Religious Affairs Ministry Not Responsible For Illegal Churches, Minister

The government will issue a new law to organize and monitor religious associations and mosque committees which are in charge of collecting money aids in mosques, Minister of Religious Affairs, Bouabdellah Ghoulamallah, said on Monday.

Speaking to a press conference at the sidelines of a conference on the late scholar Malek Benabi held in Tlemcen western province, Mr Ghoulamallah said his ministry will never accept that mosques become killing incite places, stressing that the ministry worked hard to convince imams get back to their peace making role in the society.

As for the illegal churches operating in the North African nation, Mr Ghoulamallah said it is for the Ministry of Interior to deal with the issue, specifying that the Ministry of Religious Affairs has put into effect a law on non-Muslim rituals, but this law is not applicable to illegal churches.