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Algeria
ISLAM AND THE ARABS, 642-1830
Unlike the invasions of previous religions and cultures, the
coming of Islam, which was spread by Arabs, was to have pervasive
and longlasting effects on the Maghrib. The new faith, in its
various forms, would penetrate nearly all segments of society,
bringing with it armies, learned men, and fervent mystics, and
in large part replacing tribal practices and loyalties with new
social norms and political idioms.
Nonetheless, the Islamization and arabization of the region were
complicated and lengthy processes. Whereas nomadic Berbers were
quick to convert and assist the Arab invaders, not until the twelfth
century under the Almohad Dynasty did the Christian and Jewish
communities become totally marginalized.
The first Arab military expeditions into the Maghrib, between
642 and 669, resulted in the spread of Islam. These early forays
from a base in Egypt occurred under local initiative rather than
under orders from the central caliphate. When the seat of the
caliphate moved from Medina to Damascus, however, the Umayyads
(a Muslim dynasty ruling from 661 to 750) recognized that the
strategic necessity of dominating the Mediterranean dictated a
concerted military effort on the North African front. In 670,
therefore, an Arab army under Uqba ibn Nafi established the town
of Al Qayrawan about 160 kilometers south of present-day Tunis
and used it as a base for further operations.
Abu al Muhajir Dina, Uqba's successor, pushed westward into Algeria
and eventually worked out a modus vivendi with Kusayla, the ruler
of an extensive confederation of Christian Berbers. Kusayla, who
had been based in Tilimsan (Tlemcen), became a Muslim and moved
his headquarters to Takirwan, near Al Qayrawan.
This harmony was short-lived, however. Arab and Berber forces
controlled the region in turn until 697. By 711 Umayyad forces
helped by Berber converts to Islam had conquered all of North
Africa. Governors appointed by the Umayyad caliphs ruled from
Al Qayrawan, the new wilaya (province) of Ifriqiya, which
covered Tripolitania (the western part of present-day Libya),
Tunisia, and eastern Algeria.
Paradoxically, the spread of Islam among the Berbers did not
guarantee their support for the Arab-dominated caliphate. The
ruling Arabs alienated the Berbers by taxing them heavily; treating
converts as second-class Muslims; and, at worst, by enslaving
them. As a result, widespread opposition took the form of open
revolt in 739-40 under the banner of Kharijite Islam. The Kharijites
objected to Ali, the fourth caliph, making peace with the Umayyads
in 657 and left Ali's camp (khariji means "those who leave").
The Kharijites had been fighting Umayyad rule in the East, and
many Berbers were attracted by the sect's egalitarian precepts.
For example, according to Kharijism, any suitable Muslim candidate
could be elected caliph without regard to race, station, or descent
from the Prophet Muhammad.
After the revolt, Kharijites established a number of theocratic
tribal kingdoms, most of which had short and troubled histories.
Others, however, like Sijilmasa and Tilimsan, which straddled
the principal trade routes, proved more viable and prospered.
In 750 the Abbasids, who succeeded the Umayyads as Muslim rulers,
moved the caliphate to Baghdad and reestablished caliphal authority
in Ifriqiya, appointing Ibrahim ibn Al Aghlab as governor in Al
Qayrawan. Although nominally serving at the caliph's pleasure,
Al Aghlab and his successors ruled independently until 909, presiding
over a court that became a center for learning and culture.
Just to the west of Aghlabid lands, Abd ar Rahman ibn Rustum
ruled most of the central Maghrib from Tahirt, southwest of Algiers.
The rulers of the Rustumid imamate, which lasted from 761 to 909,
each an Ibadi
(see Glossary) Kharijite imam
(see Glossary), were elected by leading citizens. The imams gained
a reputation for honesty, piety, and justice. The court at Tahirt
was noted for its support of scholarship in mathematics, astronomy,
and astrology, as well as theology and law. The Rustumid imams,
however, failed, by choice or by neglect, to organize a reliable
standing army. This important factor, accompanied by the dynasty's
eventual collapse into decadence, opened the way for Tahirt's
demise under the assault of the Fatimids.
Data as of December 1993
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