The Muslim Empire

We are more than a billion of Muslims watching live the slaughtering of our brothers in Gaza. We feel helpless, we feel humiliated and we feel guilty because we are unable to help them, neither militarily – to defend them and free our colonized holy land, nor “humanitarianly” – to save them from starvation, send them medicines, food, or some water.

All we can do is to stand at the door of empires with our plea for a ceasefire, begging mercy from them at the empires security council AKA United Nations Security Council. And it takes a single-handed veto from the evil empire to reject our plea and for the genocide to go on despite our billion unheard voices. Then, trapped in our shameful weakness, we act as if we can’t see the jungle-like world we live in where empires rule with fear and terror. We play the game of the so-called western civilized world and abide by their unfair rules. We draft another plea to deposit once again at the feet of the same evil empire who is the first accomplice in this genocide. We keep humiliating ourselves again and again.

Why?

Bisan, the Palestinian Anne Franck…

1944

Anne Frank is famously known in the West for her diary written during the Second World War. The young Jewish girl wrote her diary while hiding from the Nazi persecution with her family in Amsterdam. She chronicled occurring events as well as her emotions and thoughts until she was discovered by the Nazis and sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where she died in 1945.

For the West, Anne Franck’s diary is a precious poignant testimony denouncing Nazi horrors against Jews. Her story is often told to young people at schools in Europe to remember the Jewish victims of WW2. Allegedly, such remembrance aims to prevent future recurrence of such crimes in Europe and the world.

Allegedly …

2023

Bisan Owda is a native Arab Palestinian girl and not a young European Jew. She and her family are imprisoned in a concentration camp in occupied Palestine and not in Nazi Germany. Instead of a diary, she is recording live videos on Instagram and TikTok to chronicle her living conditions in Gaza concentration camp, recording the persecution of her people by the Israeli Zionist army: the daily shelling of their homes targeting civilians, killing entire families: women, children and babies. She was sending poignant live testimony of the ongoing genocide of Gaza.

Macron et le chantage mémoriel…

Le déjeuner présidentiel qui avait pour but d’apaiser les blessures mémorielles, a réuni autour de Macron, les petits enfants de la guerre d’Algérie : les petits enfants de combattants du FLN, de Harkis, de collons et pieds noirs, et même de leader de l’OAS ; en d’autres termes, les descendants des bourreaux et des victimes.

La france a-t-elle dejà organisé un tel déjeuner par le passé?

Un déjeuner présidentiel pour apaiser les blessures mémorielles de la deuxième guerre mondiale et qui aurait réuni les descendants des SS nazis avec ceux des déportés d’Auschwitz ou des collabos de Vichy avec ceux des résistants… ?

Bien-sûr que Non.

Toutes les blessures et toutes les mémoires ne se valent pas…

Durant ce déjeuner présidentiel le président français a tenu un discours qui a le mérite de nous rappeler que la mémoire coloniale de la France est inconciliable avec les blessures de la mémoire de l’Algérie indépendante.

The Larbaa Nathiraten Horror, the lynching of Jamel BenSmail

History remembers the Waco horror in the USA, the racially motivated lynching of Jessy Washington in the town of Waco, Texas in 1916. Jesse Washington, a black man, was convicted of the murder of a white woman. He was then lynched : beaten, tortured and burnt by the mob. People gathered to watch the lynching appeared in photos smiling at the camera posing beside the burnt body of Jessy. Some of these photos were even sold as postcards.

History will remember the Larbaa Nathiraten Horror, the lynching of Jamel BenSmail in Algeria in 2021.

Why Algeria stands with Palestine

Through Algerian eyes, Palestine in 2021 is a vision of Algeria before 1962, before independence from French colonial occupation.

Palestinians’ fate of mass killing and ethnical cleansing, lands’ confiscation and forced exile, imprisonment and torture, racism and apartheid has a familiar feeling of déjà vu for Algerians.

