Algeria: Salafists impose their « diktat » on some of the country’s mosques

Running counter to the recent instructions issued by the Religious Affairs Minister, Bouabdallah Ghoulamallah, members of the Salafist trend have imposed their own religious practices in some of Algeria’s mosques under their sway during the holy month of fasting of Ramadhan.

Mr Ghoullamallah has of late handed down a set of guidelines and recommendations to the various officiating Imams or preachers enjoining them to strictly abide by the country’s ancestral religious precept and values anchored to the Malekite rite and ward off any drift or deviation in the country’s mosques with no exception.

However, Salafists have so far brushed aside these guidelines and foisted on credulous worshippers in some mosques in several parts of the country their own untoward conception of Islamic practice without being bothered by anyone.

The religious affairs’ instruction stating for instance that the late-night “Tarawih” prayers during the holy month of fasting of Ramadhan should be wrapped up after the reciting of just two chapters of the holy Coran, has been totally ignored by these misguided Salafist zealots.

The latter have also utterly spurned the religious affairs ministry’s firm guideline that the time of fast-breaking coinciding with the evening call to the Maghrib prayer should be minutely respected according to the exact timing set for each wilaya or province of the country.