Benaouda Bensaid

Sustainability in multi-religious societies: an Islamic perspective

The question of sustainability in multi-religious societies underscores interrelating theological, moral and cultural issues affecting the very process of social co-existence, cohesion and development. This article discusses Islam’s understanding of the question of sustainability in multi-religious contexts while highlighting the contribution of Islam’s spiritual, moral, and legal values to sustainability. This article sheds light on key Islamic concepts and core values related to sustainable development in multi-religious societies. The study of Islamic insights to sustainability offers valuable considerations for the understanding and amelioration of development in multi-religious or multi-cultural societies.

The French colonial occupation and the Algerian national identity: alienation or assimilation?

The problem of cultural identity continues to plague the Algerian society half a century after liberation from French colonisation in 1962. This paper seeks to analyse the question of Algerian national identity during the French colonial occupation, discuss its causes, manifestations and ramifications, and examine the policies of alienation and assimilation adopted by the French authorities in their treatment of their subjects. This study shows that issues of culture and identity were continually used as strategies of control and domination, and that both of these policies carried out decisive impact on both the past and present development of Algeria.

Memorizing the Words of God: Special Reference to ‘Abdul Rahman Ibn Khaldun (D. 1406 A.D.)

Abstract This study explores the position of the tradition of Qur’an memorization in the structure of Muslim primary education and intellectual hierarchy while drawing on the Khaldunian perspective regarding the problem of memorization versus comprehension of the Qur’an. This article concludes that the practice of Qur’an memorization is what shapes the spirit and character of Muslim traditional learning, and defines its holistic approach, chain of transmission and authority, and moreover characterizes its spiritual collectiveness. Future studies should explore the diverse challenges this tradition encounters today and how they have affected its current course and its contribution toward global Muslim identity.

Desert-Based Muslim Religious Education: Mahdara as a Model

Abstract As one of the oldest surviving educational religious models in the history of Muslim education, Mahdara remains a poorly studied desert-based religious institution of traditional learning. In its Bedouin context, the Mahdara produced religious scholars no less competent in the mastery of religious Islamic sciences than graduates of other reputable Islamic learning institutions. This article explores the historical development of the Mahdara, its academic program, social system, and contribution to the Mauritanian community while highlighting the major problems modernity poses to it in its struggle to preserve its sociohistorical position in society.

Sufism and Politics in Contemporary Egypt: A Study of Sufi Political Engagement in the Pre and Post-revolutionary Reality of January 2011

Experts on Sufi movements relegate a rather significant and critical role for Sufism in the formation of redefined political forces on the new post-Arab Spring political map. This is particularly true for one of the most vibrant Sufi capitals of the Muslim world, Egypt, holding a record sum of more than 10 million Sufi members. In spite of this, however, one year after the Revolution in Egypt, political developments exhibited a pattern of failure of Sufis gaining political ground in the post-Mubarak political arena. This paper discusses contentions and problematic issues Sufis faced with respect to politics in Egypt, with particular focus given to their political experience in Egypt. This study seeks to explore the Sufi experience throughout the process of political struggle, while examining their contributions to the November 2011 elections in an attempt to unveil the factors culminating in their political setback in spite of their massive membership base, and the official favored support of the state, both on the local and international fronts. The study concludes that the nature of the Sufi practice itself contributed to a restraining of their political presence, in addition to their lack of political awareness, poor organization and populism, all of which acted critically toward creating a failed political journey for the Sufi orders in modern Egypt.

A Cultural Analysis of Ottoman Algeria (1516-1830): The North –South Mediterranean Progress Gap

A number of works have dealt with the socio-political and economic history of Algeria under the Ottoman protectorate; yet the intellectual and cultural life of this period remains poorly explored. We examine the question of ‘progress’ against the intellectual and religious life of Ottoman Algeria, analysing the reasons behind the negligent European intellectual influences upon Ottoman Algeria. We review pre-colonial Algeria’s cultural and intellectual landscape in order to assess the reaction of Algerian society to European ideas originating in the French Revolution and the Enlightenment. Algeria’s intellectual context, learning system, and the public practice of Sufism contributed significantly to building resistance to European intellectual infiltration and influence, while the European communities in Algeria played a marginal role in shaping Algeria’s intellectual and cultural life. In spite of its inherent political and geostrategic advantages, Ottoman Algeria failed to achieve a balance between military power and politics in the Mediterranean region, and its own inherent cultural resources.