ALGERIA: Christian Berbers attend mass in northern Algeria, ahead of verdict for two Christians accused of inflaming public morals after they were caught eating in public during daylight hours in Ramadan

Record ID: 573789

  • Title: ALGERIA: Christian Berbers attend mass in northern Algeria, ahead of verdict for two Christians accused of inflaming public morals after they were caught eating in public during daylight hours in Ramadan
  • Date: 6th October 2010
  • Summary: PREACHER WAVING HAND IN AIR
  • Embargoed: 21st October 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Algeria
  • Country: Algeria
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAEQDXZ40SVHAED14TOFTII48QH
  • Story Text: Christians from Algeria's Berber community met to observe mass on Tuesday (October 5), ahead of the verdict for two Christian Berbers accused of inflaming public morals after they were caught eating in public during daylight hours in Ramadan.
    Hocine Hocini and Salem Fellak were arrested on August 13 after they were spotted eating lunch on the building site where they worked in the northern region of Kabylie.
    The trial has resonated around Europe and the Middle East as a test of how far Islam will accommodate other religions.
    In Algeria it's a dilemma for a state which claims to be secular but has at the same time to accommodate the interests of vocal Muslim groups.
    Protestant Christians attending mass at an unauthorised church in the Berber capital of Tizi Ouzou told Reuters the trial was part of wider anti-Christian sentiment.
    "We do encounter persecution from family and friends -- and it makes it difficult to follow our religion," said thirty-four-year-old Karim after the service.
    "There is no freedom in Algeria, especially when it comes to Christianity -- there's no freedom at all," added Linda, aged twenty-three.
    Under a 2006 law, religious representatives are required to register places of worship with the state. But the country's Protestants have no officially recognised representatives, and are forced to hold services illegally in unauthorised churches.
    "What worries us is the taking of positions because since the law 06.03 of 2006, the church is suffering because since then people react differently," said Tarek, a pastor at the church since 1996.
    "It's our personal freedom to choose to fast or not. If we don't fast, I don't think someone can oblige us to do so. So first the law must permit freedom of consciousness -- and that doesn't just concern Christians, but other religions too," he added.
    Eating during Ramadan is not illegal -- and Islam exempts other faiths from observing fast. But the prosecution had alleged the defendants have offended public decency laws by eating in public.
    The two Algerians will hear the verdict on Tuesday in the Larbâa Nath Irathen tribunal of Ain El Hammam in Algeria's Berber region.
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