E/CN.4/2003/66/Add.1 page 14 3. Partisan political exploitation of Islam and capitalization on Algeria’s many difficulties and weaknesses 64. Despite the ban on political parties founded on religion, two parties founded in 1990, Mohfoud Nannah’s Movement for Islamic Society (MSI) and Abdallah Djaballah’s Islah Movement, clearly announced their Islamist origins, held 81 seats in the National Assembly and had ministers in the Government while at the same time Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi’s Wafa party, which was accused of being a mere front for FIS, was dissolved. 65. According to many non-governmental representatives interviewed, public affairs and religious affairs nowadays are, as in the past, inextricably linked. In the view of one official source, most Algerian political parties, whether in power or not, turn towards religion, which lies behind competing courses of conduct, interpretations and programmes, thus leaving the way open for each to claim to be holier than the next. 66. Islamic missionary associations from Pakistan and elsewhere are said to be arriving daily from the south to win people over and make apology for violence, and religious associations are continuing to function without approval or, having been granted approval, pursue ends other than those they announced when they were set up, such as putting forward candidates for election. Besides the funds which local communities receive, which are not apparently monitored in any way, these associations continue to be financed from abroad and possess multiple bank accounts - although this is against the law. 67. In parallel to this, a number of informants, both governmental and not, commented on widespread distrust of human rights owing to the perception of them as being of purely Western origin, and to extreme sensitivity about the pretext they might afford for interference in Algeria’s internal affairs. It was stated several times that rejectionist attitudes and the retreat into national identity were the result of the international community’s failure to react to the ordeals facing Islamic peoples, the welcome extended to Islamist networks in some European capitals and the constant demonization of Islam, which was more and more regularly equated with fanaticism. Islamophobia coupled with double standards is starting to discredit the entire human rights system in the eyes of many Muslims, including Algerians. III. FREEDOM OF BELIEF AND WORSHIP A. Freedom of belief 1. Muslims 68. Many informants insisted that the religious culture that is deeply rooted in Algeria and is, indeed, inseparable from the Algerian national character, was a culture of moderation and tolerance towards other religions. 69. Some, on the other hand, said that religious observance in Algeria was not fully assimilated and instinct could thus easily serve as a religious pretext. The lack of thorough,