Algerian, Arabic-speaking in Germany

Introduction / History

The Arab Diaspora is the Arab population who live outside of North Africa and the Middle East. The Algerians make up some of these Arabs, and they have taken refuge in Germany and other European countries. Most fled poverty and repression in Algeria to live in peaceful, prosperous Germany.

Most Algerian Arabs continue to speak Algerian Arabic at home and German with others. The majority are taking advantage of the German education system to improve their lives and the future of their children.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The lives of the German Algerians are vastly superior to the one of the Arabs who live in the North Africa. Most fit into the lower middle class or lower class as shop keepers, and workers in factories, construction sites, restaurants and farms. Algerian Arab women are finding opportunities as nurses, especially in geriatrics nursing. As they gain more education and job skills they are moving into the middle and upper classes. Trained doctors from Algeria can easily find work in Germany. Commonly Algerian Arab families send money or remittances to their relatives and friends in Algeria on a regular basis.

Arab society is paternalistic. The husband controls the family with the wife and children submitting to his authority. Arab women in Germany are in a better position than those in the North Africa. By becoming college educated, Algerian women are able to gain careers closed to them in Algeria. In traditional Arab culture the parents choose whom their child will marry. That is changing as more and more young Arabs in Germany choose their marriage partners. Arab families have more children than other German citizens.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Most German Algerian Arabs are Sunni, the largest branch of Islam. They try to obey the teachings of the Koran and the prophet Mohammad. They believe that by following the Five Pillars of Islam that they will attain heaven when they die. However, Allah, the supreme God of the universe, determines who enters paradise. Sunnis pray five times a day facing Mecca. They fast the month of Ramadan. They attend mosque services on Friday. If a Muslim has the means, he or she will make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in his or her lifetime. Muslims are also prohibited from drinking alcohol, eating pork, gambling, stealing, using deceit, slandering, and make idols. The two main holidays for Sunni Muslims are Eid al Fitr, the breaking of the fast, and Eid al Adha, the celebration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son to Allah. More and more young Algerian people are becoming secularized in Germany. Their Islam is becoming more cultural than religious.

What Are Their Needs?

The Algerian Arabs of Germany must understand their good works will not get them right with God. God forgives sins and grants eternal life only through the death and resurrection of his son Jesus or Isa. The Arabs need to see biblical Christianity as not just the Europeans' religion but as their own as well.

Prayer Points

Ask God to open the spiritual eyes of the Algerian Arabs in Germany as they read about Isa al Masih in the Koran.
Pray that the Lord sends German believers to build friendships with Arabs and tell them the good news about Jesus.
Pray the Lord raises up a Disciple Making Movement among Algerian Arabs in this decade.
Pray that leaders in the German Arab community would be willing to investigate the claims of Christ with open hearts.

Text Source:   Joshua Project