PRAY FOR ALGERIA
– Ask God to intervene and help believers find a way to meet together.
– Pray that believers would not be unfairly targeted with accusations.
– Pray that God would protect them from abuse from family and community.
WORLD WATCH LIST
Algeria
#15State pressure on Protestant Christians has risen to a level not seen in decades.
bottom“The biggest challenge is that I have to live with dual identity, which means Christian at home and Muslim outside.”
– Naasima, Algerian believer
Country
Profile
- Region
- North Africa
- Sources of persecution
- Islamic Oppression
- Population
- 46,053,000
- Christian population
- 144,000
- Religions
- Islam
- Leader
- President Abdelmadjid Tebboune
- Score
- 79
What’s Life Like For Christians?
The major drivers of persecution in Algeria are society and extremist Islamic teachers who exert influence over state authorities. This means Christians experience persecution from their families, their communities, and from the government.
Most Algerian Christians are converts from Islam. They face harassment and discrimination in their daily lives, and their families and community may try to force them to continue to adhere to Islamic norms and practices. They also face pressure—from both the government and their surrounding communities—to renounce their faith in Jesus and return to Islam.
Additionally, state pressure has increased on Protestant Christians to a level not seen in decades. Previously closed church buildings are still shut down, and many other churches were ordered to close. The government threatened to prosecute some church leaders if their churches continued to meet.
Algeria has laws restricting non-Muslim worship, including rules that prohibit anything that would “shake the faith of a Muslim” or could be used as a “means of seduction intending to convert a Muslim to another religion.” These vague laws can be used to pressure Christians to keep their faith quiet and to beat down anything outside of the majority faith.
Who Is Most Vulnerable To Persecution?
Any converts from Islam will probably need to keep their faith a secret. Christian converts face pressure in their private and home lives, including rejection, ostracism, beatings, insults and threats from family members and the wider community. They can even be forcibly taken to the local mosque, where they will be pressured to return to Islam.
Because of their low status in Algeria, Christian women experience intense pressure and overt hostility for their faith, both in public and in private.
What Does Open Doors Do To Help?
Open Doors works with local partners and churches in North Africa to provide leadership and discipleship training, livelihood support, legal aid, trauma counselling, Bibles, and pastoral care.
