Islam in Algeria
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Algerian Islamic reference |
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History
Arrival of Islam
Islam was first brought to
Though it convinced the
The
Islam took longer to spread to the far south of Algeria, whose history is to a large extent separate: only in the 15th century were the Tuareg finally converted to Islam.
During the
French colonization
In 1830, the
Soon after arriving in Algeria, the French colonial regime set about undermining traditional Muslim Algerian culture. By French law Muslims could not hold public meetings, carry firearms, or leave their homes or villages without permission. Legally, they were French subjects, but to become French citizens, with full rights, they had to renounce Islamic law. Few did so. The land of Islamic charitable trusts (habus) was regarded as government property and confiscated. Much of the network of traditional
However, the emergence of the religious scholar and reformer
The discrimination against Islam led it to be a strong element of the resistance movement to the French in the
After independence
After independence the Algerian government asserted state control over religious activities for purposes of national consolidation and political control. Islam became the religion of the state in the new constitution (Article 2), and was the religion of its leaders. The state monopolized the building of mosques, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs controlled an estimated 5,000 public mosques by the mid-1980s.
Those measures, however, did not satisfy everyone. As early as 1964 a militant Islamic movement, called Al Qiyam (values), emerged and became the precursor of the Islamic Salvation Front (
The rise of Islamism had a significant impact on Algerian society. More women began wearing the veil, some because they had become more conservative religiously and others because the veil kept them from being harassed on the streets, on campuses, or at work. Islamists also prevented the enactment of a more liberal family code despite pressure from feminist groups and associations.
After the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) won the 1991 elections, and was then banned after the elections' cancellation by the military, the tensions between Islamists and the government erupted into open fighting, which lasted some 10 years in the course of which some 100,000 people were killed. However, some Islamist parties remained aboveground - notably the Movement of Society for Peace and Islamic Renaissance Movement - and were allowed by the government to contest later elections. In recent years, the Civil Harmony Act and Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation have been passed, providing an amnesty for most crimes committed in the course of the war.
Practice
In Politics
The popularity of
The recent rise of a number of radical religious movements involving
See also
- Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments in Algeria
- Algerian Islamic reference
- Sunni Islam in Algeria
- List of Algerian saints
- Malikism in Algeria
- Sufism in Algeria
- Ashura in Algeria
- Mawlid in Algeria
- Muftis in Algiers
- Mosques in Algeria
- Zawiyas in Algeria
- Religion in Algeria
- Islam by country
- Algerian Civil War in the 1990s
References
- ISBN 978-1-63355-981-3. Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ISBN 978-0-7391-9698-4.
- ISBN 978-0-521-85164-0.
- ^ Dr Jonathan N.C. Hill (2006) Identity and instability in postcolonial Algeria, The Journal of North African Studies, 11:1, 1-16, DOI: 10.1080/13629380500409735
- ^ Dr Jonathan N.C. Hill (2006) Identity and instability in postcolonial Algeria, The Journal of North African Studies, 11:1, 1-16, DOI: 10.1080/13629380500409735
- ^ Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb (1967). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill. p. 371.
Virtually the only rite practised in Algeria is the Malikite; there are a few followers of the HanafI rite among people of Turkish descent
- ISBN 978-0-521-85164-0.
- ^ Racelma, Kaci (17 May 2013). "Algerian Ministry of Religious Affairs Warns Against Extremism". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2016.