Shia in Algeria

The first inhabitants of North Africa, including Algeria, were the  Amazighs or Berbers, who were considered lovers of Ahl al-Bayt. Shortly after the arrival of Islam in Africa, some of the leaders of Islam, including Musa bin Nasir, continued conquests in this land, including Algeria.

It has been said that Musa bin Nasir and his father were lovers of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). For five centuries (from the end of the 2nd century to the end of the 7th century), the African region, including Algeria, was the area of ​​influence and sometimes the rule of the Ahl al-Bayt lovers.

During the period of Rostamieh's rule (776-908 AD), which was founded by a person of Iranian origin named Abd al-Rahman bin Rostam, the Shiite religion was seriously present in Algeria. The Idrisid dynasty or Idrisids,The Fatimid Caliphate,The Almohad Caliphate (al-Muwaḥḥidūn) were able to spread the love of Ahl al-Bayt in these regions.Shia Atlas, p. 554.

History of Shiism in Algeria

The majority of the inhabitants of the Republic of Algeria are Muslims and follow the Maliki religion, which is the official religion of Algeria. There are other minorities who follow other religions. One of these sects is the Ibadi religion, a sect attributed to Abdullah ibn Abad Tamimi and one of the oldest sects formed among Muslims. Although this sect is considered a small group compared to the majority of Muslims (Sunni and Shia), But from the historical point of view and understanding the beliefs of different religions, it is very important. Believers of this sect live in Oman, Zanzibar and North Africa.) It is the religion of the people of Mozab region in southern Algeria.

Also, there are several tens of thousands of Christians in Algeria, but the Shiites of Algeria today, although they are in the minority, are increasing little by little due to the “Istebsar movement” that has spread throughout Algeria. The reason for increasing the population of Shiites and the Astabsar movement in Algeria is that Algerians have found in the religion of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, a correct intellectual religion and the spirit of tolerance.

The Shiite religion was present in Algeria since the  Rostamieh's rule (776-908 AD  which was founded by the Abadi sect and made Tiaret their capital and intellectual and cultural center in North Africa. Until the Shia clergy man Abu Obeidullah Shii overthrew their government in 908 AD and forced the Abadians to move to the south of Algeria and settle in the area of ​​Wadi Mizab (Ghardaia). There was another small government called Sejalmase government or Medrarieh government (909-758 AD), which was established in the southwest of Algeria and southern Morocco up to the vicinity of the Rostamieh  government. This government was founded by the Shiites, just like the Rostamieh government, but their religion was Safariyeh. This government was also overthrown by the Fatimid government.

According to historians, including Ibn Khaldoon, the first government that the Shiites established in the history of Algeria was in Setif, specifically in Bani Aziz, Algeria. According to these historians, the entry of Shiites into the African continent was justified by the order of Imam Jafar Sadeq(pbuh). He obliged two of his followers to go to the Arab Maghreb and spread Shiite ideas and ideologies there.

Those two people entered Algeria and went to the Katamah tribe and in the neighboring areas of this tribe, they established large bases in Falma, Souq Ahras, Al-Qala, Annaba, Sakikdeh, Al-Aql, Jijal, Qosantatniyeh and Satif, and in addition to these, they built smaller bases in Nawasir Al-Uras, Aqjan and so on.

In other words, the first Shia government that was established was the Fatimid government (909 AD - 1171 AD) in North Africa, which was the first Islamic caliphate in the Great Maghreb region (Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco) and followed the Shia religion and its capital from 909 AD to the end of 920 AD was Kairouan, in Tunis.

After the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979, the political arena in the Arab world and especially in Algeria took a new shape and was influenced by the thinking of the Islamic Revolution to the extent that it caused the religious spectrums of Algeria to accept the establishment of political Islam and attaining sovereignty. This revolution became a model and a successful model for them.

The researches of the specialist in Islamic sociology and faculty member of the University (Oran) Dr. Abdul Hafiz Ghorsullah about the "presence of Shiites in Algeria" indicate that before the eighties, Shiites did not have an obvious presence in Algeria;Because until sending delegations of national university students to higher education institutions in Eastern Arab countries, especially countries where the followers of the Shiite religion are relatively large, such as Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, Algerian society was completely away from any influence of foreign religious sects.

Areas of  Shiites Population in Algeria

Although the presence of Shiites in Algeria is still small and they can be seen only in some states and cities such as Al Jazeera (the capital), Batneh, Tebsa, Khanshla, Tiaret and Sidi Bel Abbas, but some Shiite sites, including the website of the Center for Belief Studies, which It is the largest Shiite site and also the Algerian Shiite site, which has  chosen the slogan "From Al-Masaliah School to Al-Khomeiniyyah School", in the reports they quoted, they said: After the teachers and employees who came from Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to work in Algeria, the Shia religion is spreading secretly in large parts of the Algerian society. The manager of Shia Algeria site, Mohammad Al-Ameri, also believes that the process of Estabsar and Shiism in Algeria still  continues, and it erupted all over the Algerian territory and created a commotion and covered all classes of the society. Because it used to be seen only among young people, but now, with the blessing of Imam Mahdi peace be upon him, Shiism has entered most homes, and I have heard that the oldest Shiite is 69 years old.