المسلسلات التاريخية وبرمجة العقول

أصبحت المسلسلات التاريخية تنتج مؤخرا بكثرة في الدول العربية والإسلامية وخاصة في تركيا. فترى الشباب الذي يهجرمطالعة كتب التاريخ يواظب على مشاهدة هذه المسلسلات التاريخية بكثير من الاهتمام. فتراه ينتظر بشغف كل أسبوع بث الحلقة الجديدة من مسلسله التاريخي المفضل.

Can the Algerian speak?

This thread on Twitter is a good example of the paternalistic eurocentrism frequently expressed by some European scholars who specialises in African issues. The Scholar judged, in his tweet, a post made by an Algerian citizen comparing French colonialists, who massacred civilians in the 8^th of May 1945, to Nazis.

Transition, now and then. Why I did vote in the presidential elections …

Transition … In my memory, this word is still wrapped in a tale of trauma, fear and pain.

I was born in Algiers in the seventies. Algeria then, was a peaceful place to live in. My Algeria was a sovereign country still proud of its revolution against colonial france… We used to respect the memory of our martyrs, our leader and our army…

But everything changed in 1988 when spontaneous demonstrations rocked the mundane life of Algiers. Protests calling for regime change soon turned into violent riots. The president called the army to restore peace. And the army of General Nezzar came in. Heavy tanks invaded the white city of Algiers. On every plaza, rifles were aiming at protesters … ready to shoot. Hundreds of young Algerians were killed; others were arrested and tortured. Peace was finally restored.

What lies behind european parliament resolution on freedoms in Algeria?

The European parliament adopted a resolution on the situation of freedoms in Algeria. The French MP Raphaël Glucksman “BHL junior” announced the resolution in his tweet account boasting his support for the hirak against the government of Algeria.

Le Hirak, Nabni et la déconstruction du système Algérie…

J’ai toujours été étonnée par l’utilisation, abusive et hors de son sens exact, du concept “système” par le politique en Algérie. Nombreux sont les politiciens, journalistes et autres intellectuels qui usent et abusent de ce terme sans savoir vraiement ce qu’est un système complexe. Si dans une discussion banale, cet abus est toléré, il devient, toutefois, problématique, lorsque des chercheurs l’utilisent dans le contexte actuel du Hirak pour développer des scénarios politiques engageant l’avenir d’une nation. Là, il devient important de préciser le sens éxacte du concept pour mieux comprendre et délimiter la portée des propos de chacun.

Algeria and the Hash tag Revolutionaries

Drums of war are beating in North Africa, echoing endlessly in the ever expanding social media virtual world. They won’t stop, heralding the coming Arab spring to the land of Algeria. Facebooked, shared, retweeted…again and again. Change is coming, change is possible. Just pin the hash tag on your country’s name and join the revolution game. Every Friday, a new challenge to attain. Every Friday, new funny selfies to share. Join the crowd gathered spontaneously and shout the loudest you can “we- want- the- end- of- the- regime” and it will happen!…Your country’s regime will fall like a… domino …instantly and spontaneously.

Les handicapés de la raison et du cœur

Comme tous les Algériens, j’ai été éduquée dans le respect de la morale et des valeurs chères à la société algérienne. On m’a appris à respecter les personnes âgées, à respecter leur âge, leur expérience, leur savoir et leur sagesse. On m’a aussi appris à respecter les handicapés et infirmes dont les capacités physiques sont réduites suite à la maladie. On m’a appris à respecter leur dignité, à ne jamais attaquer leur infirmité, ni à se moquer de leur handicap. On m’a appris à me mettre toujours du côté de ces personnes pour leur venir en aide, les protéger et préserver leur dignité.

Je croyais que je partageais ces valeurs avec tous mes compatriotes Algériens. Malheureusement, ce n’est pas le cas.

