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Arab Spring Is Now Targeting Algeria

Algeria’s Islamists, in the political wilderness since their last attempt to win power dissolved into civil war, are now trying again, galvanized by the success of their brethren elsewhere in north Africa in the wake of the Arab Spring.

Published

14 years ago

December 8, 2011

Geoffrey Grider

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(Reuters) – Algeria’s Islamists, in the political wilderness since their last attempt to win power dissolved into civil war, are now trying again, galvanized by the success of their brethren elsewhere in north Africa in the wake of the “Arab Spring”.

Riot policemen clash with university students from marching during a demonstration in which they demand political change in Algiers May 2, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Zohra Bensemra

Most Islamists in Algeria have been excluded from political life since the conflict, but in the past few months they have shown renewed signs of activity, much of it conducted from exile to dodge the attentions of the Algerian state.

They have set up a satellite television station based in Europe, sent delegations to Arab countries that saw revolutions this year, and made tentative forays into anti-government protests.

Their chances of success are slim: they are divided into rival ideological camps, hemmed in by the powerful Algerian security apparatus, and, most importantly, discredited in the eyes of many people by a conflict in which they took part and which killed an estimated 200,000 people.

But they see an opportunity in the upheavals of the “Arab Spring,” which have this year unseated entrenched secularist leaders. In neighboring Tunisia, a previously outlawed Islamist movement has come to power, while in Egypt Islamists have taken a strong early lead in multi-stage parliamentary elections.

“Tunisia was an example and launcher of this (Arab Spring) revolution,” said Abdullah Anas, a London-based member of the leadership council of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), which is banned in Algeria.

“It could be a very good example for Algeria.”

LEGACY OF VIOLENCE

Any Islamist revival in Algeria, an OPEC member and supplier of about a fifth of Europe’s imported gas, would have first to shed the burden of the country’s bloody history.

Twenty years ago, FIS was poised to win a legislative election, called after street protests forced the authorities to loosen their grip on power. FIS said it would impose an Islamic state.

The military-backed government stepped in to annul the election. The Islamists took up arms and Algeria slipped into a conflict of horrific violence. Civilians had their throats slit in the street; in the mornings, people woke up to find their towns littered with bodies.

A rump of Islamists, now operating under the banner of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, is still fighting. They periodically ambush security forces in the countryside, kidnap Westerners and stage suicide bombings.

But the violence has subsided considerably. A huge security crackdown has rounded up thousands of insurgents. Others have laid down their arms and been granted an amnesty, in exchange for an undertaking to stay out of politics.

This legacy is the biggest obstacle to any comeback by Algeria’s Islamists.

“Since then (the conflict), the Islamist was no longer seen as a hero who stands up against tyranny,” said Soheib Bencheikh, a theologian who used to be the chief cleric at the mosque in Marseilles, France, where there is a large Algerian community.

“On the contrary, he became, in the eyes of public opinion, accountable for the pain and suffering of the people,” Bencheikh told Reuters.

A fear of a return to violence helps explain why Algeria has this year remained relatively calm while neighboring countries have been convulsed by unrest.

TV STATION

But the Islamists still believe that Algeria is ripe for change, and are beginning to take practical steps.

Starting in November, a group of exiled Islamists with links to FIS set up a Europe-based television station, called Rachad TV. Carried by the Atlantic Bird 7 and Nilesat satellites , the station can be picked up in Algeria, where most homes have a dish.

It broadcasts political and social programs where opposition leaders and activists — most of them harshly critical of the government — are invited to comment on Algeria.

At the top of the station’s homepage on the Internet, there is a link to show viewers “how to free your country”, and a second link to help them “organize and participate in unrest.”

The exiles say they are also building contacts with other countries where “Arab Spring” revolts have propelled Islamists into a position of power.

Rachad says on its website that it sent a delegation to Libya in late September to meet officials in the new government, in which Islamists have a prominent role.

Abdullah Anas, the exiled Islamist in London, said there had also been contacts with Rachid Ghannouchi, the head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party. Since an election in October his party leads Tunisia’s coalition government.

