COUNTRY OF THE WEEK

ALGERIA ( Capital : Algiers )

Location - North Africa on the Mediterranean coast

Population - 37,900,000

Languages- Arabic and  Berber

Religion -  Sunni Islam 99% (state religion), Christians and Jews 1%

PRAYER REQUEST

1. Pray for persecuted Christians as they are denied the right to exercise religious freedom so Most Christians meet in homes, to protect themselves. So the Christian population/ Missionary groups can only conduct humanitarian activities without government interference as long as they are discreet and do not proselytize openly. Since 2006 missionary outreach among Muslims can be punished with up to five years in prison. Pray that Algerian believers will respond to pressure with faith and perseverance and continue to grow, pray for teachers, Bible and Commentaries to become available to every believer.

2.       When questioned about Muslims becoming Christians in 2001 the Algerian Minister of Religion affirmed that apostates from Islam should be killed, according to Islamic Shari'a law. Police publicly body-search and interrogate even lady converts for practicing Christianity, they are fined a huge sum of money and asked to renounce their faith or face the law. Pray God will use the current restrictions to draw many more Algerians into a relationship with Christ. Pray for conversions to Jesus Christ  among powerful Government/Islamic leaders in Algeria.

3. Pray for the nation’s young people, who make up 65 to 70 percent of the population (and a large majority of Christians). Pray they will not be frustrated or disillusioned, but rather strengthened and encouraged in Christ Jesus.
4. The media attention will have a positive impact on the church, drawing more people to respond to the love and truth of Jesus Christ. The search and hunger by many for a God of love to increase and blossom in finding Jesus Christ as the answer
5. The Berber people could make up as much as 40 percent of the population, but the Arab majority have tried to impose their culture on them and stopped them from using their own language. Thousands in the Kabyle region have become Christians and meet openly in their villages. Pray for these churches that they would be protected and grow in their faith in God.