Algerian nationalism is pride in the Algerian identity and culture. It has been historically influenced by the conflicts between the Regency of Algiers and European countries, the French conquest of Algeria and the subsequent French colonial rule in Algeria, the Algerian War, and since independence by Arab nationalism, Arab socialism, pan-Arabism, and Islamism.James McDougall. History and the Culture of Nationalism in Algeria. Cambridge, England, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. 25.
Early manifestations
Formation of the Algerian identity It is hard to designate when Algerian identity formed. Medieval Islamic chroniclers divided the Maghreb region into three distinctive geographical and cultural regions before the Regency of Algiers (Dawla al-Jaza'ir) was established.
al-Maghrib al-Adna (the near Maghrib; also known as Ifriqiya), which included the lands extending from Alexandria to Tarabulus (modern-day Tripoli) in the west. al-Maghrib al-Awsat (the middle Maghrib), which extended from Tripoli to Bijaya (Béjaïa). al-Maghrib al-Aqsa (the far Maghrib), which extended from Tahart (Tiaret) to the Atlantic Ocean.
The exact borders of these regions were flexible and were not fixed at that time. After the collapse of the Almohad Caliphate the empire was divided by 3 dynasties: The Merinids in al-Aqsa (Morocco), the Zayyanids in al-Awsat (between Algiers and western Kabylia), and finally the Hafsids in Ifriqiya (from Béjaïa to Tripoli), but there existed dynasties controlling these regions previously, and the borders were constantly changing between these 3 rival dynasties.
The area of the Central Maghreb (Maghreb al-Awsat) or what could be seen as the predecessor of Algeria were defined as being between Algiers in the west, and Annaba in the east by most medieval chroniclers such as Ibn Khaldun, although this was not always the case and some defined different borders for it.
Regency of Algiers (1515-1830) The transition from "Central Maghrebi" to the "Algerian" identity started in the early 16th century, with the establishment of the Regency of Algiers ("Dawlat Al-Jaza'ir", or "State of Algeria" in Arabic). Several patriotic works such as the Sirat al-Mujahid Khayr al-Din were created in this era, and it is in this era that Algerian identity and patriotism really took shape. The state of Algiers, while initially independent, came under Ottoman rule in 1520, and gained significant autonomy over the years until it became de fact independent in 1710. In this era Algerian patriotism at this time was mainly influenced by conflicts with the neighbouring Morocco and Tunisia, and conflicts with European states, mainly Spain and France, with sayings such as "Algiers is protected by Allah" becoming extremely popular after the failed Algiers expedition in 1541. Generally, the Algerian authorities classified people into 5 main groups:
Moors (ساراكينوس, or "Sarākīnūs"). Referring to the urban population often descended or mixed with Moorish refugees from Al-Andalus. Bedouins (بدوي, or "Badawī"). Referring to the various Arab or Arabized Berber nomadic tribes of Algeria. Kabyles (القبايل, or "al-Qabāyel"). Referring to all Berber peoples of the region meaning "the tribes". Turks (الأتراك, or "Al-Atrāk"). A general classification from all people from the Ottoman Empire, including Turkish, Albanian, Greek people. Jews (اليهود, or "Yahūd"). Referring to the mainly Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews of Algeria.
The earliest surviving nationalistic Algerian work was written by Hamdan ben Othman Khodja, an ex-diplomat of the Regency, 3 years after its collapse in 1833. Ideological disagreements still existed at this era. Many local leaders wished to see the Regency of Algiers go and instead a completely independent Algerian state be established, such as Muhieddiene al-Hassani and his son Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine, and there had been tensions in the country regarding modernisation. The Regency of Algiers collapsed in 1830, after the Invasion of Algiers by France.
Emirate of Abdelkader 2 years after the beginning of the French conquest of Algeria, in 1832 local tribes around Mascara, a region which was still independent from the French and in need of a leader after the collapse of the administration of the province of Oran, a governorate of the Regecncy, declared loyalty to Emir Abdelkader ibn Muhieddiene, who in turn declared a Jihad for the liberation of Algeria. Abdelkader fought against the French for 15 years until 1847, and commandeered a coalition composed of Arab, Kabyle, Chenoua and Chaoui tribes with him as the Emir, or Sultan. He wished to establish a modern fully independent nation state in Algeria, and established a modern army, invested into education and the economy of his nation. His emirate stretch from the modern Moroccan-Algerian border in the west to the region of Kabylia and M'Sila in the east. The only region not under the control of Abdelkader was the Constantinois which was controlled by Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif (who fought a Jihad to restore the Regency of Algiers against the French), before it was taken by the French in 1837.
