Day Twelve: "A Timeline of Historic Events"

Algeria is a state with much history and a past as colorful as it's current tambour. It gained independence in 1962, a relatively recent endeavor, however long after their foundations 1014 by the Hammadid Dynasty (facts from Wikipedia). Here is a brief timeline of the major leaders in Algeria:

• In 1518, Algiers and Tunis, cities in N. Africa, were founded.
• July 3, 1962, the French leader Charles de Gaulle declared Algeria's independence.
• From 1962-3, Ahmed Ben Bella was the prime minister of Algeria. He was president from 1963 to 1965.
• On June 19, 1965, Colonel Houari Boumedienne overthrew Ahmed Ben Bella.
• July 4, 1979, Ben Bella was freed from detention after 14 years, but remained under house arrest.
• From 1963 to 1979, Mouloud Hamrouche served as the prime minster, and was overthrown by the military in 1991.
• January 11, 1992 – Chadli Bendjedid, the president at the time, resigned.
• On June 29 of the same year, Mohammad Boudiaf, the president of Algeria, was assassinated by his body guard after giving an emotional speech about human life and inevitable death.
• November 5, 2008 – Fateh Bouchibane, the mayor of Timezrit, was murdered.
• February 12, 2009 – "In eastern Algeria 2 bombs exploded hours after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced he will run for a new term, killing at least seven people."

Source of timeline: Ratnikas, Algis. "Timeline Algeria". Timelines of History Online. Accessed 3 June 2009.

Source of facts at top: "Algeria". Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. Accessed 3 June 2009. .

Day Eleven: "World War I"

[Source: "French Images World War I". TroubleShooters Online. Opinicus Publishing 2009. Accessed 2 June 2009. .]

During World War I, Algeria was the first nation to be held under European rule (Smith 20). This happened "through a combination of treaty agreements with local elites and military presence" (20). There is not much history pertaining to Algeria during World War I, but the latter Algerian War and World War II witnessed Algerian independence, warfare, and even massacre in which the French state had influenced much of the history in these situations.

Smith, Dan. "The State of the Middle East". University of California Press, Berkeley. 2006. Accessed 1 June 2009.

Day Ten: "Ottoman Influence on Algeria"

The rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East during it's reign had many diffusing properties, spreading their influence to many nations throughout the Middle East. Algeria was one of these nations, and at the time was under French colonial rule. According to author Edmund Burke in his book Islam, politics, and social movements, the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century sparked a self-sufficiency program in which taxes were raised in order to support new regimes.

He says that "the French extended over the whole country a tax system in which, as mentioned above, had been limited during the Ottoman period to the top 20 percent of the most productive districts of Algeria" (Burke 47).

Thus, a financial boom appeared in Algeria, which allowed the newly developing social, political, and economical infrastructure to gain foundations with new taxes.

Source:

Burke, Edmund, & Lapidus, Ira M., & Abraham, Ervand. "Islam, politicals, and social movements". Accessed 2 June 2009. University of California Press: Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. 1988. Scanned to GoogleBooks. Accessed 31 May, 2009.

Day Nine: "Dynasties in Algeria"

Source: Lehnert, Rudolf. "Tunisia Berber girl". Flickr Online. Uploaded 14 May, 2007. Accessed 30 May 2009.

In the 15th century, the Berbers that inhabited Algeria were part of a dual team-of-conquer with the Umayyad Dynasty in Córdoba, Spain. According to Trudy Ring, Yusuf ibn Tashunfin, a leader of the Berber Almoravid dynasty, gained control of the territory that is now current day Morocco. "With the conquest of Algiers in 1082, the Almoravids controlled all of Algeria." (Ring 556). The Almoravids were later conquered by a different Berber dynasty, the Almohads, who "were responsible for the golden age of north African Islamic civilization". So the conquest of these few dynasties led to the rise of Islam in Africa, and eventually throughout the Middle East as a whole.

Ring, Trudy, et al. "International Dictionary of Historic Places: Middle East and Africa". Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1996. Republished on GoogleBooks for reference. Accessed 30 May 2009.