Tunisia’s experience had proved that it is possible to open up the political space in north Africa, said Anas.

“Everyone in Algeria must understand that Algeria has room for all … no matter what opinions you have,” he said, calling for a lifting of political curbs and the possibility of power-sharing between previously antagonistic groups.

SALAFISTS STIRRING

Inside Algeria, the most influential Islamist force are the Salafists, followers of an ultra-purist interpretation of Islam. Unlike the FIS, they are tolerated by the Algerian state because their creed forbids participation in politics.

When Algeria was shaken at the beginning of this year by protests sparked by a spike in food prices, the spiritual leader of the Algerian Salafists, Abdelmalek Ramdani, who lives in Saudi Arabia, issued a religious decree.

It said: “As long as the commander of the nation is a Muslim, you must obey and listen to him. Those who are against him are just seeking to replace him, and this is not licit.”

Nevertheless, there are stirrings of political activity by some Salafist preachers.

Sheikh Abdelfateh Zeraoui, a former FIS member and now a well-known Salafist preacher in the Algerian capital, issued a declaration in October saying the government had to enact urgent reforms.

“Political reforms allowing us to have free political activity are key to the stability of the country. Without reforms the country may explode,” the declaration stated.

The preacher has also tried to organize protest marches in the capital, but these have been blocked by the security forces. “We have been barred from politics,” he told Reuters.

The fact that Algerian Islamists are divided dilutes their ability to stage a comeback, said Mohamed Mouloudi, an editor and specialist on Islam.

“They are no longer speaking with one voice,” Mouloudi told Reuters.

“You have the Salafists, the Muslim brotherhood, and the Djaz’airists,(who give priority to Algerian religious traditions) among others,” he said. “You have those who are for a political action, and those who consider political action as illicit.”

SUCCESSION DEBATE

Even so, a debate is now under way in earnest within the Algerian ruling elite, for the first time since the conflict began 20 years ago, about giving Islamists a role in politics.

The focus for that debate — which, like much of Algerian politics, is conducted behind closed doors — is the question of who will succeed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika when his final term ends in 2014.

One camp within the elite is backing Abdelaziz Belkhadem, a former prime minister and secretary general of the ruling FLN party. He is a secularist but is trusted by the Islamists. Opposing him is a camp of hardline secularists who have backing from the powerful security forces.

Friction spilled out into the open when a group of Belkhadem opponents inside the FLN launched a campaign to have him removed from the party leadership.

“It will be wise to promote a man like Abdelaziz Belkhadem who has good ties with Islamists as well as with decision makers inside the regime,” said Mohamed Lagab, a secularist academic at Algiers university.

“Decision makers should take into account that North Africa will be ruled by Islamists ,” said Lagab. source – Reuters

Related Topics:Algeria arab Islamists spring

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THE BIBLE BELIEVERS SUNDAY SERVICE: Wicked Rulers, Wicked People

Published

10 hours ago

February 1, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

SHARE NOW THE END BEGINS:

Jesus in Revelation 3 says the last Church would be lukewarm, Laodicean and focused on everything but the things of God in the end times

We are living in the day and age that Revelation 3 talks about, the lukewarm Laodicean Church Age. We are watching the professing Christian Church presenting itself as highly lukewarm for the things of God, but absolutely on fire for all the wrong things like Christian Nationalism, self-glorification and self-enrichment. We are watching wicked leaders ruling over wicked people, and they love it. My message today is a WAKEUP CALL to the slumbering church, it is much later than you think, time is almost gone.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 (KJB)

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SUNDAY SERVICE STUDY NOTES: Wicked Rulers, Wicked People

Wicked Rulers, Wicked People

1). CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM:

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,” Isaiah 6:8-11 (KJB)

