Thursday July 03, 2008 ALGERIA: CHRISTIANS SENTENCED FOR SPREADING FAITHConverts from Islam report discrimination following convictions.ISTANBUL, July 3 (Compass Direct News) – A court in western Algeria convicted two Muslim converts to Christianity yesterday for illegally spreading their faith. The court in Tissemsilt, 110 miles southwest of Algiers, handed Rachid Muhammad Essaghir, 37, and Djallal Dhamani six-month suspended sentences and 100,000-dinar (US$1,660) fines. The men were found guilty of “distributing documents to shake the faith of Muslims.” The case has received both local and international publicity following a wave of trials this year against Algerian Christians for evangelism and illegally practicing their faith. Essaghir has now moved from Tiaret to the coastal city of Oran with his wife and 1-year-old daughter after police shut down his Internet café in April. Officials closed the business for failure to obtain necessary written permission from local police, but Essaghir said that this was an excuse to harass him for his work as an evangelist, as many Internet cafés in Algeria function without such permission. “Essaghir is doing very well, it’s a miracle,” said a close friend who spoke with the Christian following yesterday’s trial. Despite his numerous convictions, the friend said, “he doesn’t care anymore; God is in control.”
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