Islam, the religion of almost all of the Algerian people, pervades most aspects of life. The vast majority of citizens are Sunni Muslims. Islam provides the society with its central social and cultural identity and gives most individuals their basic ethical and attitudinal orientation. Orthodox observance of the faith is much less widespread and steadfast than is identification with Islam. Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...

History

Arrival of Islam

See: Medieval Muslim Algeria

Islam was first brought to Algeria by the Umayyad dynasty following the invasion of Uqba ibn Nafi, in a drawn-out process of conquest and conversion stretching from 670 to 711. The native Berbers were rapidly converted in large numbers, although some Christian and probably pagan communities would remain at least until Almoravid times. However, as in the Middle East itself, they sought to combine their new Islam with resistance to the Caliphate's foreign rule - a niche which the Kharijite and Shiite "heresies" filled perfectly. By the late 8th century, most of Algeria was ruled by the Rustamids, who professed the strictly puritanical but politically moderate Ibadhi sect and saw the Caliphs as immoral usurpers. They were destroyed by the Shia Fatimids in 909, but their doctrine was reestablished further south by refugees whose descendants would ultimately found the towns of the Mzab valley in the Algerian Sahara, where Ibadhism still dominates. The Age of the Caliphs Unlike the invasions of previous religions and cultures, the coming of Islam, which was spread by Arabs, was to have pervasive and long-lasting effects on the Maghrib. ... The Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, one of the grandest architectural legacies of the Umayyads. ... Uqba ibn Nafi (Arabic: ‎ translit: ) (also referred to as Uqba bin Nafe, Uqba Ibn al Nafia, or Akbah) (622–683) was an Arab general under the Umayyad dynasty, who began the Islamic conquest of the Maghreb, including present-day western Algeria and Morocco in North Africa. ... The Berbers (also called Imazighen, free men, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as the Christ. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning a country dweller or civilian) is a term which, from a western perspective, has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions. ... Almoravides (From Arabic المرابطون sing. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Kharijites were members of an Islamic sect in late 7th and early 8th century AD, concentrated in todays southern Iraq. ... Shi‘as (the adjective in Arabic is شيعى shi‘i; English has traditionally used Shiite) which mean follower in Arabic make up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%-35% of all Muslim. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... The Rustamid (or Rustumid, Rostemid) dynasty of Ibadi Kharijite imams ruled the central Maghreb for a century and a half from their capital Tahert, until destroyed by the Fatimids. ... Al-Ibadhiyah is a form of Islam distinct from the Shiite and Sunni sects. ... Caliph is the title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... The Fatimids, Fatimid Caliphate or al-FātimiyyÅ«n (Arabic الفاطميون) is the Shia dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Levant from 5 January 910 to 1171. ... The Mzab, or Mzab is a region of the northern Sahara, in the Ghardaïa wilaya, or province, of Algeria, around 500km south of Algiers. ...

Though it convinced the Kutama of Kabylie, the Fatimids' Ismaili doctrine remained unpopular in most of North Africa, and the Fatimids themselves abandoned Algeria for Egypt as soon as they could, leaving North Africa to a dynasty only nominally subject to them, the Zirids. With the political threat of the Abbasid Caliphate gone, these soon reverted to Sunni Islam - specifically, the Maliki branch, whose popularity had spread widely in the Maghreb. The Fatimids took their revenge by sending the Bedouin Banu Hilal to wreak havoc on the region, but were incapable of controlling it; Shiism rapidly dwindled, and became virtually nonexistent in the area. The Kutama were a Berber tribe, a member of the great Sanhaja confederation of the Maghreb. ... Kabylie or Kabylia is a mountainous area in the north of Algeria. ... The Fatimids, Fatimid Caliphate or al-FātimiyyÅ«n (Arabic الفاطميون) is the Shia dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Levant from 5 January 910 to 1171. ... The IsmāʿīlÄ« (Urdu: اسماعیلی IsmāʿīlÄ«, Arabic: الإسماعيليون al-IsmāʿīliyyÅ«n; Persian: اسماعیلیان Esmāʿīliyān) branch of Islam is part of ShÄ«Ê¿a community after the Twelvers (Ithnāʿashariyya). ... The Zirids were a Berber dynasty, originating in Petite Kabylie among the Kutama tribe, that ruled Ifriqiya (roughly, modern Tunisia), initially on behalf of the Fatimids, for about two centuries, until weakened by the Banu Hilal and finally destroyed by the Almohads. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... This page deals with Islamic thought. ... The Algerian bay (view from the west). ... The Fatimids, Fatimid Caliphate or al-FātimiyyÅ«n (Arabic الفاطميون) is the Shia dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Levant from 5 January 910 to 1171. ... A Bedouin man resting on a hillside at Mount Sinai Bedouin, derived from the Arabic (‎), a generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic pastoralist groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via... The Banu Hilal were an Arab tribe that migrated from Arabia into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. ...

