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Order issued to close church building in Oran, Algeria, Christian leaders say

Islam is the state religion in Algeria, where 99 percent of the population of 40 million are Muslim, handicapping efforts at reform. Since 2000, however, thousands of Algerian Muslims have put their faith in Christ. Algerian officials estimate the number of Christians at 50,000, but others say it could be twice that number. Picture above: Shuttered ‘Oratoire’ Church in downtown Oran, Algeria.

 

An order to close a church building in the city of Oran, Algeria was issued last fall but was not conveyed to the pastor until last weekend, sources said.

Pastor Rachid Seighir did not receive the Nov. 10, 2019 closure order until Saturday (Jan. 11), he said.

“This official document was to be delivered by a bailiff appointed by the public prosecutor at the court of Oran [Province], but it wasn’t so,” Pastor Seighir said, adding that his attorney took the initiative to obtain the ruling. “This judgment dates from Nov. 10, 2019, and usually affected people have 10 days to appeal.”

“But we all know that these laws are only there to muzzle Christians and other religious minorities,” Pastor Seighir said.

On Oct. 14, 2019, police sealed shut the two largest Protestant churches in Algeria, that of Tizi-Ouzou with 1,200 members and that of Makouda with more than 300 members. The number of Protestant churches closed in Algeria has risen to 13 since the beginning of a campaign to close them began in 2017

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