Algeria’s Minister of Religious Affairs says ‘Ahmadiyya plan has failed’

Algeria’s Minister of Religious Affairs, Mohamed Aissa, has said the Ahmadiyya plan has failed and the Islamic sect does not exist in Algeria anymore. He made the comments on Saturday while speaking at the University of Islamic Sciences in the city of Constantine in eastern Algeria.

Speaking at the University, Minister Aissa said:

“The Ahmadiyya plan in Algeria has failed. The security services , the justice system, local imams and the Algerian media together exposed their plan and the sect does not exist in Algeria anymore”

He went on to say “They call on their followers to stay reserved, marry among themselves and pay Zakat among themselves in order to form a sect but they could not succeed.”

He further said, “The battle against (Ahmadiyya) is over, and we want to spread awareness among the youth who were affected by their (Ahmadi) doctrine, we need to make an effort in bringing those people back to our national religious beliefs.”

A week ago, Minister Aissa also warned of the “systematic spread” of Shia Islam in Algeria while talking to the media. He said, “We are not against Shiites but against the evangelization of Shia Islam in Algeria, Shiite Islam itself does not present a problem but proselytizing campaign of the Shia community in Algeria does.”

Answering a question about a Christian Algerian sentenced to three months in prison, Aissa said that he was not imprisoned because of his faith but rather because of insulting the Prophet Muhammad.