The Tomb  of Sidi Al-Hawari  in Vahran city in Algeria

Some Algerian sources say: The city of Sidi Khaled is in Paskara province in the south of Algeria, because of the presence of the shrine of Khaled bin Sinan al-Abasi in this city, it is considered the spiritual center of Algerian Shiites. Some unreliable historical sources also claim that he was a prophet and his people,it means that  the people of Azerbaijan, left him alone.

Therefore, he traveled to Iran. Some others have taken the extreme path and sanctified this unknown prophet; Because they believe that he was sent as a prophet to the Berbers in an area called "Nar" near Batna in eastern Algeria. Although the hadiths have denied his prophethood, Shiites visit his grave and a tribe known as the children of Khalifah or the children of Nayel take care of it and believe that they are nobles and their ancestry goes back to Ali bin Abi Talib (peace be upon him). Some sources have also mentioned that Shiites spend the night of Ashura there and hold their special rituals in this place.

And due to the fact that Algerian Shiites cannot travel to Shiite holy places outside of Algeria, they visit wherever the Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, is remembered.

The political presence of Shiites in Algeria

Algerian Shiites do not have any public activities through which they can follow up their positions and opinions about national affairs. This makes that following this issue face problems; Because they don't have any newspaper to express their words in them, but recently they have created several electronic sites on the global network that they use as a platform to express their opinions and their presence; without interfering in government affairs; Because they believe that they have a more important duty and that duty is to give advice and discover the truth.

Algeria is the only Sunni country that has declared the day of Ashura as an official holiday like the day of Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Milad Muhammad bin Abdullah (Khatim al-Anbiya), peace be upon him and his family, and this has caused the supporters of the Salafi movement to disagree with it and consider it unjustified favoritism and a great service to the Shiites.

The demands of Algerian Shiites are not only limited to the recognition of their religion, but they also have political demands. They made efforts to infiltrate some political parties in the council elections and the previous parliament elections and were nominated in some parties.

These are the efforts that the Shiites have made to enter the government institutions in order to take power in different ways and facilitate their activities, and they may try to establish political parties in the next stages.

Also, many Shiites have recently been able to get into many elected councils, some private schools, universities, mosques and even tax offices, and many others have been able to use the past council elections and even used some national interests effectively and get selected in some assemblies.

The presence of Shiites is not limited to assemblies and administrative places, but they have also reached universities and tax offices of some provinces. Some news sources have pointed out that the presence of Shiites in these fields was supported by Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran's cultural consultants.

Ashura in Algeria

On the day of Ashura, many Algerians go to shrines such as Sidi Al-Hewari and Sidi Al-Hasani in the city of Vahran and pray and ask for intercession in these places. There is also a place called the footprints of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in Mount Manqas in the city of Setif, where Shiites gather on the day of Ashura.There is no document indicating that Imam Ali (PBUH) was present in this region throughout history. Ashura day is an official holiday in Algeria, and this holiday started from the time of Ahmad Ben Bella. The closing of Ashura day in Algeria is not because of the Ashura event, but because of historical events such as the crossing of the Nile River by Prophet Moses (pbuh), the destruction of Pharaoh and his companions, and the saving of Prophet Noah (peace be upon him) and his companions from drowning.

Some Algerians believe that the day of Ashura is an exceptional day and one should not buy special goods on this day, and others believe that zakat(Alms Tax) and charity should be given to others on this day. Al-Shi'i in Africa, p. 675.

Currently, in the regions of this country, such as the towns in Vahran province, in the month of Muharram, Hosseini assemblies are held.Ganjineh (Monthly Magazine)AhlulBayt(a.s)World Assembly, No: 18 and 19, p.37.

Are Algerian Shiites subject to their homeland or subject to Iran?

Algerian Shiites, like other minorities in this country, such as Ahmadiyyah and Karkariyyah, complain about the pressures of the government departments that are imposed on them because of their beliefs.Most Algerians have the Maliki religion, but in the past decades, the Wahhabi religion has infiltrated some social circles, and due to the pressure of the followers of the Wahhabi religion on government institutions, the Shiites of this country usually being accused for following  Iran, which is the largest homeland for the followers of the Shia religion in the world.

The Salafis have expressed this absurd claim in order to sow sedition between the Shiites and the Sunnis of Algeria. Such slanders are not only limited to Shiites, but many Algerian sects have also been accused of these slanders; Because according to the claims of these people, some Algerians are loyal to France. According to their argument, it can be said that the Salafists are loyal to Saudi Arabia and followers of this country, and the Muslim Brotherhood is also a follower of Egypt.

In Algeria, every one is free in his or her  beliefs, and since 20 years ago, there are Shiites in the areas of Souf, Tebsa, etc., and their population is more than 2 million, and the government has no problem with any group except Wahhabism. The spirit of the Shiite government is still in circulation in Algeria, but the violent behavior of the Salafist movement, which tries to prevent Shiism, has created a kind of conflict between these two religions.

References

Categories: Algeria | movements