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Algeria: Religious Freedom Status*
Archives | 1997
| 1998 | 1999
| 2000
| 2001|
U.S.
Department of State Human Rights Report 1998
The Constitution declares Islam
to be the state religion but prohibits discrimination based on religious
belief, and the Government respects this right in practice. The small
Christian and Jewish populations in the country practice their faiths
without government interference.
The Government appoints preachers to mosques and gives general guidance
on sermons. The Government monitors activities in mosques for possible
security-related offenses. The Ministry of Religious Affairs provides
some financial support to mosques and has limited control over the training
of imams.
Conversions from Islam to other religions are rare. Because of security
worries and potential legal and social problems, Muslim converts practice
their new faith clandestinely. The Shari'a-based Family Code prohibits
Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims, although this regulation is not
always enforced. The Code does not restrict Muslim men from marrying non-Muslim
women.
In 1994 the GIA declared its intention to eliminate Jews, Christians,
and polytheists from Algeria. The Christian community, composed mostly
of foreigners, curtailed its activities. No Christian religious figures
were killed during the year, unlike 1996, when seven French monks and
the Catholic bishop of Oran were killed.
Source: County
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998, U.S. Department of State.
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