Surge in demand for bibles from secret Christian converts

Thousands of Muslims in Algeria are requesting Bibles and becoming Christians, disillusioned with the rise of violent Islam, the country’s sole Bible distributor said, writes Abigail Frymann Rouch. Ali Khidri, executive secretary for the Bible Society in Algeria, told The Tablet that “hundreds” of people every month were turning up at his office in Algiers requesting a Bible, and that “thousands” were going to churches to enquire about the Christian faith.

Mr Khidri said Muslims were questioning their faith because they were disillusioned by violent acts carried out in the name of Islam. “They are more and more coming to feel that this is the true face of Islam,” he said. According to the Bible Society, there are 100,000 to 200,000 Christians in Algeria. Catholic clergy generally send enquirers to Evangelical churches to avoid being deported, he said.