Early 1900s
Original text from: Library of Congress, 1994. 'A Country Study: Algeria', in Library of Congress Call Number DT275 .A5771 1994 Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20130115052428/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/dztoc.html A new generation of Muslims emerged in Algeria at the time of World War I and grew to maturity during the 1920s and 1930s. It consisted of a small but influential class of évolués, other Algerians whose perception of themselves and their country had been shaped by wartime experiences, and a body of religious reformers and teachers. Some of these people were members of the few wealthy Muslim families that had managed to insinuate themselves into the colonial system in the 1890s and had with difficulty succeeded in obtaining for their sons the French education coveted by progressive Algerians. Others were among the about 173,000 Algerians who had served in the French army during World War I or the several hundred thousand more who had assisted the French war effort by working in factories. Many Algerians stayed in France after 1918, and sent the money they earned there to their relatives in Algeria. In France they became aware of a standard of living higher than any they had known at home and of democratic political concepts, taken for granted by Frenchmen in France, which colons, soldiers, and bureaucrats had refused to apply to the Muslim majority in Algeria. Some Algerians also became acquainted with the pan-Arab nationalism growing in the Middle East.
Political movements
One of the earliest movements for political reform was an integrationist group, the Young Algerians (Jeunese Algérienne). Its members were drawn from the small, liberal elite of well-educated, middle-class évolués who demanded an opportunity to prove that they were French as well as Muslim. In 1908 they delivered to France's Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau a petition that expressed opposition under the status quo to a proposed policy to conscript Muslim Algerians into the French army. If, however, the state granted the Muslims full citizenship, the petition went on, opposition to conscription would be dropped. In 1911, in addition to demanding preferential treatment for "the intellectual elements of the country", the group called for an end to unequal taxation, broadening of the franchise, more schools, and protection of indigenous property. The Young Algerians added a significant voice to the reformist movement against French colonial policy that began in 1892 and continued until the outbreak of World War I. In part to reward Muslims who fought and died for France, Clemenceau appointed reform-minded Charles Jonnart as governor general. Reforms promulgated in 1919 and known as the Jonnart Law expanded the number of Muslims permitted to vote to about 425,000. The legislation also removed all voters from the jurisdiction of the humiliating Code de l'indigénat.
The most popular Muslim leader in Algeria after the war was Khalid ibn Hashim, grandson of Emir Abd al Qadir and a member of the Young Algerians, although he differed with some members of the group over acceptance of the Jonnart Law. Some Young Algerians were willing to work within the framework set out by the reforms, but Emir Khalid, as he was known, continued to press for the complete Young Algerian program. He was able to win electoral victories in Algiers and to enliven political discourse with his calls for reform and full assimilation, but by 1923 he tired of the struggle and left Algeria, eventually retiring to Damascus.
Some of the Young Algerians in 1926 formed the Federation of Elected Natives (Fédération des Élus Indigènes, FEI), as many of the former group's members had joined the circle of Muslims eligible to hold public office. The federation's objectives were the assimilation of the évolués into the French community, with full citizenship but without surrendering their personal status as Muslims, and the eventual integration of Algeria as a full province of France. Other objectives included equal pay for equal work for government employees, abolition of travel restrictions to and from France, abolition of the Code de l'indigénat (which had been reinstituted earlier), and electoral reform.
The first group to call for Algerian independence was the Star of North Africa (Étoile Nord-Africain, known as Star). The group was originally a solidarity group formed in 1926 in Paris to coordinate political activity among North African workers in France and to defend "the material, moral, and social interests of North African Muslims". The leaders included members of the French Communist Party and its labor confederation, and in the early years of the struggle for independence the party provided material and moral support. Ahmed Messali Hadj, the Star's secretary general, enunciated the groups demands in 1927. In addition to independence from France, the Star called for freedom of press and association, a parliament chosen through universal suffrage, confiscation of large estates, and the institution of Arabic schools. The Star was first banned in 1929 and operated underground until 1933 when reconstituted with Messali Hadj President, Imache Amar General Secretary and Belkacem Radjef Treasurer. Its newspaper, El Ouma, reached a circulation of 43,500. Influenced by the Arab nationalist ideas of Lebanese Druze Shakib Arslan, Messali turned away from communist support to a more nationalist outlook, for which the French Communist Party attacked the Star. He returned to Algeria to organize urban workers and peasant farmers and in 1937 founded the Algerian People's Party (Parti du Peuple Algérien, PPA) to mobilize the Algerian working class at home and in France to improve its situation through political action. For Messali Hadj, who ruled the PPA with an iron hand, these aims were inseparable from the struggle for an independent Algeria in which socialist and Islamic values would be fused.
Foreign inspiration