The US and the Anglicans are raising hackles, reports Nosreddine Qassem A recent US State Department report accuses Algeria of violating religious freedom through a clampdown on proselytising and the restriction of the rights of non-Muslims. Although the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of opinion and creed and allows citizens to set up institutions which aim to protect civil liberties, it says that Islam is the state religion and prohibits institutions from engaging in behaviour incompatible with Islamic morality, the report says. The report didn't exactly put Algeria at the top of the list of offending countries, but it clearly suggests that the Algerian government is promoting the religious customs of the majority at the expense of the minority. Government policies have led to the dwindling of religious freedom between July 2007 and July 2008, the report claims. The sombre tone of the report is no doubt related to a law Algeria passed on 20 March 2006. The law sentences offenders to 2-5 years in prison and a fine of 5,000-10,000 euros for "urging, forcing or using persuasive methods to force a Muslim to convert to another religion" or "producing, storing or distributing pamphlets or audio- visual tapes or any other material aiming at shaking faith in Islam." Harsh as this may seem, the law didn't exactly deter proselytising, which is still going on in various parts of the country. The conviction of Father Pierre Wallez, who received a suspended sentence of two years imprisonment for engaging in public and illegal proselytising, was one incident the report used to portray Algeria as a country violating religious freedom. The report is widely seen as part of a US effort to pressure Algeria into following its political agenda. The leading institution in proselytising efforts in Algeria is the Anglican Church, known for its close relations with the US administration. The Catholic Church didn't seem offended by the government's stand. The former Algerian Archbishop, Henri Teissier, has absolved the Catholic Church of proselytising campaigns in Algeria. Speaking to reporters, he said that Christians supported the government and were pained and alarmed by the missionary activities in the country. Teissier blamed the proselytisers for fanning sectarian tensions. Before the proselytising began, "Muslims and Christians lived in harmony in Algeria, in neighbourhoods, institutions, convents, and monasteries, cooperating in charity and humanitarian work," he said. The Americans are not even trying to conceal their intents. A US group specialised in proselytising issued a report in September 2007, praising the outcome of missionary activities in the Kabylie region. Known for its political tensions, the Kabylie region is a fertile ground for proselytising. Even the distant southern areas were not spared the efforts of the missionaries. According to media reports, the missionaries see the south, where poverty and illiteracy are widespread, as easy prey. The Bush administration has urged the Algerians to support a military base in the region, combat the smuggling of arms and drugs and contain the alleged perils of Al-Qaeda. To pressure the Algerians, some claim that the Americans are using the Anglican Church, the world's fastest growing church, which has been active in proselytising among the Tawareg. The Anglican Church raises billions of dollars in the US, has a committee looking after its interests in Congress, and is said to have a special office at the CIA. Algerian activists, who routinely embrace international comments on human rights violations and the need for democratisation in their country, failed to give their support to the US report. With the exception of the Protestant minority, the view among most Algerians is that the US is double dealing. The Americans, many note, never criticise Israel, a country that routinely blocks Muslim and Christian worshippers from their holy sites. The Americans also say little or nothing at all about the mistreatment of Muslims around the world. But some blamed the government for the rise of proselytising. The government, they say, was so worried about security that it paid no attention to the direction missionary activities have taken. And when it finally acted, the government used measures that made the proselytisers look like the real victims. Instead of encouraging moderate preachers, the government promoted a breed of narrow-minded preachers who routinely discourage the public from engaging in politics. No wonder then that young Algerians, who generally avoid going to mosques for fear of being hunted down by the authorities, are attracted to the proselytisers who often offer to help them with marriage expenses, housing, or even a visa to Europe. The government dismissed the US report as being unfounded. In a statement to a French-language radio, Farouk Ksentini, chairman of the Algerian Human Rights Commission, expressed shock at the report, which he said used "peripheral" incidents to malign Algeria. Ksentini said that US reports were misleading and politically motivated. The Algerian Ministry of Religious Affairs concurred. Those engaged in proselytising, the ministry said, were "underground religious groups that have nothing to do with Christianity and that have links with foreign quarters seeking to implement a foreign agenda."
