Religious Affairs Ministry to preclude « Salafist Mosques » from any activity during Ramadhan

The Algerian religious affairs ministerial department has taken stringent steps to prevent the holding of any sermon or religious seminar in those mosques across the country under the sway of the Salafist movement during the holy month of fasting of Ramadhan.

According to reliable sources, the religious affairs minister Bouabdallah Ghoulamallah has issued drastic instructions to all the religious affairs directorates in the four corners of the country to spearhead an intense and rich program of religious activity during the upcoming month of Ramadhan in order to counter the nefarious impact on certain mosques and on credulous worshippers by zealous members of the Salafist trend.

Mr Ghoulamallah’s firm guidelines are designed to ward off a surge of the warped Salafist activity in some mosques in some provinces of the country where the Salafist preachers are still active.

The Minister warned against any deviation from the national religious values stemming from the ancestral Malekite rite in order to head off any drifts or confusion in the minds of the Algerian worshippers and mosque-goers especially during the forthcoming month of fasting of Ramadhan.

Mr Ghoulamallah urged those entrusted with the smooth running of the religious activity to tighten controls inside the mosques and to remain vigilant in the face of any prohibited move on the part of hardline Salafist opportunists throughout Ramadhan.