Algerian militants occupy mosques and attack moderate imams

Rabab el-Hakim

Algeria has suffered a lot from extremism and terrorist organizations. The country of a million martyrs witnessed mass assassinations targeting mosques imams, especially after the government issued decisions related to the “religious status”, which was rejected by the Salafist side.

Recently, Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments Mohamed Issa announced last September during an interview with Algerian national radio, that his ministry proposed to the government to “freeze” radical associations that run mosques.

He suggested the amendment of the “religious associations” law to counter takfiri attempts which want to take over the management of mosques through religious associations.

He also pointed out last July that there are 93 attacks against Imams took place since 2016 until today. The attacks occurred outside the mosques.

In May 2018, two Imams were slaughtered in the mosque of Khaled bin al-Walid in the town of Wadi al-Sabaa, south of the province of Sidi Bel Abbes, 430 km west of Algiers. The two Imams were aged 64 and 67.

Investigations suggest many circumstances surrounding the incident. However, there are doubts about the involvement of al-Qaeda elements who are present in the area, or Salafists, according to the Algerian News Agency (APS).

Many imams were beaten and insulted during sermons, and assaulted during prayers. In 2017, Sheikh Mohammed Abdul Salam from Umm al-Bawaki was insulted. One of the extremists described him as “the stray Shiekh” and he beat him later. The imam was later killed by the same person who had insulted him before.

In M’sila state, an imam was stabbed by person and the investigations showed that he was using “hallucinogens” and was accused of being linked to a religious extremist movement.

In the city of Oran, an imam was hit by a stone while  another imam was beaten three times during prayers by the same person. These attacks and more are taking place everyday in Algeria’s mosques.

Sheikh Noureddine Boukhait, a teacher Imam in the state of Blida, revealed that he was subjected to many beatings as well as direct and indirect insults. The state coordinator of Imams in Blida state, Abdelnour Tutsi, also pointed out that the phenomenon of assaulting imams, whether by beating or insulting is common in Blida. Also, Ahmed Orabi, a teacher and imam said that He was insulted and dropped from the pulpit during his sermon.

The Imams called President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, for improving their bad conditions. They went in a protest in which hundreds of imams and employees of the religious sector in Algeria participated in to draw the attention of the country’s highest authorities to their demands.

Dr. Idris Attia, a professor of political science and international relations said that there are extremists who, in the 1990s, turned the mosques to a theater for their ideological conflicts. Some extremists also tried to politicize the mosque, and take it far from its basic or official role.

He added that targeting Imams and assassinating and abducting them is the major role of these extremist groups. They especially attack moderate imams, who reject the thoughts that are strange to the Algerian society and far from the values of the Islamic religion.