Early origins of Islamic activism in Algeria: The case of Khaled in Post-World War I Algiers

Abstract

This article examines a surge of Islamic activism in French-occupied Algeria in the wake of World War I by focusing closely on the political career of a leading Islamic activist, Khaled Abd Al Qadir. Scholars have debated Khaled's credentials as an early ‘Algerian’ nationalist but have taken for granted his Islamic identity as a natural by-product of a suppressed native culture and an Islamic revival in the wider Middle East. While these background conditions were important, they do not explain some of the specific patterns associated with Khaled's Islamic activism. Using insights from social movement theory, this article focuses especially on the role of French government-sponsored reforms in 1919 in fostering the surge of Islamic activism in Algeria. The article concludes by challenging ideas about the origins of Islamic activism in Algeria and by highlighting the connection between democratisation and the rise of religious politics in contemporary Algeria and other regimes around the world.

Notes

1. Khaled's name literally means ‘Khaled, son of Hashimi (his father), grandson of Abd Al Qadir’.

2. Service in the war was compulsory for many native men but many volunteered as soldiers and many went to work in France as well. A total of 173,000 natives served in the war as soldiers, of those 87,500 were volunteers; 119,000 worked in France; 25,000 natives died compared to 22,000 European settlers (Ageron, 1991, p. 78).

3. In 1908, Prime Minister Clemenceau accorded natives the right to vote for candidates at the department level General Councils; they had been appointed since the 1870s. Even so, the size of the electorate was much smaller than it would become under the 1919 reforms.

4. While many natives in the south and outside the cities lacked enthusiasm for the voting, elections in the cities were lively, especially in capital city of Algiers.

5. There was a third electoral list that included a mix of Europeans and lesser known native Algerians, but they fared poorly in the elections.

6. In the General Council election of 1920, Khaled defeated Docteur Tamzali 2995 to 245; in the April 1920 elections for seats in the Délégations Financières, Khaled obtained 7000 votes to Zerrouk Mahieddine's 2500; Khaled's allies for other DF seats were Kaid Hammoud in Blida-Medea, Ben Rahal in Oran, and Dr. Moussa in Constantine (Kaddache, 1970, p. 102).

7. He formed the Comité algérien de secours aux Indigènes to help the rural population hurt by famine (Kaddache, 1970, p. 103). In September 1921, Khaled helped form the Comité de défenses des intérêts musulmans de l'Algérie to consider publishing a daily paper.

8. Khaled spoke to French president Millerand when he came to Algeria, impressing upon him the right to Parliamentary representation (Kaddache, 1970, p. 107). He led a collective resignation by native elected officials (Kaddache, 1970, p. 107).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lizabeth Zack

Lizbeth Zack is Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of South Carolina Upstate.