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Churches meet on Friday since this is the holy day for Muslims. I attended a three-hour service and enjoyed exuberant worship in three languages. Toward the end of the meeting, individuals stood to give testimonies. One Arab stated that he had been born again only that week, through a gospel message on TV. Another young man who had also just decided to follow Christ exclaimed, "I didn't think it was possible for a Muslim to become a Christian!"

The high cost of following Christ means there are few nominal believers. Christians commonly suffer beatings, lose their homes, jobs, and sometimes their lives. Yet they continue to put themselves on the line, even giving their testimonies on television. Algeria's young church is taking the initiative.

Alas, I never made it to the famous Kasbah, but an overnight stay with a young couple in Algiers left a deeper impression than the old walled citadel might have. "Dis" was from an Arab family, taught from an early age to hate Christians and Americans. "But when I learned about Jesus in the Qur'an," he explained, "I liked Him. I thought, If God gave me a choice, I would follow Jesus. He is not a man of war." The attraction grew as he listened to Christian radio. Then, one night, Dis had a vision of a heavenly being who informed him that Jesus was Lord. At that moment, his heart was transformed. Now he is full of love, not hate; dedicated to bringing reconciliation between Arabs and Kabyles.

Over 90 percent of churches in Algeria lie within the mountainous northeast area known as Kabylia. The country's 35 million population is largely made up of two people groups. The earliest, Berber-speaking residents were later conquered by Muslim Arabs, who now outnumber Berbers about five to one. The latter feel, with some justification, that they have been badly treated. Arab/Kabyle hostilities came to a head after the French left Algeria in 1962, when the new (Arab) government tried to unite the country under one language, one religion, and one culture. Kabyle Berbers had Christian roots and were not considered strong Muslims—even indulging in the eating of pork and drinking of beer. So the government moved Arabs into their midst and built more mosques. But the situation exploded in 1980 when Arabic was declared Algeria's only official language. Intellectuals who defended Berber culture were killed, and many university students died in demonstrations.

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