The church had allegedly printed off the teachings for a sermon in the Muslim-dominated country of Algeria, which is being gripped by Islamist terror movements.

Authorities claim the church, in Ain Turk, has been used to “illegally print Gospels and publications intended for evangelism”.

Police say the church, affiliated with the Protestant Church of Algeria, does not have state approval, despite its president saying it has been recognised by the government since 1974. 

Reverend Mahmoud Haddad said the reasons for closing the church were “unfounded”. 

He said: “Firstly, this community is affiliated to the Protestant Church of Algeria, which has been officially recognised by the government since 1974 and is accredited with both the Ministry of the Interior and the local government. 

“Also there is no printing activity of Gospels or Christian publications inside these premises.”

Christians from a Muslim background living in Algeria face pressure from their families to recant their faith. 

Religion in Algeria is largely dominated by Muslims, at around 99 per cent of the population. 

While the vast majority of Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam, there are almost 37,700 Christians in Algeria, according to charity OpenDoors. 

The charity says the country’s law makes it impossible for churches to operate publicly, while it is dominated by growing Islamist terror movements, particularly al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. 

As part of the crackdown, a number of churches have been ordered to cease all religious activities on the grounds that they were in breach of a 2006 law which regulates non-Muslim worship.

In 2016, a Christian man was sentenced to five years in jail for blasphemy against Islam and its prophet on social media.

Slimani Bouhafs, 49, posted a message on Facebook which read “about the light of Jesus overcoming the lie of Islam and its Prophet in the Kabylie area”.