Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
The Preamble to Algeria’s 2020 constitution[1] declares Algeria to be “a land of Islam”, and that Islam is a fundamental component of the country’s identity. Islam is the state religion (Article 2) and any constitutional revision undermining its status is prohibited (Article 223, 4). Article 11 further prohibits institutions from behaving in a manner that is incompatible with Islam. Article 87 stipulates that the president must be a Muslim and must swear “by Almighty God to respect and glorify the Islamic religion” when taking the oath of office (Article 90). Political parties can neither be founded on a religious basis, nor use propaganda to undermine the values and basic components of national identity, which include Islam (Article 57, 2).
The constitution guarantees the free practice of religion, and declares that the “State ensures the protection of places of worship from any political or ideological influence” (Article 51). However, Ordinance 06-03 of 28 February 2006[2] states that non-Muslim religions must be practised “within the framework of respect for the provisions of the Constitution, this Ordinance, the laws and regulations in force, public order, good morals and the fundamental rights and freedoms of third parties” (Article 2). Given the restrictive nature of this ordinance, the guarantee of the constitution carries little weight in reality for non-Muslims.
Sunni Islam, following the Maliki school, is shared by over 99 percent of the population.[3] Ahmadis (fewer than 200)[4] are considered heretical and seen as manipulated by foreign powers. Christians are a small minority (estimates range from 20,000 to 200,000)[5] and live mostly in Kabylia, a region in north-eastern Algeria.
According to Algerian authorities, almost all Christians are foreigners, and many come from sub-Saharan Africa. Catholics and Protestants are the largest Christian groups with some Evangelical communities, especially in Kabylia.[6] Most Christians are converts. Very few Jews remain in Algeria. An estimated 800,000 Christians and 130,000 Jews lived in the country just before independence from France in 1962,[7] but the Nationality Code of 1963[8] made it very hard for non-Muslims to acquire Algerian citizenship. Members of the French community had to give up their French citizenship or live as foreign nationals under the 1962 Evian peace agreement that ended Algeria’s War of Independence. By the time the law was passed, most non-Muslims had already left for France or other countries.[9]
All religious groups must register with the Ministry of the Interior before conducting any activities and may only gather at state-approved locations. Ordinance 06-03 of 2006 states that all non-Muslim places of worship must receive authorisation from the National Commission for Non-Muslim Worship (Article 5),[10] something which is not usually granted. Many Churches are therefore compelled to operate on an unofficial basis, becoming vulnerable to pressure and closure. Collective worship and religious events must be announced in advance and are allowed exclusively in buildings registered for that purpose which must be open to the public and identifiable from the outside (Articles 7 and 8).
Contravening any regulation regarding places of worship and restricted practices under Ordinance 06-03 of 2006 is punishable with one to three years in prison and a fine (Article 13). Foreigners breaching any provision of this ordinance can be banned from the country permanently, or for a period of no less than 10 years (Article 14).
Defamation of anyone “who belongs to a particular ethnic or philosophical group or religion” when the purpose is “to incite hatred between citizens or residents” is punishable by imprisonment of one month to one year and/or a fine (Article 298).[11] In the case of insult, the punishment consists of imprisonment from five days to six months, and/or a fine (Article 298 bis). Offences related to religion are covered by Article 144 bis (2) of the Penal Code, which states that anyone who “offends the Prophet (peace be upon Him) and the messengers of God or disparages the dogma or precepts of Islam, whether it be through writing, artwork, speaking, or any other medium” may be subject to three to five years in prison and/or a fine.