Day Eight: "Building A Religion"

Algeria is home to many buildings, structures, edifices, and architectural creations that have made it the country that it is. These structures define not only the charisma of the country itself, but the Islamic faith as well. Here are three various structures or buildings that have aided in the formation of this unique yet quintessentially Islamic nation:

• JARDIN D'ESSAI - this is one of the most famous garden locations in the world. While it may not have required the immense effort of building a tower like those of the Zoroastrians, the garden is just as spectacular and required the same Islamic drive and creativity to inspire such wonder. It "stretches over 32 acres" of land on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

[Picture and text source: Oudina, M. "Jardin d'Essai: A museum of nature in the heart of Algiers". EnnaharOnline. 11 May 2009. ]

• The BEN-BADIS MOSQUE in Constantine is one of the most prolific and beautiful mosques, and according to Travel Maps of the World online, it was named after Albelhamid Ben-Badis who contributed much to this Constantine Province in his lifetime. He was a hero of Algeria in the middle 20th century, so this mosque is justly named.

[Source: "Ben-Badis Mosque, Constantine". Travel Maps of the World, Online. Compare Infobase Limited. New Delhi, India. Accessed 28 May 2009. ]

• The EL ASSURI HÔTEL is relatively new and reflects how modern society has entered into this ancient Islamic culture. There are tennis courts, pools, spas–––everything a traveller would need, yet we must question to what extent it infringes upon the natural beauty of Algeria as well as the divine nature of Islam in Algeria.

[Image source: South Travels Online. <http://www.southtravels.com/africa/algeria/elaurassihotel/index.html>

Day Six: "Traditions, Traditions"

While Islam remains the forerunning religion practiced in Algeria, other worldwide religions are practiced as well. Today, Roman Catholicism is another prominent church in Algeria, reflecting classical antiquity in the context of an Islam-state. Quoting Algeria.com's religious profile regarding Roman Catholicism:

"Roman Catholicism is the largest church of Christendom in Algeria and upholds the leadership of the Pope. There are four dioceses in Algeria and one archdiocese. During French rule there were more than one million Roman Catholics in Algeria. After independence these numbers dwindled as many left the country. Today they number only in the lower thousands."

So the number of Christians in Algeria is now diminished greatly due to the rise of Islam most likely, however their presence in the country is enough to diversify this multi-faceted region, even as they appear in minute numbers.

"Know the Religions and Churches in Algeria". The Algeria Channel: Algeria Online. NewMedia Holdings, Inc. 1995-2009. Accessed 28 May 2009.

Day Five: "Islam in Algeria: A Religious Perspective; Part 2"

(Image source: "Muslim Women in Algeria". Public Domain. About.com. <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://z.about.com/d/atheism/1/0/A/f/MuslimWomenAlgeria.jpg&imgrefurl=http://atheism.about.com/od/womeninislam/ig/Women-in-Islam--Buraqa--Chador/Muslim-Women-in-Algeria.htm&usg=__v8W55x7LkCiDKuZAicwlmKIX_nw=&h=500&w=369&sz=47&hl=en&start=5&sig2=NjgtXyzTlz5H-TxX-iN83A&um=1&tbnid=So2bheOwaSNamM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dislam%2Balgeria%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=LaEbSvj3GqW8tAORvYTaCA>).

This post will serve as a continuation of Day Four's post.

Islam plays a large role in Algerian culture. Still today, it remains the most prominent religion practiced in Algeria (and the rest of the Middle East, for that matter).

According to the CIA Factbook, the religious profile is as follows:

• "99% Sunni Muslim (state religion)
• Christian and Jewish, 1%"

(Source: "The World Factbook: Algeria". Central Intelligence Authority. Updated 14 May 2009. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ag.html#People>)

As stated in the post from Day Four, Islam became the national religion upon independence from French control in 1962. Yet Islam had been the religion prior to French control.

