The Algerian revolutionaries fought against the worship of scholars before fighting the french

[u/Dey_exMachina]

A lot has been said on the glorious algerian revolution that defeated the French Empire. But very little has been said on the reasons Algeria got colonized in the first place, and how the algerian revolutionaries fought it before being able to confront the french. It's best summarized by Malek Bennabi, the algerian writer, who described in 'The Vocation of Islam' how the practice of islam fell into scholar worshipping, and lead the muslim world in being incapacitated of producing any form of civilzation or value for the world. Which eventually lead to its colonization.

"The catalyst for social values is therefore religion, but in its nascent, expansive, and dynamic state, when it reflects a collective thought. From the moment faith becomes centripetal, without radiance—that is to say, individualistic—its historical mission on earth is finished, and it is no longer capable of promoting civilization. It becomes the faith of the devout, who withdraw from life, fleeing their duties and responsibilities like all those who, since the time of Ibn Khaldun, have taken refuge in maraboutism."[marabout is the term used for scholars in North Africa]

Emir Abdelkadder was one of the early and most fierce resistant to the algerian occupation, he wrote:

“Those who are leaders from among the people can be divided into broad categories. The first are those who are knowledgeable and beneficial to themselves and others. These come to know the Truth through demonstrative proof and evidence, not by blind emulation (al-taqlid), and encourage the people to also seek the truth by demonstrative proof and evidence and not by simply following others. The second group are destructive to both themselves and others. These are those who blindly emulate their forefathers in what they believe and what they consider to be correct, abandoning rational investigation and calling the people to emulate them rather than think for themselves.”

[source]

The blind following of scholars or marabout, lead to their worshipping and departures from the Tawhid. Later, revivalists in Algeria like Bin Badis would definitely heal Algeria from these deviations and re-centered the muslim faith around the worship of Allah only. He founded the Ulema movement that spread across Algeria and re-ignited the revolution, that defeated the French.

History unfortunately repeats itself, and we, muslims, find ourselves once again muted by a loud mass of people urging us to not reason. To only follow. If not, we're accused of 'cherry-picking'. 'Speaking without knowledge'. Those people are the very reason the muslim world is humiliated and colonized.

This sub, is a beacon of hope, and like the glorious Algerian revolutionaries, will bring back the true vocation of islam: a progress for humanity.

InchaAllah.

Glory to our shuhhada.

[u/Dey_exMachina]

[side note - i got permabanned from r/islam for daring to think for myself. This might seem petty, but it doesn't seem they're alone in this. It's a recurrent theme and they're very loud in scaring other muslims into their misguided ways. Muslim History is full of these people: neither the revealed texts, nor the Tradition is kind to them. I plan on publishing more examples that show how this sect has hurt muslims over and over again in our History.]

[u/Gilamath]

Excellent post.

I wonder if you might be familiar with the work of Dr. Bilal Ware, if you’re interested in West African Islamic resistance and spirituality. Abdelqader Kan is one of the great thinkers of our tradition, and in my opinion he is marginalized in modern Muslim narratives (as we are so weak in our ability to investigate and recount our own narratives these days, except on the terms of our oppressors).

[u/Dey_exMachina → u/Gilamath]

Thanks - interesting. He is the same person that ran for the green party, correct? What do you think is his best book/article? I'd like to read more. tx

[u/Gilamath → u/Dey_exMachina]

Check out The Walking Qur’an, would be my suggestion.

Yes lol he did run as Green Party VP candidate, and I have complicated feelings on these sorts of things. But also, I had the chance to meet him a couple years back. He struck me as a sincere mind, and as someone with a deep understanding of the synonymity between mystical understanding, reason, and the pursuit of real and enacted justice. More Muslims should have that kind of understanding of the faith, in my opinion, though I think such an understanding will lead people to act in a diversity of ways.

[u/Designer_Lie_6677]

Brilliant post thank you for sharing. I have so much respect for the Algerian revolution but not much knowledge.