The Almohads were zealously orthodox, and under their rule Algeria gradually acquired its notable religious homogeneity. Sunni Islam and the Maliki madhhab became virtually universal, apart from the Ibadhis of the Mzab and small Jewish communities. When the Ottomans ruled Algeria, they brought the Hanafi madhhab with them; however, they accepted the local custom of Maliki law, and used Hanafi law only in cases involving Turks. During these centuries Sufi brotherhoods were widespread, and marabouts and saint cults - still testified to by the many Algerian towns named "Sidi (St.) ..." - enjoyed great popularity. In anarchic mountain areas, marabouts and saints (and their tombs) served a political function, aiding in the negotiation of truces, while in the cities they provided a focus for the religious brotherhoods; everywhere they were looked to for intercession and baraka, holy power, except among the learned minority. The Almohad Dynasty (From Arabic الموحدون al-Muwahhidun, i. ... Madhhab (Arabic مذهب pl. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem At the height of its power (1683) Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI... Hanafi (Arabic: حنفي ) is one of the four schools of thought (Madhabs) or jurisprudence (Fiqh) within Sunni Islam. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... A marabout is a personal spiritual leader in the Islam faith as practiced in West Africa, and still to a limited extent in the Maghreb. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are usually depicted as having halos. ... Look up brotherhood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... // Christianity In Christian practice, intercessory prayer is the act of one person praying for or on behalf of another person or situation. ... Baraka can refer to several things: // A Berakhah In Judaism, a berakhah or bracha (Hebrew: ברכה; plural ברכות, berakhot) is a blessing, usually recited at a specific moment during a ceremony or other activity. ...

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. For other uses, see Tuareg (disambiguation). ...

French Colonization

Main article: French rule in Algeria // French rule in Algeria, 1830–1962 Most of Frances actions in Algeria, not least the invasion of Algiers, were propelled by contradictory impulses. ...

In 1830, the French conquered Algiers. Their attempts to rule the rest of the country met stiff opposition, often religiously inspired: the Sufi warrior Amir Abd al-Qadir was particularly notable for his campaign to keep the French out. Even after his defeat, rebellions continued to be mounted until at least 1870, notably that of Cheikh Mokrani; again, a religious motivation was notable in most, though not all, of these. Nickname: al-Bahjah Location of Algiers within Algeria Algiers 944 A.D. Area    - City 273 km² Population    - City (2003) around 2. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... `Abd al-Qādir al-JazāirÄ«. `Abd al-Qādir al-JazāirÄ« (6 September 1808 - 26 May 1883, in Arabic عبد القادر الجزائري) was an Algerian Islamic scholar, Sufi, political and military leader who led a struggle against the French invasion in the mid-nineteenth century, for which he is seen... Cheikh Mokrani Mohamed El- Mokrani (1815 - 1871) was one of the principal leaders of the popular uprising at the end of 19th century following the French conquest in Algeria in 1830. ...

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 Qur'anic schools and zaouias - regarded with suspicion as centers of potential resistance - collapsed, and the literacy rate fell. A Madrasah complex in Gambia Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand, ca. ... Zaouia (Arabic زاوية corner), also spelled zawiya or zawiyah, is a Maghrebi and West African term for an Islamic religious school cum monastery, roughly corresponding to the Eastern term madrassa. In precolonial times, these were the primary sources for education in the area, and taught basic...

However, the emergence of the religious scholar and reformer Abdelhamid Ben Badis would go some way to reversing these trends. Beginning in the 1910s, he preached against the traditional marabouts and the saint cults, and urged the importance of Arabic and Islamic education; his disciples founded an extensive network of schools, and rapidly brought the saint cults into widespread disrepute, making Algerian Islam substantially more orthodox. A marabout is a personal spiritual leader in the Islam faith as practiced in West Africa, and still to a limited extent in the Maghreb. ...