Benghabrit et la dissonance cognitive

Gary Waters/Getty Images

Encore une fois, et sans surprise, la Ministre Benghabrit provoque une vive polémique par une nouvelle décision “anti-islamique” : interdire la prière à l’école. Cette décision n’est pas surprenante et s’accorde parfaitement avec la position idéologique de la Minsitre en faveur de la laïcité et que nous avons déjà analysé sur ce blog. Benghabrit qui a survécu à plusieurs remaniements ministériels n’est pas un quelconque ministre chargé d’appliquer docilement le programme de son gouvernement. Cet ancien directeur du CRASC, chercheur diplômée en sciences humaines, sociales et anthropologiques, est chargée d’une mission précise.

Revue du livre “Les contrebandiers de l’Histoire” de Boudjedra

En ces temps confus où s’élèvent, dans notre Algérie post-coloniale, des voies appelant à la trahison de l’idéal de la révolution de Novembre. En ces temps tristes marqués par la félonie et la lâcheté de nos « intellectuels », Rachid Boudjedra brise le silence pour dénoncer les contrebandiers de notre Histoire.

Après Ahmed Bensaada qui a dévoilé le rôle d’informateur indigène joué par Kamel Daoud dans son livre « Kamel Daoud : Cologne, contre-enquête » c’est au tour de Rachid Boudjedra de dévoiler avec courage  « l’idéologie de Harki » de certains intellectuels algériens qui dénigrent l’Algérie dans leurs « œuvres destructrices » au profit d’un néocolonialisme francophile.

The independence of the colonisés

Today we celebrate the 56th anniversary of the independence of Algeria from French colonization that lasted 132 years from 1830 to 1962.

Yes the achievement and sacrifice are worthy of a celebration and we have to be proud of. Algerian flags are unfurled on our highest landmarks. French colons and pieds-noirs have been booted out from our lands. We enjoy living in the colonial European cities they built on our lands…and that used to be forbidden to our people. Yes, it is worthy celebrating.

But … are we still independent?

The racist cartoon and the old Kabyl myth in post-colonial Algeria

They say : “a picture is worth a thousand words”, but …

This cartoon, published by the Algerian cartoonist Ghilas Ainouche from TSA (Tout sur l’Algérie, online francophone newspaper), shamefully depicts racist stereotypes and revives the old colonial Kabyl myth in postcolonial Algeria… Astonishingly, this cartoon did not draw any criticism in Algeria ; neither officials nor intellectuals reacted to this racist caricature.

Political bankruptcy – Why Algerians don’t vote…anymore

Legislative elections held last 4th of May in Algeria were supposed to be important and crucial according to the prevailing troubled geopolitical and national context. These elections came after Algeria has witnessed major institutional changes, such as the disbanding of the DRS in 2013 and the amendment of the new constitution lately this year ; as they also precedes the presidential elections planned for 2019. Yet, these elections brought nothing new and turned out to be the same old political carnival…

Kaplan’s “Algeria’s new imprint”…an old colonial vision of Algeria

My response to the Nation article.

Alice Kaplan’s “Algeria’s new imprint” article published in the Nation, and sadly celebrated and shared by the Francophile Algerians, exemplify the old colonial tale which value the subalterns’ ideas only when they fit the so called universal western norms of thoughts.

The smile of a martyr

This photo of the freedom fighter and martyr Larbi Benmhidi has always fascinated me. How a 34 years old man arrested and handcuffed, can be that calm showing a proud and peaceful smile in front of his enemies?

What was the secret of this radiant serenity…of this aura glowing from within?

La France des lumières’ trophy heads…of shame.

In Paris, in the city of light, nearby the Great mosque…in the prestigious Muséum National d’Histoire Naturel…in the darkness of the basement, are held in captivity, the tormented remains of Algerian heroes. Their skulls, hidden in old boxes tagged and stored like mere objects, are waiting for more than a century to be freed and repatriated to Algeria.

Photo credits Ali Farid Belkadi