One of the crises we have been experiencing in our Arab world since the post-independence period in the second half of the 20th century is shakable identities.
This instability is a result of the colonial crusader project, which attempted to erase the identities of Arab societies and states. The efforts to erase the Arab Islamic identity did not differ much among the colonial powers, be it France, Italy, Britain, and others, though the extent of this erasure varied from one colonial power to another.
France was the most oppressive of the colonial powers toward the countries it controlled, despite its secular slogans. French culture remains inherently Christian, harboring a historical animosity towards Islam, Muslims, the Prophet of Islam, and the Quran.
When these colonial powers withdrew from our countries, they sought to perpetuate the erasure of our identity through their cultural, political, and military agents planted before or after their departure.
These agents effectively continued the mission; they propagated secularism through education, media, and culture, fought against Islam by labeling it as backward and regressive, and attacked the Arabic language, overthrowing it for other languages like English and French under the pretense that Arabic is not a language of science and progress.
When soft methods fail to erase identity, they resort to harsh methods, such as eliminating, demonizing, or overthrowing nationalists.
They may have succeeded more in erasing identity at the level of the governing regimes than among the populations, as the people have shown greater resistance to identity erasure than their regimes.
If we look at the issue of identity in Algeria, for example, it is of utmost importance due to the intense war France waged against Islam and Arabism to turn Algeria into a mere province with no distinct features from France in terms of religion, language, or thought.
Thus, the liberation of the land and the escape from colonialism were not separate from the issue of identity. This issue deeply concerned the revolutionaries, who fought France on multiple levels: military, political, cultural, and more.
In the declaration of November 1, 1954, the National Liberation Front (FLN) revolutionaries demanded from France “public and official recognition of Algerian nationality, thereby nullifying all claims, decisions, and laws that make Algeria a French land despite its history, geography, language, religion, and customs of the Algerian people.”
The FLN revolutionaries did not forget the aspect of a united nation; they considered themselves an integral part of the Islamic and Arab nations, as evident from their statement: “As for the external situation, the international détente is suitable for settling some secondary issues, among which is our cause, which finds its diplomatic support especially from our Arab and Muslim brothers.”
Their belonging to the Arab and Islamic nations was further clarified when they discussed the external objectives of their liberation movement.
External Objectives:
- Internationalization of the Algerian problem.
- Achievement of North African unity in its natural Arab-Islamic framework.
Their movement was not secular, opposing religion. Instead, their political program aimed to ensure that the state they envisioned would adhere to Islam and its principles, stating,
To clearly outline our goal, we lay out the main points of our political program:
Goal: National independence, through:
- The restoration of the sovereign, democratic and social Algerian state within the framework of Islamic principles.
- Respect for all fundamental freedoms without distinction of race or religion.
From the above, it is evident that the revolutionaries never saw themselves as part of France. They did not share a common religion, language, history, similar customs and traditions, or a land on which they could live together free from domination and exploitation.
These are all elements that form the identity of any nation.
Thus, it can be said that the constants of identity in Algeria can be represented as follows:
- Islamic Religion with Maliki jurisprudence as its legal reference, Ash'ari principles as its theological foundation, with full respect for the Ibadis, who are mainly concentrated in Ghardaia.
- Arabic Language which is the cultural language through which all Algerians communicate with each other despite their different ethnicities and colors. However, the dialect contains many foreign elements, particularly from French, which was imposed on the people, and the process of Arabization has faced difficulties, especially in some administrative sectors, despite the existence of an Arabization law.
- Acceptance of Ethnic Diversity between Arabs and Berbers (Amazighs) without discrimination and acknowledging Tamazight as a second official language in the country to prevent attempts to create division between Berbers and Arabs. Historically, the Berbers used Arabic to write religious and linguistic sciences.
- The Homeland in which millions of Muslims shed their blood for its liberation, bears the shared history of the nation over centuries deeply rooted in history.
The constants and national dimensions of Algerian identity that appeared in the Declaration of November 1st closely align with what Sheikh Abdel-Hamid ibn Badis articulated in his slogan: “Islam is our religion; Arabic is our language; Algeria is our fatherland.”
The idea of national constants was further reinforced in the latest constitutional amendment in 2016, specifically in the preamble of the constitution, which is part of the constitution and serves as its introduction. The preamble includes a number of principles or foundations deeply rooted in the conscience of society, aimed at strengthening national unity and thwarting those who attempt to undermine the unity of the nation and its societal components.
The latest constitutional amendment depicted national identity in the preamble, based on the three constants: Islam, Arabism, and Tamazight. For the first time, mechanisms used by the state to promote national identity elements were entrenched in the constitution, such as the Supreme Council of the Arabic language, the High Islamic Council, and the Academy of the Amazigh Language, all attached to the Presidency of the Republic.
These are constants agreed upon by everyone, except for a few who have turned their backs on their nation, religion, and language. This small group does not represent the Algerian nation, and they are no doubt bound to fail. If it comes to it, Algerians would happily shed their blood for their identity.
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(1) National Constants: A Constitutional Reading, by Dr. Jawadi Elias, summarized.
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