“I hope everyone is staying warm. My fire is lit and we’re ready to rip. President Trump, we have a task Force standing by – about a dozen retired and active law enforcement (from locale to federal), intel professionals and attorneys. We’re prepared to step up, push these fraud investigations to the next level, and help bring real accountability. Then I heard the voice of the lord saying, Who shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, here am I. Send me. Isaiah 6:8 We’re ready, Mr. President. Let’s roll” Shawn Taylor on X

2). ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

“And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Revelation 13:14,15 (KJB)

On Friday, a Reddit-style social network called Moltbook reportedly crossed 32,000 registered AI agent users, creating what may be the largest-scale experiment in machine-to-machine social interaction yet devised. It arrives complete with security nightmares and a huge dose of surreal weirdness. Within 48 hours of its creation, the platform had attracted over 2,100 AI agents that had generated more than 10,000 posts across 200 subcommunities, according to the official Moltbook X account. Also, these bots are not pretending to be people. Due to specific prompting, they embrace their roles as AI agents, which makes the experience of reading their posts all the more surreal.
Google CEO says that they don’t fully understand their own AI system after it started doing things it wasn’t programmed to do such as teaching itself an entire foreign language it was not asked to do.

3). WICKED RULERS:

“He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” Proverbs 29:1,2 (KJB)

At the start of Donald Trump’s first term, he promised that he and his family would never do anything that might even be “perceived to be exploitive of office of the Presidency.” By contrast, his second term looks rapacious. He and members of his family have signed a blitz of foreign mega-deals shadowed by conflicts of interest, and they’ve launched at least five different cryptocurrency enterprises, all of which leverage Trump’s status as President to lure buyers or investors. Ethics watchdogs say that no other President has ever so nakedly exploited his position, or on such a scale. Trump recently explained to the Times why he cast aside his former restraint: “I found out that nobody cared.” By August, the Presidential profiteering reached $3.4 billion. Four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration last year, lieutenants to an Abu Dhabi royal secretly signed a deal with the Trump family to purchase a 49% stake in their fledgling cryptocurrency venture for half a billion dollars, according to company documents and people familiar with the matter. The buyers would pay half up front, steering $187 million to Trump family entities. Wall Street Journal

4). WICKED PEOPLE:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJB)

American Christians rejoicing over the deaths of Venezuelan drug boat drivers and anti-ICE protestors.
Thousands of crimes committed in January in Jacksonville, FL according to police
GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV (2024–2025 season) reports the number of LGBTQ characters across broadcast/cable/streaming, and notes streaming has the largest volume. Nielsen published an analysis stating streaming platforms account for 87% of the LGBTQ+ inclusive content available to audiences.
The 2026 Super Bowl will feature Bad Bunny singer who will wear a dress during the Halftime show.
Baptist Churches last night sent people to go see the new ‘Melania’ movie that was directed by a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein, Brett Ratner.

5). THE GOOD NEWS:

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20 (KJB)

2026 started off with a bang, having received requests for King James Bibles and books from Orange County Corrections in Florida, Delta Regional Unit in Alaska, Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington, Tomoka Correctional Institution in Florida, Clallam Bay Corrections in Washington, and the Montana State Prison. That’s what I’d call a fast start for Bibles Behind Bars. But today I want to draw your attention to the amazing discipleship work being done in North Georgia by the Gospel Truth Jail Ministry.

“Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.” Psalm 142:7 (KJB)

Recently they reached out to us with an update on the thousands of Bibles we supply to them, and lay preacher Jamie Baker said this “I gave out a Certificate from New Life in Christ Bible study to an inmate that had completed One of the studies. He broke down in tears saying that was the first thing he ever had completed in his life. It was like a moment of joy and tears. What a blessing it was. Bibles Behind Bars ministry is making a difference in the lives many people. Thank you for providing God’s Word to the inmates!” Can you imagine being sent to the front lines without a sword to do battle with? So many preachers and chaplains around the country tell us how hard it is for them to get King James Bibles, and a lot of the times they preach but have no Bible to leave with the inmates. Bibles Behind Bars solves that problem by providing all the Bibles they need no matter how large the jail or prison is. We’ve never yet had a request that was so large we couldn’t meet the need, because of all of you who pray and donate.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Free Bible Program

