Islamic trends and movements in Algeria: Difference between revisions

By uniting the tribes and emphasizing the religious teachings of struggle  against oppression and rejecting the foreign rule, Abdul  Qader established his uprising. Following him, the most famous people such as Sheikh Abd al-Hamid ben Badis, "Amir Khaled al-Hashemi", and "Shakib Arsalan" started an uprising and opposed the French occupiers. [8]

In fact, Ahmad Ben Bella removed "Abbas Farhat" from power with a quiet coup and established a socialist system in this country, which civil liberties were limited and he established a type of authoritarian government in Algeria that cast a shadow over Algeria's political system for decades. [9]

In these years, the biggest event was the victory of the Islamic Salvation Front in the parliamentary elections, which ended badly with the arrival of the military and the arrest of the leaders of this party. [10]

They were strongly influenced by the thoughts of Egyptian anti-colonial and religious figures such as Seyyed Qotb, Hassan al-Banna and Muhammad Abduh and  they put these thoughts at the forefront of  their plans. [11]

Gamal Abdel Nasser's ambitious ideas for the unification of the Arab world and Arab nationalism, as well as his opposition to Western countries, created many opportunities for Algerian revolutionaries to organize their activities with the help of Gamal Abdel Nasser. [12]

In other words, when the revolutionaries of Iran showed with their victory and the formation of an Islamic government that it is possible to establish a stable religious government, the new generation of Islamic movements in Algeria also inclined towards this approach and by breathing a new spirit into it and changing the way of struggle , they tried to  gain victory in the elections of the Algerian parliament  in order to took a step towards the establishment of an Islamic government, which failed due to the presence and coup of the military, but this belief and desire was strengthened even more. [13]

For example, "Fateh Rabiei", the general secretary of the "Ennahda Movement" of Algeria, in a clear position, demanded that until the election of the new parliament - which will deal with the drafting of the constitution and revision of all previous laws - the desired reforms of "Abd al-Aziz Bouteflika", the president of Algeria to stop [14]

Among Tunisia's northern neighbors, only Algeria has been spared from riots and protests. Rebellions that ousted the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen last year, and now Syria is involved in it. [15]

Islamist leaders such as Amir Abdul  Qader and Ben badis and their predecessors mixed the foundation of their movement with religious teachings and actually adopted a religious approach in its general sense. As the first leader of the Islamic movement in Algeria, Amir Abdul Qader's intellectual foundation was based on the fact that Islam is the true identity of the Algerian nation and the only way to dismantle colonialism is to use the teachings of Islam. [16]

Abdul  Hamid ben Badis first established hundreds of non-governmental schools where Arabic language, religious sciences and new sciences were taught. [17]

In fact, for Ben badis, Arabism and Islam were two sides of the coin of independent Algeria. Ben badis' political positions in the last years of his life, especially from 1937 onwards, became inflexible and tended towards armed struggle. According to one of his students, he intended to start his uprising as soon as Italy declared war against  France.[18]

"The Algerian culture will be a national culture based on the Arabic language, and the Islamic religion is free from all heresies and superstitions that harm its sacred space, and this divine thought will be crystallized within the framework of culture and personality" [19 ].

They were able to form the "National Liberation Front" in 1954, and within this political front they formed a military front called the "Algerian Liberation Army".[20]

In this period, Islamist trends  insisted on granting political-social freedoms and implementing Islamic rules and demanded rapid transformation in all aspects of society and the establishment of Islamic government through Jihad or electoral struggle.[21]

"Dawa Association" was established as one of the leading Islamist parties in 1989 under the chairmanship of "Sheikh Ahmed Sohnoun" and with the presence of famous people  such as Mahfouz Nahnah, Abbas Madani, Abdullah Jabullah, Ali Belhaj and Mohammad Saeed. [22]

They also used the revolutionary thoughts in the writings of Hasan al-Banna and Seyyed Qotb as the basis of their actions.[23]

In this regard, "Sheikh Abdul Baqi Sahrawi" as the oldest prominent member of the Islamic Salvation Front, at the beginning of the establishment of the front, strive for Islamic unity, provide Islamic solutions for human life, replace moderation and political moderation instead of repression and violence, provide the resources of the Islamic Ummah of Algeria and providing the Islamic way of salvation to the people are mentioned as the goals of the Islamic Salvation Front. [24]

These principles have been manifested in the goals of Islamist groups and parties, which are hard and soft efforts on both fronts of armed struggles - until the 90s - and political struggles in the form of electoral contests, especially parliamentary elections, to gain power and ultimately establish a religious government. In such a way that after winning the 1992 elections, Abbas Madani spoke openly about the party's plans to establish a religious government similar to what happened in Iran. [25]