CAIRO Ñ Algeria has launched a campaign to recruit clerics against Al Qaida.   

Algeria's Religious Affairs Ministry has called on Muslim clerics to speak out against the Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb. Officials said the campaign was meant to take place during the Muslim fast month of Ramadan, when mosque attendance was at its highest.

"We are in touch with all the [mosque] preachers throughout Algeria," an official said.

On Aug. 25, 10 AQIM operatives were said to have surrendered to Algerian authorities. Officials said all of the fugitives were said to have been sentenced to death and 20 years for attacks on military and security forces.

The ministry drafted guidelines for sermons against AQIM during Ramadan. The guidelines included a condemnation of suicide bombings and a ban on joining AQIM.

Officials said the government has also organized workshops on Islam during Ramadan. Many of the workshops would be conducted by Sufi Muslims, a controversial albeit traditional sect that stresses music and dance in their faith.

AQIM was also expected to expand recruitment during Ramadan. Officials said the intelligence community has alerted the military and security forces of AQIM plots to conduct mass-casualty strikes during the fast month.

The Religious Affairs Ministry has sought to portray Al Qaida doctrine as anti-Islamic. Officials said mosque preachers and other clerics would stress AQIM's methods of killing civilians and demolishing homes, all against Islam.

"There is a need to denounce armed operations that claim innocent lives, destroy homes and cattle," the ministry's guidelines said.

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