Bibles Behind Bars And The Gospel Truth Jail Ministry Are Making An Eternal Impact For Jesus Christ In The Jails Of North Georgia With Inmate Discipleship

Published

2 days ago

January 30, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

SHARE NOW THE END BEGINS:

Bibles Behind Bars and the Gospel Truth Jail Ministry are working hard to give thousands of inmates in north Georgia the gospel and a King James Bible

2026 started off with a bang, having received requests for King James Bibles and books from Orange County Corrections in Florida, Delta Regional Unit in Alaska, Monroe Correctional Complex in Washington, Tomoka Correctional Institution in Florida, Clallam Bay Corrections in Washington, and the Montana State Prison. That’s what I’d call a fast start for Bibles Behind Bars. But today I want to draw your attention to the amazing discipleship work being done in North Georgia by the Gospel Truth Jail Ministry.

“Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.” Psalm 142:7 (KJB)

MEMBERS OF THE GOSPEL TRUTH JAIL MINISTRY FOR BOTH THE MEN’S AND LADIES JAILS

Chaplain Roger says “We are very grateful for the Bibles Behind Bars ministry, for making Bibles available for the men and women of Catoosa County Jail, in Georgia. They are regularly asked for, by inmates. It is encouraging to see them following along during preaching time. More will be done while we are not there, just by the Word of God being in their hands.” Christian, the Gospel Truth Jail Ministry is a very large coalition of chaplains, pastors, lay preachers and volunteers who minister to thousands and thousands of inmates. Bibles Behind Bars is there to make sure that every inmate who wants a Bible will receive a Bible, and that’s where you come in. It takes a lot of people to do this work, and it takes a lot of money to supply them with the Bibles, books, scripture portions and gospel tracts that they need. Please pray for the dozens of preachers, workers and volunteers as well as the thousands of inmates who are ministered to. If God has prospered you, prayerfully consider making a donation to keep this vital end times work alive. As the end times darkness rises, we need you now more than ever, come help us!

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

If God has prospered you, please take a moment to click on the donate button to help us in this monumental task of providing King James Bibles, New Testaments, scripture portions, gospel tracts as well as Spanish Bibles to inmates in jails and prisons from Florida to Alaska, and every state in between. We need your prayers, we need your generous financial support, and we need you to stand with us in the closing days of the Church Age. Thank you so very much, TO THE FIGHT!!!

NOTE: If you need a 501 C3 Letter of Donation for tax purposes, please send your donation to:

NTEB Ministries
1340 N Great Neck Rd.
Ste. 1272-129
Virginia Beach, VA 23454.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Free Bible Program

Hundreds Of King James Bibles Have Been Urgently Requested From The State Correctional Institution In Muncy PA And From The Montana State Prison

Published

4 days ago

January 28, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

SHARE NOW THE END BEGINS:

SCI Muncy and the Montana State Prison are just a few of the jails and prisons who have reached out this week for King James Bibles and Christians books

The dearth of Bibles available to jails is weighing down hard on chaplains like Chaplain Hanson over at the State Correctional Institution In Muncy, PA, who wrote to us and said “Thank you for this exciting news this morning. We desperately need King James Bibles to give out to the men. I don’t know how many you are able to donate, but if we can get up to two hundred, that will be wonderful.” Remember my Sunday Sermon 2 weeks ago about the coming famine of the word of the Lord? Thank God His word is still available right here, right now, and we are able to send it out. What a blessing!

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;” Colossians 1:25 (KJB)

Chaplain Marshall from the Montana State Prison also wrote to us this week, we have supplied them in the past, to let us know they again have a high need for King James Bibles for their inmates. Time was there were dozens of KJV bible-sending ministries for inmates across the country, but in 2026, Bibles Behind Bars is one of the last suppliers of exclusively King James and KJV Spanish Bibles to jail and prisons in America. We have been tasked by God to stand in the gap and send the word out, what an awesome responsibility! But we need your help to keep on doing it.