Encyclopedia of Islam

Algeria

  

31  J

---

plex economies and within two centuries formed 

two major kingdoms. The region was then ruled 

by Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, and ultimately 

Arabs, who in the seventh century 

c

.

e

. invaded 

from the east, initiating a long slow process of 

Arabization and Islamization of the native popula-

tion. Political rule of the area for Arabs remained 

elusive, however, alternating between Berber king-

doms and Arab dynasties until the 16th century, 

when Ottomans extended their power south from 

i

stanbUl

 and took control of Algeria. Throughout 

this period, North Africa provided a vital corridor 

for economic and cultural exchanges between the 

Middle East, Islamicate Spain, and sub-Saharan 

Africa. Also notable in this period was the devel-

opment of prominent Sufi (marabout) brother-

hoods (including the Qadiriyya, Tijaniyya, and 

Rahmaniyya) that were organized around char-

ismatic spiritual leaders and were renowned for 

fostering spiritual and political communities that 

transcended powerful tribal affiliations.

From 1830 to 1962, France occupied and 

administered Algeria as a colony. Early resistance 

was led by a

bd

 

al

-q

adir

, a young man educated 

in the q

adiri

 s

UFi

 o

rder

, but ended in his defeat 

in 1847 and exile to d

amascUs

 in 1855. Algerians 

ultimately gained independence from France on 

July 5, 1962, after a protracted and bloody war 

lasting eight years. They established a secular 

socialist state led by the revolutionary FLN (Front 

de Liberation National) party, which has governed 

uninterrupted until the present day. During the 

cold war, Algeria became prominent in the non-

aligned movement, a bloc of countries committed 

to creating a third world force through a policy of 

nonalignment to the United States and the Soviet 

Union. Beginning in the 1980s, the state faced an 

increasingly powerful Islamic opposition move-

ment that resulted in major electoral victories 

for the FIS (Front Islamic du Salut) in 1990 and 

1991. The military responded by nullifying the 

election results, which touched off years of vio-

lence between militant Islamist groups and the 

Algerian military in which up to 100,000 civil-

ians are believed to have been killed. By 2005, 

the major violence had subsided, and moderate 

Islamist groups were brought into the govern-

ment. Many core issues such as the role of religion 

in Algerian society, government corruption, and 

the desire of Kabylie Berbers for more autonomy 

remain unresolved.

See also a

lmohad

 

dynasty

; o

ttoman

 

dynasty

; 

politics

 

and

 i

slam

; s

UFism

.

Michelle Zimney