Brother Rachid is a Moroccan convert to Christianity. photo provided
Guest commentary by Brother Rachid
As someone who was born Muslim in Morocco and found Christ as an adult, I write today with a heavy heart about the persecution of my brothers and sisters across North Africa. The land that gave the world Augustine, Tertullian, and Cyprian, the very cradle of early Christian theology, has become a place where confession of faith in Jesus Christ can mean imprisonment, exile, or even death.
I have dedicated my life to speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, and what I witness today across North Africa represents nothing short of an attempt to erase Christianity entirely from its ancient homeland. And I beg you, this is not hyperbole, it is the documented reality of believers who must practice their faith in shadows, fear, and silence.
Algeria: Persecution through legal pressure
Algeria’s systematic campaign against Christianity cuts me deeply because it mirrors what could easily happen in my own country of Morocco. Since 2017, I have watched in horror as Algerian authorities closed over 40 churches, methodically dismantling the Protestant Church of Algeria piece by piece. Today, not a single Protestant church operates legally in Algeria, a country where Christianity predates Islam by centuries.
The case of Pastor Youssef Ourahmane breaks my heart. Here is a man who served his community faithfully, yet was sentenced to prison for the “crime” of unauthorized worship. When brothers and sisters see his conviction upheld on appeal despite international pressure, they get reminded reminded of their own vulnerability. If the authorities can imprison a respected pastor, what hope do ordinary believers have?
Algeria’s 2006 Ordinance 06-03 requires churches to obtain licenses that are never granted. For nearly two decades, the licensing commission has issued zero permits to Protestant churches. They create laws that make Christian worship impossible, then prosecute believers for breaking those very laws. It is a Kafkaesque nightmare designed to eliminate our faith entirely.
What particularly grieves me is how this persecution is justified in the name of protecting Islamic identity. As someone who grew up in an Islamic society, I understand the fear that Christianity represents foreign influence. But I also know that many of us who have embraced Christ did so not because of Western missionaries, but through genuine spiritual searching and the power of God’s word reaching us through satellite television and personal encounters with Scripture.
Libya: Where faith means death
If Algeria represents systematic legal persecution, Libya demonstrates what happens when state collapse enables the most extreme interpretation of Islamic law to flourish.
I have spoken with Libyan believers who describe living in conditions worse than the early Christians under Roman persecution. They cannot even reveal their faith to family members for fear of honor killings. The Internal Security Agency’s publication of forced video confessions of “embracing Christianity” or “insulting Islam” represents a new level of cruelty, using modern media to terrorize believers and warn others against conversion. As someone who uses television and digital media to spread the Gospel, I see how these tools can be perverted to spread fear and oppression. And did we forget the 2015 ISIS beheading of 21 Christians on a Libyan beach? In short: Believers in Libya face literal martyrdom for their faith.
Morocco: My own experience
Morocco holds special significance for me because it is my homeland, the place where I first encountered Christ and where I understand intimately the pressures facing Christian converts. The estimated 8,000 to 50,000 Moroccan Christians live entirely underground, practicing their faith in house churches and small gatherings that constantly risk discovery.
I have personal experience with the persecution that Moroccan converts face in terms of their family relations. When a believer’s faith is discovered, the consequences are swift and devastating: divorce, loss of child custody, expulsion from family, economic boycott, and social ostracism.
What makes this persecution particularly painful is that it comes not primarily from the government, but from our own families and communities. The state prohibits proselytization and makes legal conversion nearly impossible, but it is often our loved ones who become our greatest persecutors. This creates a special kind of anguish: We must choose between Christ and everyone we have ever loved.
Yet I also see tremendous faith among Moroccan believers. They gather in small groups, never more than a few people, rotating locations and using coded language. They rely on satellite broadcasts and encrypted communications to maintain connections with other believers and receive teaching. Their faith is pure and tested in ways that comfortable Western Christianity cannot comprehend.
Egypt: The ongoing tragedy
Egypt’s persecution particularly grieves me because the Coptic Church represents one of Christianity’s oldest continuous communities, tracing its origins to the apostle Mark himself. Yet today, Egypt’s 10-15 million Christians face discriminatory laws that makes them second-class citizens in their own ancient homeland.
The forced conversion and marriage of Coptic girls represents one of the most heartbreaking aspects of persecution. Girls have been kidnapped, drugged, raped, and forced into Islamic marriage. I have interviewed Coptic families whose daughters vanished, only to reappear months later as “willing converts” to Islam, married to Muslim men, and forbidden from contacting their families.
Yet I also see remarkable resilience in the Coptic community. Despite restrictions on church construction, social discrimination, and periodic violent attacks, they maintain their faith and traditions. President al-Sisi’s efforts to improve conditions have provided some relief, but deep-seated prejudices and systemic discrimination continue to plague Christian communities, especially in rural areas.
Tunisia: Democracy’s false promise
Tunisia’s experience particularly disappoints me because the Arab Spring initially promised religious freedom and democratic governance. As someone who advocates for both Christianity and democracy in the Middle East, Tunisia seemed to offer hope that Islamic societies could embrace pluralism and protect minority rights.
However, President Kais Saied’s constitutional regression and concentration of power demonstrate how quickly democratic gains can be reversed. And while persecution remains less severe than in neighboring countries, the trajectory concerns me greatly.
Tunisia’s estimated 30,000 Christians, including only about 5,000 native Tunisian converts, represent a tiny minority vulnerable to political changes. The fact that they can gather somewhat openly in homes and foreign churches provides a stark contrast to conditions elsewhere in North Africa, but this freedom remains fragile and dependent on political goodwill.
International community: Well-meaning but inadequate
While I appreciate international attention to Christian persecution, I must honestly say that external pressure has proven largely ineffective in stopping the oppression I document across North Africa. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s designation of Algeria as a Special Watch List country has not prevented a single church closure or pastoral prosecution.
Diplomatic engagement faces fundamental limitations when dealing with governments that view Christianity as an existential threat to Islamic national identity. No amount of diplomatic pressure will change minds that are convinced Christian presence represents foreign infiltration and cultural subversion.
What proves more effective is direct support to persecuted believers, funding for underground networks and providing platforms for their voices to be heard. Organizations that provide practical direct aid and advocacy within the region, like Christian Solidarity International does in Egypt, represent the most meaningful international response to persecution.
The underground Church
What gives me hope amid this darkness is witnessing the incredible faith of underground believers across North Africa. Their Christianity, tested by persecution, often exhibits a purity and devotion that humbles those of us who enjoy religious freedom in the west. They memorize entire Gospel chapters because possessing Bibles is dangerous. They gather in groups of three or four because larger meetings risk exposure. They practice radical forgiveness toward families who reject and persecute them.
I write not to generate pity for North African Christians, but to mobilize support for believers whose faith puts mine to shame. They risk everything to follow Christ while many of us risk nothing. They choose Jesus knowing it may cost them family, freedom, and life itself. Their witness calls the comfortable Christianity of the West to remember what discipleship actually costs and what faith actually means.
The story of North African Christianity is not over. Christ’s promise that the gates of hell cannot prevail against His Church extends to Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. But fulfilling that promise requires all of us, those who enjoy religious freedom, to stand with those who do not. Their persecution is our calling. Their faith is our responsibility. Their freedom is our mission.
Brother Rachid is a former Muslim from Morocco who converted to Christianity. The author of many books, he hosts a weekly live call-in show on Alkarma TV and serves in other ministries.
