The origins of Islam
It was a caravaneer from Mecca (Arabian Peninsula), Muhammad (Mohamed), who spread this new doctrine from 610 onwards. This man, then aged 40, belonged to the powerful Quraysh tribe, within which he had little power. He only enjoyed a certain renown, due to his just, honest and generous behavior.
After receiving a visit from the angel Gabriel (Djibrail), Mohammed sets out to reveal a new religion, the fulfillment of the two other monotheistic doctrines of the Middle East: Judaism and Christianity. This is why Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Moussa) and Jesus (Issa) are cited in the Koran as prophets, with Muhammad following in their footsteps. In the name of God, he disseminates religious precepts, not far removed from those of Jews and Christians, but which seem to have been pared down to a few essential prescriptions. Monotheism is reaffirmed even more forcefully than in the other two religions. In all other respects, Islam was a bold departure from the traditional clan-based system that had hitherto governed the lives of Arab tribes. A handful of Meccans, including Abu Bakr, soon followed the teachings of this mystical caravaneer. They became known as "Muslims", a term meaning submission to God. For their part, the Qurayshite dignitaries became less and less appreciative of this challenge to the established order. The first Muslims were subjected to all kinds of bullying, but their faith remained unalterable. Muhammad's reputation spread beyond the borders of Mecca, and followers came from far and wide to convert to the new religion. Many came from Medina (Yathrib), another Arabian city where Jewish and Christian tribes lived side by side. On July 15, 622, victim of further persecution by Meccan dignitaries, Mohammed left his hometown for Medina. The journey lasted two days. This is the episode of the Hegira that marks the beginning of the Muslim era. In Medina, Muhammad became head of the Muslim community, but his personal influence gave him a certain authority over the city's Jewish and Christian communities. The followers of these two religions were called "People of the Book" by the Prophet, who granted them his protection. Pagans, on the other hand, were called upon to convert or risk being fought. Rivalry between Muslims and Meccans continued, even after the Hegira. Numerous battles pitted the two clans against each other, until the Muslims were victorious in 630. The Qrayshite dignitaries in turn submitted, and Muhammad made a triumphal entry into Mecca. The Prophet died two years later. His followers already controlled the entire Arabian Peninsula and set out to conquer the world to spread God's message. They reached Memphis in 639.
Religious practice
In Islamic lands, beliefs, superstitions, fear and faith are still inextricably linked; they order life. The "Five Pillars of Islam" are the fundamental rules that every Muslim must observe.
The Shahada is the monotheistic profession of faith, the sincere repetition of which (in Arabic) is sufficient to declare oneself a Muslim: "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet
Zakat, legal almsgiving, is a duty for everyone to give to the poor and to fighters in the cause of Islam. When it's not cash, it can be couscous dropped off at the mosque for the needy.
The Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, is considered the apotheosis of a pious life. Every Muslim should make it once in his or her life. However, not everyone can, and Islam provides for dispensations. The recommended period corresponds to the last month of the year (of the Hegira), a time when Muslims from all over the world gather in or near Mecca. Seven pilgrimages to the holy city of Kairouan, the first city founded by the Arabs in Tunisia, replace the hajj.
Sala, or salat, the ritual prayer that must be performed five times a day after ablutions. Although the common prayer in the mosque, called by the voice of the muezzin, is the most important, you can pray anywhere, even in the desert, where, for want of water, you can perform your ablutions with sand; all you have to do is turn towards Mecca. The day most particularly devoted to Allah is Friday. On this day, the faithful traditionally go to the mosque.
The sawn, or Ramadan fast, commemorates the revelation of the Koran to Mohammed. During the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, every healthy adult Muslim must observe a number of rules between sunrise and sunset. Smoking, drinking, eating and sexual relations are forbidden. It's a special month in Algeria. Business as usual is disorganized. Banks, administrations and shops work in slow motion. Muslims economize during the day; in the evening, they celebrate. It's a period of great fervor, and an interesting one to observe. Ramadan ends with the fast-breaking feast of Eid el-Fitr.
Circumcision
It is not recommended by the Koran, but this custom, which predates the Book, has nonetheless been integrated into Muslim practices. For the young Muslim, it is a rite of passage into the community of believers. Circumcision is either performed within the first week of birth, or at a ceremony attended by all young people of the same age, and is then the occasion for a great feast.
Religious holidays
The dates of religious festivals vary according to the lunar calendar. What's more, the start of each festival is proclaimed according to astronomical observations, which are difficult to predict. The date is often shifted by a day or two.
Public holidays and national celebrations are rarely the subject of large-scale events. Religious festivals, on the other hand, not only provide an opportunity for family gatherings, but also give rise to processions or folk parades.
Aïd el-Kebir. This is the "great feast"(aïd = feast, kebir = great) which commemorates the sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham, in obedience to a divine order, when God, pleased with his submission, sent him a ram to replace him. It's also known as the "Feast of the Sheep", since every family traditionally sacrifices a sheep on this day. The ceremony takes place fifty days after the end of Ramadan and lasts two days.
Mouloud. This festival commemorates the birth of Mohammed. It begins with a night of prayers in the country's mosques. At the table, they eat the Prophet's favorite dish, assida (temmina), a simple mixture of semolina, butter and honey.
First moharram. Day of the Hegira year, twenty days after Eid el-Kebir (moharram is the first month of the Muslim year). This is the day in 622 when Mohammed left Mecca to set up a new community in Medina. This marked the beginning of the Hegira era.
Achoura. The tenth day of the year. It was originally the anniversary of the death of Hossein, the Prophet's grandson, assassinated at Kerbala in Iraq in 680. Today, it's a festival in honor of the underprivileged, and an opportunity to give them zakat, the alms stipulated by the Koran for all good Muslims. It's also a festival for children.