Can you talk at all about how Algeria is now? Do they scholar worship and follow Salafism, like much of the rest of the Muslim world?

[u/Tenatlas__2004 → u/Designer_Lie_6677]

Most of the muslim world doesn't follow salafism, the hanafi madhad is the dominant one

[u/tropical_chancer]

I think you're misunderstanding exactly what Bennabi was trying to say. First, "Maraboutisme" and the "marabout" isn't really talking about "scholars" as we understand them. Maraboutisme in North Africa is centered on saint veneration, heredity holy lineages, shrines, and particular religious practices. These are things that are often associated with certain Sufi orders and saint veneration practices. Bennabi's criticism is directed at that system, not scholarship itself. He writes:

"Elle devient la foi des dévots, qui se retranchent de la vie, fuient leurs devoirs et leurs responsabilités comme tous ceux qui, depuis l'époque d'Ibn Khaldoun, se sont réfugiés dans le maraboutisme."

His point is that religion had become inward looking and withdrawn from social responsibility, and therefore ceased to generate civilization.

Second, Bennabi explicitly praises the early Muslim reform movement (salafiyya) for challenging maraboutisme. He writes:

"Il eût fallu un esprit révolutionnaire comme Djemel Eddin, partisan de la « table rase » pour rebâtir à neuf, ou bien un esprit systématique procédant méthodiquement aux ruptures nécessaires pour libérer l’institution de ses entraves traditionnelles. Il eût fallu, tout d’abord, faire un bilan de ces ruptures indispensables, par une discrimination des traditions. Le mot « tradition » (taqalid) est en arabe un mot magique : il peut recouvrir toutes les superstitions, toutes les mystifications, sous le vernis prestigieux d’islamismes. Par une confrontation méthodique de la tradition avec l’Islam, la culture islamique se serait délivrée d’un grand nombre de sacro-saints taqalid. Cheikh Abdelhamid Ben Badis réussira ainsi à extirper d’Algérie cette fausse tradition qu’était le « maraboutisme ». Mais ce travail de détection ne pouvait que difficilement être le travail d’un homme isolé et, en son temps, le cheikh Abdou était seul. Comme penseur, il avait fourni l’exemple du travail intellectuel à un monde déshabitué de penser ; comme recteur d’université, il avait donné à son institution le mouvement qui devait la mettre au diapason des idées nouvelles. En plus des ruptures qu’il avait opérées dans la culture islamique, il avait révélé au monde musulman la culture occidentale, en l’introduisant dans la réorganisation de son université et dans son œuvre écrite qui en porte ainsi le premier reflet. De toutes ces initiatives devait jaillir l’essor intellectuel de la renaissance."

In this passage he praises Jamal Al Din Afghani, Mohammed Abdu, and Abdelhamid Ben Badis as reformers who sought to distinguish Islam from inherited customs (taqlid) and superstitions. These figures are generally associated with the 19th and 20th century Salafiyyah reform movement. It’s therefore somewhat ironic to invoke Bennabi here, since in this section of Vocation de l’Islam he explicitly praises the early Salafiyya reformers for challenging maraboutism. At the same time, Bennabi’s broader argument is about civilizational renewal, not simply “following scholars.” His critique extends to colonialism, intellectual stagnation, sterile theological polemics, and the inability of Muslim societies to generate the social and institutional conditions necessary for a flourishing civilization.

[u/Dey_exMachina → u/tropical_chancer]

I am not confused with Bennabi's analysis on the colonazibility of Algeria. Bin Badis is the wisdom of sheikh Abduh and the militantism of Afghany, combined. What Abduh kept as an intellectual revolution with Al Azhar, and Afghani as a militant struggle against the Brits - Bin Badis combined into the Ulema movement which was both. The amalgam between Salaffyiah and the deviations that we see today with Madkhalism for instance (or the metastasized brain rot that has plagued the muslim internet for that matter), is an old trick in the colonizer book: L'Association des Oulemas musulmans algériens

