Trying times

Algeria: Christians face a wave of persecution in Africa's second-largest country | Jill Nelson

After being yanked from a bus just outside of her hometown in Algeria, 35-year-old Habiba Kouider was searched and questioned about her faith. When police found several Bibles and books about Christianity, they detained the Christian convert for 24 hours and brought her before a state prosecutor. The official gave her two options: Convert back to Islam or face charges.

Kouider now faces three years in prison for "practicing non-Muslim religious rites without a license." She is one among dozens of believers arrested this year on religious grounds. Many Christians fear ominous times are ahead for Christians in Algeria, a signatory of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and—at over three times the size of Texas—Africa's second-largest country.