Introduction
Algeria (a Wikipedia link) is a country in north Africa with a population of over 47 million. It is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the east by Tunisia and Libya, to the south by Niger, Mali, Mauirtania, and to the west by Western Sahara and Morocco.
It is dominated by Muslims who represent nearly 98% of the population.
It is not a great place if you want to live a secular life because Islam is the state religion, and the legal framework blends civil law with Islamic (Sharia) principles, especially in family matters.
History
Ancient and Classical eras
- Prehistory: Early human activity dates back 1.8 million years, with Neolithic cave art discovered in the Tassili n’Ajjer region.
- Phoenicians & Romans: The Phoenicians set up coastal trading posts around 1,250 BCE. Then followed Roman control after the defeat of Carthage, leaving ruins like Timgad.
- Vandals & Byzantines: Germanic Vandal and Byzantine forces held parts of the country as Roman power diminished.
Islamic Dynasties and Ottoman rule
- Arab conquest (7th century): Arab armies brought Islam and Arabic language and culture to the native Amazigh (Berber) people.
- Local dynasties: Successive Islamic empires – including the Rustamids, Fatimids, Zirids, Almoravids and Almohads ruled the region.
- Ottoman era (16th century): Algiers became an Ottoman regency and a naval power in the Mediterranean region.
French colonization
- Invasion (1830): France captured Algiers, beginning a lengthy military conquest.
- Annexation (1848): Algeria was declared part of France, drawing hundreds of thousands of European settlers (pieds-noirs) who took farmland from the Muslims.
- Call for freedom: Nationalist movements increased during the 20th century, motivated by unfulfilled reforms and the violent suppression of the 1945 Sétif demonstrations.
Independence and the Modern era
- War of Independence (1954–1962): The National Liberation Front waged a guerrilla campaign against France.
- Sovereignty (1962): Following the Évian Accords, Algeria gained independence on 5 July 1962 – leading to a mass exodus of European settlers.
- Political upheaval: The military canceled the 1992 elections after an Islamist party won the first round – causing a major civil conflict during the 1990s.
- Recent developments: Stability returned under long-term leadership, and large peaceful protests (the Hirak movement) in 2019 led to political transitions as the nation harnessed its oil and natural gas resources.
Current day
Religion in Algeria (a Wikipedia link) is as follows (as of 2020):
- Islam: 99.1%
- Sunni: almost 98%
- Christianity: 0.4%
- Unaffiliated: 0.4%
- Other religion: <0.1%
Freedom of religion in Algeria is regulated by the Algerian constitution (a Wikipedia link), which declares Islam to be the state religion (Article 2) but also declares that “freedom of creed and opinion is inviolable” (Article 36). It prohibits discrimination, with Article 29 stating that “All citizens are equal before the law. No discrimination shall prevail because of birth, race, sex, opinion or any other personal or social condition or circumstance“. In practice, the government generally respects this, with some limited exceptions.
The memory of the violent civil conflict in the 1990s between the state and Islamist insurgent groups (the “Black Decade”) heavily influences current policy. The government tightly monitors religious and public spaces to prevent a resurgence of fundamentalism, which often suppresses secular and religious freedoms alike.
Algeria ranked 88 out of 143 countries globally in the World Justice Project index, and it ranked 139 our of 180 countries by Reporters Without Borders, reflecting ongoing crackdowns on independent journalists and media outlets. It is categorized in the low-to-mid range for personal integrity, security, and civil liberties by international democracy trackers.
It does rank fairly high (22nd) globally for its national expenditure on education (as a percentage of GPD), and has a high percentage of graduates (ranked about 15th) in science and engineering fields.
Algeria ranks 130 in the world for it’s GDP per capita (US $6,628).
Issues
There are laws related to proselytising, so the sharing of non-Muslim faiths or distributing religious texts like bibles is heavily restricted and can trigger criminal prosecution.
Those practicing atheistic principles, the non-practice of religion, or converting people away from Islam, face intense social stigma, legal scrutiny, and disapproval from both authorities and society.
Personal status laws are heavily rooted in Islamic jurisprudence (Sharia-derived principles), particularly concerning matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance, which creates legal inequalities for women and non-Muslims.
The representation of women in parliament dropped significantly in recent years, falling to under 8% of the total seats.
Domestic and physical violence against women remain significant issues, with many cases going under-reported due to social stigma or pressure to keep family matters private.
Section 144 of Algeria’s Penal Code is often used to prosecute people for blasphemy, religious non-practice, or atheism if their views become public.
State leaders and the majority of citizens view a strict, total imposition of Sharia law as a threat to national stability, preferring a mixed legal framework. Here’s hoping that remains (and improves) in the generations to come.
Secular and atheist groups
Secular and pro-secular organisations in Algeria primarily exist as political opposition parties or human rights networks rather than explicit anti-religious groups, operating under strict state oversight.
Prominent secular and democratic entities include:
- Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD): A liberal and secular party founded in 1989 that advocates for cultural pluralism, laïcité, and democratic reforms.
- Socialist Forces Front (FFS): Algeria’s oldest opposition party, which consistently promotes a pluralistic, secular polity alongside regional and cultural rights.
- Democratic and Social Movement (MDS): A leftist, secular successor to the former communist party lineage focusing on civil liberties and social democracy.
- Workers’ Party (PT): A Trotskyist, secular leftist party active in parliamentary and labor politics.
- Forces of the Democratic Alternative (PAD): An alliance formed during the 2019 Hirak protests uniting various secular, left-wing parties, and civic groups to demand an independent judiciary and democratic transition.
- Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH): A prominent independent human rights organisation that operated with a secular, universal-rights mandate before being targeted and dissolved via administrative actions by the authorities.
However, independent secular parties and civil society groups face heavy administrative pressures, regular threats of dissolution, restrictions on public assembly, and strict registration laws under Algerian NGO frameworks.
Unfortunately, as the government strongly rejects non-religion, secular and atheist groups are forced to operate entirely in secret.