Algerians turn to foreign satellite channels for their religious affairs

At a time when it required a few seconds to find answers to our questions on a website, we spend a whole day trying to reach the scientific committees and other religious institutions scattered over the 48 Algerian provinces in vain.

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• With the view to clarifying the situation, “Echorouk”s reporters contacted the head of religious orientation and Koran teaching at the ministry of religious affairs, Mohammed Aissa who told us that the question of “Fetwa” (sermon) is assigned to scientific committees located in the 48 provinces nationwide and citizens should get in touch with these religious bodies concerning their interrogations to find answers to their questions, adding that the ministry has appointed a group of theologians on top of each committee.
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• The ministry unable to satisfy the citizens’ demand while Algerians are turning to Satellite channels:
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• In this respects, we asked the ministry to provide us with the coordinates of the 48 committees so as to samples of the most important of them in different corners of the country, but we realized that most of the numbers were out of order.
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• In attempt to reach one of them we succeeded to get in touch with the province of Adrar (southern Algeria) but we’ve been told that this number is not the one of the scientific committee but rather the province’s religious affairs department and nobody could answer our questions because the committee’s members were absent.
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• In addition, if we were asked to leave our questions and call back again a week after in order to get an answer because the theologians were most of the time out of the office bound by their professional duties as religious teachers in Koran schools.
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• The religious affairs department in the province of Chlef (western Algeria) informed us that the “Fetwa” is delivered by the “Imam” mosque’s preacher and if he is unable to do it the citizen has to write a mail to the scientific committee and he will receive the answer through by return mail, in case of failure, he can always request a formal meeting to ask his question.
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• In Constantine ( eastern Algeria) we had a telephone conversation with a secretary who, after knowing the content of our call, she forwarded us another telephone number that was out of order, as to the religious affairs department of the province of Bejaia, this one resorted to “ genius” means by putting  voice mail in English at the disposal of citizens who have to leave their message.
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• When succeeding to have right numbers of two provinces’ religious departments we’ve been asked to call after the prayer’s time despite the fact that the working hours are clearly defined by the relevant ministry and stretch as from Saturday through Wednesday form 8 am till 04.30 pm.
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• Paradoxically, millions of Algerians across the country do not find difficulties to get in touch with prominent religious figures worldwide through their websites in order to ask their questions, forcing them to turn to foreign sources amid a total absence of a genuine religious institution in their home country. This burlesque situation may engender another problem leading to the misinterpretation of the “Fetwas” because they do not meet the Algerian reality.
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