The U.S. Library of Congress lays out the historic exegesis of the religion in the following paragraph:

"During the seventh century, Muslim conquerors reached North Africa, and by the beginning of the eighth century the Berbers had been for the most part converted to Islam. Orthodox Sunni Islam, the larger of the two great branches of the faith, is the form practiced by the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Algeria. Shia Islam is not represented apart from a few members of the Ibadi sect, a Shia offshoot."

(Source: "Early History of Islam". The U.S. Library of Congress. <http://countrystudies.us/algeria/63.htm>)

As we can see, Islam came to Algeria in the seventh century by the Berbers (hence the existence of the Berber language in Algeria still today). This clause also notes the deficiency of Shia Islamists in Algeria, the only one's belonging to the Ibadi sect.

Day Four: "Islam in Algeria: A Religious Perspective"

(Image source: User: Jefferyhodges. Photobucket. <http://media.photobucket.com/image/islam %20bowing/jefferyhodges/MosqueQibla01.jpg>)

Islam is the main religion of Algeria. It became such after the independence of Algeria from French control, and the state was able to economize the religion thereafter. According to the article, "Islam and the Algerian State", the author says that "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 and the religion of its leaders.". Mosques were built, and the religious state has remained the same ever since.

Politically, the French sought to undermine Islamic tendencies during their rule, yet Islam says that "a Muslim society permanently subject to non-Muslim rulers is unacceptable", and so, after the state regained self-control, Islam was clearly the only answer.

Day Three: "B.C.-Algeria and Modern Language"

A brief history...

• Around 2,000 B.C., Algeria was inhabited by "cattleherds and hunters living in the Al-Hajjar region between 8,000 and 2,000 BC" (Source: "Algeria". Bekkouche Hocine Online. )
• During this period, it was still located in the Upper Egyptian territory.

Above is a map of ancient Africa and the region known today as Algeria.

(Source: "Ancient Algeria Map". User: Atlantic 38. Photobucket. October 2007. ttp://media.photobucket.com/image/ ancient%20algeria%20map/atlantic38/Oct%2007/afriqa.jpg>)

According to Algeria.com, Algeria is home to many different nationalities, speaking many different languages, Arabic being the most widely used, being the official language of Algeria (81% of citizens speak Arabic).

Berber is the second most abundantly-spoken language, and while the country was formed under French influence, there is no official record of French-speaking-natives (yet it is known that many can read and write the language).

While these are the core languages, Phoenician and Turkish vernacular have been present, as well as other less-used languages.

Some of the earliest forms of architecture were not recorded, but evidence has shown them to include mosques, cathedrals, and other buildings in the city of Algiers upon it's foundation as a center of Algeria. The Great Mosque is the oldest mosque to date, built by Yusuf ibn Tashfin.

Above is a painting of the Great Mosque.

(Source: Alexis Tocqueville. <http://www.tocqueville.culture.fr/en/voyages/popup/html/v_algerie.html>)

Day Two: "Conceptualizing Misconception"

Stereotypes occur in any and every culture. False impressions and prejudice seem to be a reflection of worldwide ignorance rather than knowledgeable judgments of people. In Algeria, common Western views are abundant regarding this Middle Eastern country, poking at religious, political––cultural ideals.

Three various stereotypes are:

1) "Algerians are terrorists". The truth is, Algerians are more subject to terrorism than they are themselves terrorists.

2) "Algerians bombed the French Metro". To date, we do not know who committed this, but this does not mean it was an Algerian crime.

3) "Algerians are liberated and therefore live in democracy". This is false, while they have been liberated, they do not live in democracy.

(Source: "The difference between freedom-fighters and terrorists is not perception but terminology". MuslimMedia. July 2003. )

Day One Post: "Geography of Algeria"

Above is a map of Algeria. Geographically, Algeria bears a multitude of incentives for human settlement, with it's many features that make it a beautiful and prosperous location. From close proximity to a body of water (The Mediterranean Sea), to the variance of mountains and plains that adds to the timbre of this Middle Eastern state.

(Image source: ProAirTicket Online. 2007. <http://www.proairticket.com/images/maps/algeria.gif>)