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Algeria: Country Explains Decision to Expel American Evangelist
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The Nation (Nairobi)
20 March 2008
Posted to the web 20 March 2008
Laeed Zaghlami
Algiers
Algeria's Minister for Religious Affairs, Mr Bouabdallah Ghoulamallah, has clarified that the government's decision to expel American cleric Hugh Johnson had nothing to do with his evangelisation campaign.
Mr Ghoulamallah confirmed that the Interior Government ministry had asked Pastor Johnson, a former chairman of protestant churches in the country, to leave on March 11 because his resident visa had expired. He added that pastor Johnson had retired and was no longer involved in any formal church activities.
However, sources say that pastor Johnson, who discreetly imported religious books and distributed them without the Algerian government's permission, is still an active member of a non-accredited local protestant associations in the country.
Wide-ranging campaign
Mr Ghoulamallah further denied allegations that the pastor's expulsion is part of a legal and wide-ranging campaign against evangelists. "We don't have problems with anyone," he said. "The protestant church has been operating in Algeria since 1974." The minister said the government's main concern is the evangelists' attitudes that violate Islamic values.
Although a law enacted in 2006 defines the legal framework for religions other than Islam, he said, evangelists engage in activities that flout it then seek foreign protection. Catholic priest Henry Tessier has held meetings with the minister in an attempt to get the government to rescind its decision on The Rev Johnson and to push for the release of fellow Catholic priest, Pierre Valese who is serving a year's sentence for ministering to illegal African immigrants in Maghnia city near border with Morocco.
Father Tessier, a respectful and tolerant religious figure who is an Algerian citizen, has reaffirmed "the formal commitment of Catholics in Algeria to fully observe local legislation". He said the Catholic church is not involved in any evangelisation campaign.
Programme aired
During a programme aired on a French language radio station last week, producer Djaouida Azzoug questioned the extent of the evangelisation. She asked why Algerians want to be converted and why churches clandestinely operate in the cities of Oran, Tizi Ouzou and Constantine. She noted that although the phenomenon affects different social classes, there are no reliable figures.
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Meanwhile, Father Alphone, a Catholic priest from Oran, said Algerians do not become Christians out of a genuine conviction, but simply to obtain visas. Indeed, there have been reports that converts receive $7,500.
Reacting to these reports, the President of Algeria's Islamic Council, Cheikh Bouamarane, said: "What we don't accept is the aggressive manner in which evangelists take advantage of citizens' hardships."
Pastor Mustapha Krim, President of the Algeria Protestant Church Council, felt there was no cause for alarm. He wondered how 32 tiny Christian community can challenge 32,000 mosques in a country with 33 millions Muslims and 11,000 Christians.
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