Aïd el-Seghir or Aïd el-Fitr. This is the "little feast" at the end of Ramadan. Children are dressed in new clothes and receive gifts.
Ramadan, which takes place in the ninth month of the year according to the Hegira calendar, is the month in which the Koran was revealed to Muhammad. For the faithful, it's a period of strict abstinence (food, drink, sexual activity...) between sunrise and sunset. For the sake of those fasting, avoid smoking, drinking or eating in public. As activities slow down considerably, we advise you against planning your stay in Algeria during this period. Eid el-Seghir marks the end of Ramadan. During these three or four days of celebration, all activity comes to a standstill.
El waada is a regional religious celebration, organized on a (roughly) fixed date around a shrine. It is the occasion for a pilgrimage, but also for numerous folkloric events (fairs, dances...) around which the various tribes of the region gather. Formerly exclusively linked to the commemoration of holy figures, today waada often punctuate the end of a harvest or accompany a happy event that has occurred in a village. Traditionally, the waada begins with the sacrifice of an animal (usually a bull) in front of the sanctuary housing the marabout's bones. The sacrifice of the animals is intended to bring the baraka, the grace that everyone hopes and prays for. Waadas are celebrated mainly in western Algeria, the most important being in Béni-Abbès, on the "road to the oases".
Marabouts and saints
The word marabout comes from ribat, "moral contract within a religious group" and by extension "group"; the mourabitines were therefore the people of the ribat. The most famous ribat was led by Ibn Yacin, founder of the Almoravid dynasty (11th century), in Mauritania.
In 1492, the Andalusians were driven out of Spain by the Reconquista of the Catholic kings, and moved into the Maghreb. Faced with the Portuguese and then Spanish invaders, all of whom were Christian, the centers of religious learning (zaouïas) became a substitute power in the 15th century, and even more so in the 16th century; marabouts came out of retirement and took action to change society. Reacting to the negligence of the Ziyanid rulers, the people increasingly turned to religion, discovering pilgrimages to the tombs of saints. The maraboutic movement was strengthened by the arrival of the Ottomans. Society, hitherto anarchic, stabilized around marabouts and sheriffs, chiefs of noble descent, without central authority taking over. Hence the popular quote heard throughout the Muslim world: "There is no government, only the word of God's friends The two main orders were the Qadrya tariqa led by el-Djilani (1078 in Baghdad-1166) and the Chadelya tariqa of Ech Chadeli (1197-1258). The circle, an idealized representation of the human body, is the perfect figure whose center symbolizes oneness, the final goal or ultimate truth(haqiqa). The circumference of the circle represents the apparent(ilm ed-dhabir), the visible world governed by the sharia, literally the road, which indicates the social or religious rules common to all followers. To get from the outside of the circle to the center, each mystical group follows its own tariqa, or path, which is revealed to the novice upon initiation. Sufism, for example, is an inner experience guided by orthodox Sharia law. Sufis depend on masters who must be descended from the Prophet, the first among them. The practice arrived in the Maghreb in the 12th century via Choaïb ben Hoceïn Abou Medien el-Andalousi (born 1127 in Spain, died 1198 in Tlemcen). The practice of these mystics consisted of prayers, endless praise of God, contemplative sessions leading to ecstasy ("extinction in the initial One") and a number of esoteric practices.
Christianity
By the time it was made official by Constantine in 313, Christianity had seduced enough Berbers for dissidents to band together, leading to a schism between the Donatists and the Christians loyal to their bishops, including St. Augustine, who, after his conversion, set out to combat all forms of heresy. The bishop of Hippo died during the siege of his city by the Vandals, European invaders who, in the course of their devastating conquest, launched a campaign of persecution against Christians. The faith persisted, however, in the mountain ranges, particularly in the Aures, which were more difficult to access. In 647, when the Arabs arrived in North Africa, bearing a new religious doctrine, they found a territory relatively weakened by the struggles between the Byzantines and the resistant Berbers. Islam dealt a fatal blow to established beliefs, including Christianity; it was to return with colonization. From 1830 onwards, many mosques were converted into churches, if new ones were not built. Pilgrims flocked to four major religious centers: Santa Cruz in Oran, Notre-Dame-d'Afrique in Algiers, the Basilica of Saint-Augustin in Annaba and the hermitage of Father de Foucauld in Assekrem (Tamanrasset). Still dedicated to Catholic worship and in relatively good condition, these holy sites are frequented by a community made up of immigrant Africans, Europeans on business trips and tourists who perpetuate the tradition of pilgrimage, whether religious (Annaba, Tamanrasset and Tibhirine) or more sentimental (Oran and Algiers). In 2003, an article in Infosud reported on conversions to Protestantism that were sufficiently numerous - less than a thousand a year - throughout Algeria, and especially in Greater Kabylia, to become a social issue. These conversions are said to be mainly the work of North American Adventist groups. But while Protestantism can hardly overshadow Islam, it apparently remains a cause for concern for the authorities, who occasionally stir up this scarecrow... That said, the presence of Christian clerics is still noticeable in Algeria, not only at the pilgrimage sites of Annaba and Tamanrasset. The territory is divided into four dioceses (Algiers, Constantine, Oran, Laghouat).
Judaism
The first Jews probably arrived after the fall of Jerusalem in 70, following revolts against Roman domination. But most of them came to Africa after being driven out of Europe by the persecutions that began in the 14th century. Fairly well integrated, the Jews lived mostly in cities, where they were nevertheless asked to gather in specific neighborhoods from the 18th century onwards. When the French settled in Algeria, there were some 32,000 Jews. Although synagogues were no longer frequented by practicing Jews who had to leave the country after independence, Jewish culture left its mark on Algeria, not least in terms of gastronomy and music.
