian churches have been closed until recently.
"Thirteen chapels, including 11 in Tizi Ouzou, one in Bejaia and one in Bouira have been closed on the orders of local officials," said Pastor Mustapha Krim, who is president of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA), according to South Africa’s News24.
No official reason has been given for the government order, but the decision might be linked to recent tension over allegations that Christians were trying to convert Muslims.
“It would be better that authorities give us the possibility to be in conformity with the law and not order us to close the churches,” Krim wrote in a March 9 appeal, according to Compass.
Krim said he has made a formal request to the Algerian state’s representative in the Tizi Ouzou region for explanation on the decision.
Tension recently flared when Muslim leaders accused Protestant evangelists of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.
Earlier this month, the former chairman of the Protestant group, American pastor Hugh Johnson, was expelled from the country over links to evangelization campaigns, according to some religious freedom groups.
Johnson is said to have imported and distributed religious books without the Algerian government’s permission. Sources also say Johnson is active in non-accredited local Protestant associations in the country, according to Kenya Today.
The Algerian government, however, has denied that reason for his expulsion was religious. They claim it was simply due to administrative reasons – his resident visa had expired – according to Kenya Today.
In addition to Johnson’s expulsion, three Algerian Christians were convicted of “insulting Islam” on Feb. 5 and unofficially told they would be sentenced to three years in prison and fined.
Among the churches ordered to close is the 1,200-member Full Gospel Church, according to Compass.
Algeria’s Protestant Church claims to have 50,000 followers, with 10,000 of them active churchgoers, according to News24. But the ministry of religious affairs, says there are only 11,000 Christians in Algeria, most of them Catholic, compared to the Muslim population of 33 million.
About 99 percent of the country ascribe to Sunni Islam – the official state religion. Christians and Jews make up only one percent of the country, according to the CIA World Factbook.
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