Algerian ministry sets Muslim convert conditions

The Algerian Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments has prepared a list including a number of conditions concerning new foreign Muslim converts who wish to declare their Islam in Algeria, whether residents or non-residents. The reservations followed an increase in the number of foreigners who wished to marry Algerian Muslims, on the grounds that religious descent is traced back to the father, and not the mother, unlike the case in other countries. The ministry issued a diktat of the conditions after conducting in-depth studies, in line with Algerian Muslim community and all current living conditions, and implementing Sharia (Islamic law) in all fields, while considering the civil status of individuals in the society. The required conditions of officially converting to Islam in Algeria include the new convert to submit a written form to the Directorate of Religious Affairs at the department of Religious Guidance and Quraan Teaching, which is available in administration offices of Religious Affairs and Endowments across the nation. The form should be translated into Arabic, being the formal language of the Ministry and Algeria. The convert is also required to bring a copy of their original birth certificate and passport, and to fill three-page applications in Arabic and French. The first page includes information on the convert and his wife, or husband if the convert is a woman, and the children, including more than 40 other pieces of information. The second and third pages include 13 questions to the Muslim convert concerning his affiliation with his former religion, the reasons behind his choice of Islam, and his relationship with and opinion of Algerian society. The application ends with a ratification of an honorary pledge to prove the accuracy of all the information mentioned in the application. The administration of Religious Affairs believed that the procedures, which foreigners view as exhausting and impossible to fulfil without the help of Algerian friends, are not enough. Thus, the designated ministry transfers the file to the security forces to check on the convert, particularly that this new step is usually followed by social matters, like marriage to a Muslim or inheritance in case of the wife’s death, as well as performing Omra and Hajj. This being said, non-Arab converts to Islam have demanded the applications to be issued in different languages, like Spanish, German, and English to make matters easier.