Article 11 (1) of Ordinance 06-03 criminalises proselytising among Muslims by non-Muslims and states that anyone who “incites, constrains, or utilises means of seduction intending to convert a Muslim to another religion; or uses to this end establishments of teaching, education, health, of a social and or cultural character, training institutes, or any other establishment, or any other financial means” is subject to three to five years’ imprisonment and a fine.[12] The same penalties are applicable to anyone who “makes, stores, or distributes printed documents or audiovisual material or by any other medium or means which aim to shake the faith of a Muslim (Article 11, 2)”.[13]
As per the Family Code, a Muslim man may marry a non-Muslim woman if she belongs to a monotheistic faith. A Muslim woman may not marry a non-Muslim man unless he converts to Islam.[14]
Incidents and developments
During the period under review, religious freedom suffered in Algeria. In December 2023, the then US Secretary of State Antony Blinken placed the country on the U.S. Department of State’s Special Watch List for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom.[15]
The crackdown by Algerian authorities had begun earlier with a request for the closure of Caritas Algeria. In September 2022, the Archdiocese of Algiers announced the “complete and definitive closure” of the charity’s activities and facilities in the country as of 1 October 2022. Vatican News reported that the Algerian government decided to shut down Caritas Algeria without providing any formal justification to local Catholic authorities. Sources in Algeria told Fides Agency that Caritas was probably targeted because it was deemed a foreign non-governmental organisation.[16]
In January 2023, Church leaders closed a place of worship affiliated with the United Methodist Church in Laarba Nath Irathen, Tizi Ouzou province (Wilaya), allegedly due to pressure from the authorities.[17]
In March 2023, the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) called on the government to allow the reopening of Protestant churches forced to close and to provide greater support to religious minorities so that they could register and become recognised associations.[18] According to the WEA, at least 43 places of worship have been closed since 2018 due to the “systematic campaign by the authorities to shut down Protestant churches”.[19]
In November 2023, a high administrative court ordered the removal of the seals from seven Evangelical churches in Tizi Ouzou and Béjaïa; however, they still could not be used since they had not yet been authorised by the National Commission for Non-Muslim Worship. Restrictions also remain in place for non-Sunni Muslim minorities.[20]
In March 2024, at the 52nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the WEA and the WCC called on the government of Algeria to drop all court cases that unfairly targeted Christians.[21]
In July 2023, Hamid Soudad, a Christian convert and leader in the Evangelical Church of Algeria, was released from prison following a five-year ordeal. In January 2021, he had been sentenced in a rushed trial to five years in prison after he was found guilty of insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammad by having shared a cartoon on social media in 2018.[22]
Soudad’s case has not been the only one involving blasphemy-related charges. In February 2023, the Supreme Court quashed an earlier conviction of Saïd Djabelkhir on charges of “offending the precepts of Islam”. Djabelkhir is a leading expert on Sufism, and the founder of Cercle des Lumières pour la Pensée Libre, an association that advocates a progressive Islam.[23]
In July 2023, a Court of Appeal in Algiers upheld a three-year sentence and a fine of 100,000 dinars imposed on the Amazigh (Berber) activist and Christian convert Slimane Bouhafs.[24] In 2020, he had been granted refugee status in Tunisia from where he was kidnapped and repatriated to stand trial on charges of terrorism in connection with his supposed affiliation to a Kabylia pro-independence organisation in September 2021. Since his abduction, he has been held in Kolea prison, near Algiers.[25]
During the period under review, restrictions on religious freedom also included charges of illegal worship.
In November 2023, a court in Tizi Ouzou sentenced five members of the Tizi Ghenif Church to three years in prison and fined them 200,000 dinars (US$1,500) for unauthorised worship and producing religious material for distribution.[26]
On 2 July 2023, Pastor Youssef Ourahamane received a sentence of two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 dinars for his involvement in and leadership of the Emmanuel Church, although the authorities could provide no evidence of a crime.[27] Having been born into a Muslim family, he converted to Christianity as a student. In November 2023, his sentence was reduced from two years to one. In March 2024, he appealed his conviction for “illegal worshipping” but two months later a court upheld the one-year sentence, adding an additional six months suspended sentence.[28]
The persecution against the Ahmadi community continues unabated. In November 2023, members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (an offshoot of Twelver Shia Islam) met with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, during his official visit to Algeria. Members of the group told the special rapporteur that they were the victims of a crackdown by Algerian authorities, and that their lives and safety were threatened, after they were formally declared to be apostates and thus outside of Islam.[29]
In May 2024, the Minister of Religious Affairs and Waqf, Youcef Belmehdi, stressed that Algerians needed to protect themselves from radical ideologies that distort religion and sow discord (fitna).[30]
In November 2024, the French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was arrested at Algiers airport. Sansal is known to be a vocal critic of Islamism and authoritarian rule.[31]
On a positive note, in February 2023, Archbishop Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers, a French-born Dominican friar, became a citizen of Algeria. He was granted his request for citizenship through a presidential decree by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. “It is a strong sign for our Church, which sees itself as a full citizen,” said the archbishop. “It says that it is recognised and welcomed, that it is part of society.”[32] In October 2024, Pope Francis elevated Archbishop Vesco to the rank of Cardinal.
In October 2023, Pope Francis appointed Fr Davide Carraro, former Vicar General of Algiers, as Bishop of Oran, eastern Algeria.[33]
Prospects for religious freedom
Algeria does not grant comprehensive religious freedom. Non-Muslims face wide-reaching restrictions that have worsened during the period under review. In particular, Muslim converts to Christianity face prison and fines as the case of Pastor Youssef Ourahamane illustrates. Furthermore, the situation of Ahmadi Muslims and liberal critics of Islam has worsened. Although positive developments like the naturalisation of the Catholic Archbishop of Algiers are welcomed, the closing of Caritas Algeria in 2022 has had an important negative impact on the Church’s pastoral work. Questions to the legitimacy of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s regime, demonstrated by a turnout of just 23% at the last election,[34] and the arrest of Boualem Sansal, suggest that government restrictions might become more severe. Prospects for religious freedom have worsened during the period under review.
Sources
Algeria