Religious affairs minister warns against the danger of Salafi movement in Algeria

The religious affairs minister Adellah Ghoulam Allah has yesterday summoned all the official institutions to commit to the national religious reference so as to preserve the national unity and stability, warning against the spread of some strange ideas through the satellite channels.

The minister has asserted that the sole and unique national religious reference was the

“ Maliki” trend, stressing the necessity unify the Fatwa ( religious decrees) and abide by the national symbols.

He has refused, during a working session with the members of the religious and education affairs committee of the parliament, to answer to some Salafi clerics who boycotted the celebrations of the birth of the prophet Mohamed ( PBUM), saying that the issue was not important because what really matters for him is to combat extremism.

The minister has asserted that the incomes of the religious institutions were very limited as they do not surpass 150 million Algerian Dinars annually..

However, he added, the collected money was used to finance thousand companies and 708 religious associations. As to the number of foreign new converts, the minister has indicated this one has reached 184 last year and 170 new mosques were built in addition to the printing of 300 thousand Koran books.