According to Islam, a Muslim society permanently subject to non-Muslim rulers is unacceptable. Muslims believe that non-Muslim rule must be ended as quickly as possible and Muslim rulers restored to power. For this reason, Islam became a strong element of the resistance movement to the French in the Algerian War of Independence. The independence fighters were termed moudjahidine - practicers of jihad - and its fallen are called chouhada, martyrs, despite the revolution's avowed socialism; even during the revolution, the FLN made symbolic efforts to impose Islamic principles, such as banning wine and prostitution. Combatants FLN (1954-62) MNA (1954-62) France (1954-62) FAF (1960-61) OAS (1961-62) Commanders Ferhat Abbas Hocine Aït Ahmed Ahmed Ben Bella Krim Belkacem Larbi Ben MHidi Rabah Bitat Mohamed Boudiaf Messali Hadj Pierre Mendès-France General Jacques Massu General Maurice Challe Charles de... Mujahideen (مجاهدين; also transliterated as mujāhidīn, mujahedeen, mujahedin, mujahidin, mujaheddin, etc. ... Jihad, sometimes spelled Jahad, Jehad, Jihaad, Jiaad, Djehad, Jawwad, or Cihad, (Arabic: ‎ ) is an Islamic term, meaning to strive or struggle in the way of God, and is sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar of Islam, although it has no official status. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... The National Liberation Front , (Arabic: Jabhat al-TaḩrÄ«r al-WaÅ£anÄ«, French: Front de Libération Nationale aka FLN) is a socialist political party in Algeria. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the Quran, its principal scripture, whose followers, known as Muslims (مسلم), believe God (Arabic: الله ) sent through revelations to Muhammad. ... Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of the juice of fruits, usually grapes. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

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. Imams were trained, appointed, and paid by the state, and the Friday khutba, or sermon, was issued to them by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. That ministry also administered religious property (the habus), provided for religious education and training in schools, and created special institutes for Islamic learning. Islamic law (sharia) principles were introduced into family law in particular, while remaining absent from most of the legal code; thus, for example, while Muslim women were banned from marrying non-Muslims (by the Algerian Family Code of 1984), wine remained legal. Imam (Arabic: إمام ,Persian: امام ) is an Arabic word meaning leader. ... Khutba (خطبة) is an Arabic term referring to the Islamic sermon delivered either before the Friday Salah (see: Jumuah) and after the Eid Salat. ... Sharia ( translit: ) refers to the body of Islamic law. ... The Algerian Family Code (French Code de Famille, Arabic قانون الأسرة), enacted on 9 June 1984, specifies the laws relating to familial relations in Algeria. ... Wine is an alcoholic beverage produced by the fermentation of the juice of fruits, usually grapes. ...

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 (Islamist party) of the 1990s. Al Qiyam called for a more dominant role for Islam in Algeria's legal and political systems and opposed what it saw as Western practices in the social and cultural life of Algerians. The Islamic Salvation Front (Arabic: الجبهة الإسلامية للإنقاذ, al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyah lil-Inqādh) (French: Front Islamique du Salut) is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria. ... Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ...

Although militant Islamism was suppressed, it reappeared in the 1970s under a different name and with a new organization. The movement began spreading to university campuses, where it was encouraged by the state as a counterbalance to left-wing student movements. By the 1980s, the movement had become even stronger, and bloody clashes erupted at the Ben Aknoun campus of the University of Algiers in November 1982. The violence resulted in the state's cracking down on the movement, a confrontation that would intensify throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The University of Algiers Benyoucef Benkhedda (Arabic جــامــــــعة الجـــــــزائر بن يوسف بن خـدة) is a university located in Algiers, Algeria. ...

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. The Islamic Salvation Front (Arabic: الجبهة الإسلامية للإنقاذ, al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyah lil-Inqādh) (French: Front Islamique du Salut) is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria. ... Combatants Algerian government Islamic Armed Movement (MIA) Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) others. ... The Movement for the Society of Peace (French: Mouvement de la société pour la paix, Arabic: Harakat Moudjtamaa As-Silm حركة مجتمع السلم, formerly called Hamas حماس) is an Islamist party in Algeria, led until his 2003 death by Mahfoud Nahnah. ... Politics of Algeria Categories: Politics stubs | Algerian political parties ... The Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation was a referendum proposed on September 29, 2005 by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in an attempt to bring closure to the Algerian Civil War. ...

