This video is an excerpt
from the Italian classic "Battle of Algiers", depicting
the Islamic Algerian independence war against the French colonial
occupants, one of the bloodiest independence wars in history.
For a brief historical walkthrough,
as the Ottoman Islamic empire went into decline, most of its
periphery territory and vassals were seized by the superior
European military powers. France annexed Morocco, Algeria,
Tunisia, Lebanon, and Syria, with the former three conquered
throughout the 19th century, and the latter two as a reward
for defeating the Turks in World War I (Sykes-Picot Agreement).
The conquest of Algeria was difficult. Corsairs, pirates,
and Islamic Mujahidin refused to accept foreign occupants
-- let alone Christians -- in their land. After a bitter struggle,
Algeria was subdued and remained a colony from 1830 to 1962.
During World War II, North Africa was ruled mostly by the
Germans and Italians. France effectively switched sides and
joined the Germans with the new Vichy regime under Petain,
who was encouraged by Hitler to allow France's strategically-significant
colonies to be kept at a distance in case France's massive
empire were again to rise against the Third Reich. Lebanon
and Syria, indirectly thanks to Hitler's Reich, became some
of the first colonies to be free from France and any imperialist
power.
Drawing from the anti-colonial
hysteria that swept the world after World War II, the Muslims
of Algeria (Berbers and Arabs) led an independence war throughout
the 1960's that would rank was among the bloodiest conflicts
in history, with millions slain. For many, the revolt was
one of self-determination; for others, it was an Islamic Jihad
to protect dar-al-Islam (the Muslim community) from the tresspass
of the kafir (infidels). The revolution surely assumed an
Islamic character, appropriate for such a religious culture
as this, and the result is seen today in the struggle for
power between a dictatorial military regime and full Islamic-state-seeking
movements in Algeria. The anthem of the FLN (National Liberation
Front), only one of the many freedom-fighting groups, was
"Islam is our religion, Arabic our language, Algeria
our fatherland." As a result, many French as well as
Muslims today are rightly apt to view this as a antagonism
between Muslims and Europeans. The independence war was such
a humiliation for France that it contributed to the collapse
of the so-called 4th French Republic, just as the useless
wars in Angola and Mozambique led to the collapse of the Portuguese
Fascist government.
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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
James Mayfield is a historian
and the Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I have
a Cum Laude BA in History with a Minor in Germanic Studies
(language and history), am presently working for my Masters
in History, and plan to immediately progress to my PhD Doctorate.
I have a special academic interest in Europe's diverse ethnic
identities, languages, and cultures, and the political struggles
of native European and immigrant minority identities. See
my staff entry for more information.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
USED:
The film "Battle of
Algiers", directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, with the copyright
now expired.
Copyright ongoing since 2008-,
European Heritage Library®. www.euroheritage.net.
All Rights Reserved. The European Heritage Library is a non-profit academic
organization owned by
Chairman James Mayfield.
No email addresses or personal information is redistributed. No articles
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full citation and credit to the EHL as the original source.