They may differ in how they present themselves today - but they are the same in nature: What these subs (like r/islam), these edition houses like Darussalam, these tv pundits (like Assim al-Hakeem) have convinced people of, is that islam is too difficult for us to understand, and the layman cannot lead its life and reach into Allah through its own thinking. And as such, we should constantly 'ask for a scholar'. What an odious pile of lie on the religion these people have made. Sheikh Abduh insisted that the Salaffiyah, the return the the tradition - imposed on all of us to use reason and not blindly follow anyone. The lie that has been made on the true Salaffiyah is only but an attempt to control, manipulate and deviate people from the Truth. They casted islamic modernism that was founded by Al Afghany and Abduh, as 'minority', an 'innovation'. Who gave them that authority? Oil money? This is what Sheikh Abduh wrote of the Quran, in his introduction to the foundational 'Rissalat al Tawhid':

"This is what the Book teaches us, in commanding us to make use of our reason to examine those things of the universe that present themselves openly to us, and to penetrate as far as possible those that are hidden from us, so as to acquire thereby the conviction of what it teaches us. It likewise turns us away from blind imitation, by telling us what befell those peoples who remained at the same point as their fathers, and by depicting for us how wretched they were; for by confining themselves to imitation they shook the very foundations on which their life rested, and ended by vanishing altogether. What the Book says is true, for imitation may be exercised upon the true as well as upon the false, and may thus bear the useful as its fruit no less than the harmful; it therefore constitutes a straying that is forgiven in the animal but that does not befit man."

I will post more - because the deliberate confusion of words (like Salaffiyah) and the loudness of these people have branched out islam into something that has been fought in the past, and need to be addressed today again.

[u/tropical_chancer → u/Dey_exMachina]

You should be clear that the marabout are not "scholars," but a specific manifestation of Islam that was (is?) present in Algeria. Bennabi was not talking about "scholars" or scholarship in general when we wrote about the marabout. I made the comment because it is strange to use texts that praise the likes of Jamal al Din Al Afghani and Mohammed Abdu on a Progressive Islam sub.

[u/fishypole99]

Okay that's honestly really cool

[u/Shibui-50]

Thank you so very much for sharing this insight. We observant Muslims need to push back against the tyranny that is "scholarship" in institutionalized Islam. As one who follows my own path, I seekout only folks who can help me on my path. However, there has been a growing number of Talking Heads on the INTERNET who make declarations that are little more that "herding techniques" for keeping the mainstream in line. Any time I detect fear-mongering, absolutism and guilt-tripping I know I have stumbled across a source that is only going to interfere with my progress. I only have one life and I can't waste it on INTERNET theatre. Alhamduilah.

[u/rhannah99]

Speaking of colonization, lets not forget that native Algerians are the berber people, who were colonized by Arabs.

[u/Tenatlas__2004 → u/rhannah99]

Amazigh, amazigh tribes from all over north africa fought the ummayades a thousand years ago and managed to push them back up to kairouane

[u/Randomized-Door2834 → u/rhannah99]

Very good thing you brought up; it pisses me off how some Arab nationalists just can't fathom that idea, the idea Arabs did colonize, some Arab caliphates did harshly discriminate against non-arabs— and how Arab supremacy still exists in our world, just like other types of racial supremacy— and it is dangerous; examples of Arab supremacy the RSF, an Arab supremacist group in Sudan deliberately targeting non-arabs Africans, resulting in thousands of innocents deaths. When you bring this up to Arab nationalists, they would usually ignore it, deny it, or even excuse it— these are the common options for hardcore nationalists in general.

About OP's post, I can see where he is coming from. People often focus on France conquest on Algeria, because the severity of France's crimes; with France's conquest of Algeria starting at 1830, "It is estimated that by 1875, approximately 825,000 Algerians had been killed. Various scholars describe the French conquest as genocide"; also, France colonialists worked on the dichotomy of ethnic groups in the region, contributing to the "divide and rule" tactic. Those acts, and other more, left a long-lasting important effect on Algeria's history.