SIDI M'HAMMED CEMETERY
Cemetery in Algiers housing the mausoleum of Sidi M'Hammed (founder of the Rahmania brotherhood) and other graves.
The Sidi M'Hammed cemetery is one of the oldest Muslim cemeteries in Algiers. It houses the mausoleum of Sidi M'Hammed Ben Abderrahmane (born 1720, died 1793). He was the founding saint of the Rahmania brotherhood, one of the largest Sufi Muslim brotherhoods in Algeria. Sidi M'Hammed created a first zaouïa in his native village, Aït Smaïl in Kabylia, then a second in the Hamma district of Algiers, and taught his doctrine for over twenty-five years. On his death, the disciples of the two zaouïas fought over the remains of their master. Initially buried in Aït Smaïl, his body was allegedly stolen by disciples of the Algiers zaouïa. Legend has it that, to avoid a war between the brothers, his body was split between two graves, which is why the saint is nicknamed Sidi M'Hammed Bou Qobrine, "the saint with two tombs". The cemetery is home to the graves of some of Algeria's most prominent families. Hassiba Ben Bouali, an Algerian militant during the Algerian War who was killed in October 1957 at the age of 19, is also buried here. The saint's name has been given to a daïra (subdivision of the wilaya - a region) of Algiers and to one of its communes. Don't forget to take off your shoes before entering the saint's mausoleum, where you will, of course, remain discreet.
Zaouïa: the term designates both a Sufi brotherhood and its headquarters, generally housing a place of prayer and teaching, a guest house and sometimes the tomb of the founding saint.
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