Imams attack journalists as "apostates" and "enemies of Islam"

Reporters Without Borders strongly protested after imams attacked journalists on the independent French-language press as "apostates" and "enemies of Islam", singling out cartoonist Ali Dilem of the daily Liberté. Several imams called for a boycott of these newspapers during Friday prayers on 20 February. They accused them of sowing discord (fitna) within the community of believers. Algerian television and radio broadcast the sermons, the theme of which is set by the religious affairs ministry. "The extreme virulence of these attacks, made in the mosques and relayed by the public media is unacceptable," said the international press freedom organisation. "We strongly condemn this use of places of prayer to launch an attack against the press. This return in force of politics in the mosques and this use of Islam, is a disturbing reminder of the dark and violent period, including for journalists, in the mid-1990s. "We call on the religious affairs ministry, which decides the line at Friday prayers to explain itself and to ensure that it puts an end to this language of hatred." Religious affairs minister, Bouabdellah Ghlamallah, confirmed to Reuters news agency that the government instructed the imams about the content of their sermons, but said these instructions only concerned the daily Liberté, which had "insulted Islamic values". Tensions between President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and the independent press have worsened since August 2003, with the authorities carrying out a harassment campaign aiming to silence newspapers the presidential clan consider too irreverent, against a background of upcoming elections. Liberté and its cartoonist Ali Dilem have frequently been targeted. Fifty-seven journalists were murdered in Algeria between 1993 and 1996, Reporters Without Borders recalled. Five more are still missing.