Shadowy Sects Exploit High Schools And University Campuses To Disseminate Nefarious Ideas

The Minister of Religious Affairs and Wakfs, Mohamed Aissa, stated on Monday, that Algeria has succeeded in thwarting foreign schemings that targeted the stability and cohesion of its society.

Mr Mohammed Aissa, who was the guest of the “Forum” of the national radio, pointed to the imperious need to refer to the national religious authority and to adopt a centrist and harmonious religious discourse in order to fight efficiently the adverse activities of covert religious sects and some negative trends across the national territory.

The minister pointed out that the danger doesn’t lie in the presence of these small communities, including “El Ahmadiyya” as well as proponents of “evangelization” and “Shiism” in Algeria and lies rather in the existence of  a malicious will from some shadowy quarters based overseas and their surrogates to strive for the division of Algeria notably by exploiting high-schools and University campuses to propagate their nefarious ideas among pupils and students.

He thus highlighted to this effect the vital necessity to establish a code of conduct for the defense of a “centrist and middle-of–the-road” religious approach within all the segments of the Algerian society so as to spare it division and turmoil which could be spawned by these deleterious sects manipulated by some hostile foreign circles.

Mr Mohamed Aissa also announced that the Ministry of Religious Affairs is currently discussing with the Ministry of Justice about the possibility of including into the Penal Code provisions that criminalize sectarian thought so as to endow Algeria with a legal instrument likely to intervene in the case of religious deviations or blows dealt to the national religious fundamentals.

Mr Mohamed Aïssa further announced the projected creation of a foundation of intellectual protection of thought in Algeria. According to him, the creation of this foundation aims at securing the Islamic reference of the Algerian society and the moderation of the religious practice which “spares us the conflicts and the fitna (discord)”, as he put it.

The Minister pledged in this respect to back up the setting up of this foundation in legal and material terms, calling on the intellectual elite of the country to accompany the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Wakfs in this intellectual space at the service of Algeria and the national religious reference.