Letter from the CMA to Pope Leo XIV

We are pleased that you have accepted this visit and plan to travel to Annaba, where you will most certainly visit the Basilica of Saint Augustine. We, the Amazigh people, the indigenous people of North Africa, share with you and with the Christian world, Saint Augustine, a major figure in Christian theology, Bishop of ancient Hippone, born into an Amazigh family in Thagaste, now Souk-Ahras. He is an integral part of our history and our identity, and in our eyes, he embodies a bridge between the two shores of the Mediterranean, between religions, cultures, and peoples. Your visit to Algeria aligns with this same objective: to contribute to ensuring that this North African land is and remains a territory of peace, respecting the diversity of its peoples, languages, cultures, and beliefs.

 

In this regard, we wish to draw your attention to the fact that, unfortunately, the Algerian government does not share this vision of life. In fact, they practice a completely different policy, a particularly repressive one, which:

• persecutes citizens who convert to Christianity, by closing or destroying their churches, arresting them, and throwing them in prison under the pretext of "violating the precepts of Islam," hunting them down until forced exile is their only escape;

• throws hundreds of us into prison, condemning us to harsh sentences, including the death penalty, because we are not Arabs and we refuse to be forcibly Islamized;

• forces us into exile, banishes us from our own country, and tears our families apart;

• monitors each and every one of us, our every move and word, and everything is a pretext to threaten, beat, arrest, and imprison us.

 

Aided by the Arab states of the Middle East, the Algerian government seeks to erase all traces of diversity in the country, preserving and promoting only Arab identity and Islam. This is a brief overview of the state of the country you are about to visit, Holy Father. We wanted you to be aware of this before embarking on your journey. The Algerian government will undoubtedly roll out the red carpet for you, but its aim is not to listen to or embrace your message of peace and brotherhood. This government, which has no friends but only trading partners, is constantly striving to break out of its international isolation and improve its image abroad.

 

Through this letter, we urge you to call upon the Algerian government to make a gesture towards you personally and the values you uphold by releasing all Amazigh prisoners, the vast majority of whom are Kabyle, and to cease its persecution of Christians in the country. Algeria cannot hope to gain respectability without respecting the freedoms and rights of its citizens and the Amazigh people, as guaranteed by international law.

 

To shed further light on the dramatic situation faced by Christians and Amazighs in this country, we respectfully request, Holy Father, that you grant us a private audience at your convenience.

 

We thank you very much for your consideration and ask you to accept, Holy Father, the expression of our deepest respect.

 

For the Board of CMA

The President, Nasser Abouzakhar

 

 

Note: The Congrès Mondial Amazigh is an NGO dedicated to the protection and promotion of Amazigh rights.