Practice

Almost all Algerians are traditionally Muslim; resident Christians, numbering less than 12% of the population, are mainly foreigners. It is more difficult to determine the incidence of atheism/agnosticism/Deism, but there are some non-believers, notably in the larger cities and in Kabylie (Matoub Lounes or Ferhat Mehenni to name few are popular singers among Kabyle youth) . Sunni Islam is universal apart from the small Mozabite community, concentrated in five Saharan oases, which instead follows Ibadhism. The 18th-century French author Baron dHolbach was one of the first self-described atheists; he did not believe in the existence of any deities. ... Agnosticism (from the Greek a, meaning without and gnosis, knowledge, translating to unknowable) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly theological claims regarding metaphysics, afterlife or the existence of God, god(s), or deities — is unknown or (possibly) inherently unknowable. ... Deism is a religious philosophy and movement that became prominent in England, France, and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries. ... Kabylie or Kabylia is a mountainous area in the north of Algeria. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Chanteur kabyle très célèbre en Algérie, Ferhat Mehenni a fondé en août 2001 le MAK (Mouvement pour l’autonomie de la Kabylie), qui a fait de la défense des intérêts kabyles sa priorité et revendique une autonomie de type espagnol. ... This article focuses on the geographical area of Kabylie and its people. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... The Mozabite people are a Berber ethnic group living in the Sahara. ... Al-Ibāḍiyyah (Arabic الاباضية) is a form of Islam distinct from the Shiite and Sunni denominations. ...

The dominant madhhab is Maliki, although, at least until the last century, some families of Turkish descent followed the Hanafi madhhab. Sufi brotherhoods have retreated considerably, but remain in some areas. Saint cults are widely disapproved of as un-Islamic, but continue, as a visit to the shrine of Sidi Abderrahmane in Algiers quickly demonstrates. Madhhab (Arabic مذهب pl. ... This page deals with Islamic thought. ... Hanafi (Arabic: حنفي ) is one of the four schools of thought (Madhabs) or jurisprudence (Fiqh) within Sunni Islam. ... Sufism (Arabic تصوف taṣawwuf) is a system of esoteric philosophy commonly associated with Islam. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Nickname: al-Bahjah Location of Algiers within Algeria Algiers 944 A.D. Area    - City 273 km² Population    - City (2003) around 2. ...

The popularity of Islamism fluctuates according to circumstance; in the 2002 elections, legal Islamist parties received some 20% of the seats in the National Assembly, way down from the FIS's 50% in 1991. Conversely, strong anti-Islamist sentiment (typified politically by the RCD, which received 8%) is not unknown. Support for Islamist parties is especially low in the Kabylie region, where the FIS obtained no seats in 1991, the majority being taken by the Front of Socialist Forces. This article is about political Islamism. ... The Islamic Salvation Front (Arabic: الجبهة الإسلامية للإنقاذ, al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyah lil-Inqādh) (French: Front Islamique du Salut) is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria. ... The Rally for Culture and Democracy (French: Rassemblement pour la Culture et la Démocratie) is a political party in Algeria. ... Kabylie or Kabylia is a mountainous area in the north of Algeria. ... The Islamic Salvation Front (Arabic: الجبهة الإسلامية للإنقاذ, al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyah lil-Inqādh) (French: Front Islamique du Salut) is an outlawed Islamist political party in Algeria. ... Politics of Algeria Categories: Algerian political parties | Politics stubs ...

References

See also

• Islam by country
• Algerian Civil War in the 1990s
• Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation

Distribution of Islam per country. ... Combatants Algerian government Islamic Armed Movement (MIA) Armed Islamic Group (GIA) Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) others. ... The Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation was a referendum proposed on September 29, 2005 by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in an attempt to bring closure to the Algerian Civil War. ...

External links

• North African Islamism in the blinding light of 9-11, Hugh Roberts
• The Significance of Sufism in Algeria in the aftermath of Independence