Algerians

About ¾ of the population is concentrated in the foothills of the Tell Atlas, approximately 1.5 million people live in the highlands, and about 1 million live in the Sahara desert . The highest population density is observed near the capital and in the Kabiliya region. Followers of the Ibadite sect live in the Mzab Valley, in Ouargla and Algeria.

Most Algerians are Sunni Muslims ( Malikites and Hanafites ). The state religion is Islam . About 150 thousand Christians, mainly Catholics , and about 1 thousand followers of Judaism live in the country.

The official language is Arabic , but French is also spoken . Some of the Berber tribes who spoke tamahak and tamazight acquired their writing ^[1] .

Algeria was originally populated by Berber-speaking peoples. These peoples back in 2000 BC. e. moved here from the Middle East. Arabs settled in Algeria during the Islamic conquests of the 7th – 8th centuries. and nomadic migrations of the XI-XII centuries. The mixing of two waves of immigrants with the indigenous population led to the emergence of the so-called Arab-Berber ethnic group , in the cultural development of which the Arab element plays a dominant role. As the main ethnic subgroup of Algerian society, the Berbers play an important role in the life of the country. During the Roman and Arab conquests of North Africa, many Berbers migrated from the coast to the highlands. Berbers make up about 1/5 of the country's population. The largest concentration of the Berber population is observed in the highlands of Dzhurdzhur to the east of the capital, known as Kabiliya . Local residents, Kabil , settled in many cities of the country, but retain ancient traditions. Other significant groups of the Berber population are represented by the Shawiya tribal unions originating from the mountainous region around Batna , Mzabita, settled on the territory of the northern Sahara oases, and Tuareg nomads living in the extreme south in the Ahaggar region ^[2] .

• Household activities.

The main traditional occupation is arable farming ( wheat , barley , citrus fruits , grapes , olives , date palm , garden crops, etc.). Cattle breeding, collection of alpha grass, cork oak bark are also common. Nomads have camel breeding and sheep breeding . The mining industry appeared in the 19th century, and the extraction of oil and gas by the middle of the 20th century. Sea fisheries are common on the Mediterranean coast.

• Home.

Most Algerians live in cities. The types of traditional dwellings of Algerians are diverse. Depending on the area of ​​residence, these are stone, adobe or wooden buildings. Nomads have tents.

• Clothing.

Algerians wear modern clothes, but the traditional costume is still widespread. For men, this is a spacious cotton or wool shirt - a jellaba , wide trousers, embroidered vests and caftans. The most popular headdress is a red felt fez - tarbusch or sheshiya . In winter - a woolly burnus . For women - a spacious embroidered dress (gandura), caftans from cotton fabrics, silk or velvet. Embroidered belts are widespread, the cloak is chaotic. Shoes - sandals (nail), leather or fabric pointed-pointed grandmothers without a backdrop, or heavier sobbats ^[3] .

• Food.

Traditional foods include pan-Arab (flat cakes, stir-fry, various sauces), as well as dishes of Berber and African origin, such as couscous, tajine, etc.

• Music

Algerian folklore experienced significant influence both from the local Berber and from the descendants of immigrants from Muslim Andalusia living in many cities of Algeria. In traditional musical art, instruments known in other Arab countries are used - oud , rebab , eve , percussion (bandira, etc.) ^[4] .

After gaining independence in 1962, a strong centralized state was created in Algeria. Under the 1963 constitution, the National Liberation Front (TNF) became the only political party in the country. Algeria was declared a presidential republic, and the National Assembly became the legislative body. In 1963, Ahmed Ben Bella became the first president of the country, the following year he was elected Secretary General of the TNF. In 1965, as a result of a military coup led by Huari Boumedien Ben Bella was removed from his post, the constitution was suspended. Although the National Assembly was not dissolved, its activities were actually suspended. The real management of the country was carried out by the Revolutionary Council, which in 1966-1967 was transformed into an advisory body, and the administrative power passed to the Council of Ministers, which included several officers - close to Boumedien, and 12 civilians. In 1976, after a nationwide discussion, a referendum was held at which the ANDR National Charter and the new constitution were adopted.

The formation of the political system. The 1976 Charter proclaimed Algeria's commitment to the ideas of socialism and emphasized the leading role of TNF in the process of building a socialist society. According to the constitution, a popularly elected president embodied the unity of the political leadership of the party and the state and headed the Council of Ministers and the Supreme Security Council. Legislative power was vested in the popularly elected National People's Assembly. After the death of President Boumedien in 1978, his post was taken by Chadley Benjedid , subsequently re-elected to this post in 1984 and 1988. ^[5] . Constitutional amendments adopted in 1979 provided for some limitation of the president’s power. So, the term of the president in power was reduced from six to five years. The activities of political parties were permitted, and the prime minister was accountable to the National People's Assembly.

In December 1991, legislative elections were held in a multi-party system. The Islamic Salvation Front, a fundamentalist group that has become the main opposition party, has won 188 of 430 seats in the National People's Assembly. Seeking to prevent fundamentalists from seizing power, military circles forced President Benjedid to resign. To lead the country, a Supreme State Committee was created, headed by Muhammad Budiaf , who was considered a democratic opponent of the TNF. After the assassination of Budiaf in June 1992, Ali Kafi , a veteran of the war for the independence of Algeria, became the head of state (Mokhov 2006: 435)

In the early 1990s, Algeria entered the period of armed confrontation between the government and Islamist groups, which continues to this day. Despite the resumption of the state of emergency on February 9, 1993, attacks on well-known statesmen and public figures continued. By October 1993, about a thousand Islamists were killed, 3,800 appeared before special courts, 240 of them were sentenced to death.

In 1994, the radical opposition split into two groups: the Armed Islamic Group, operating in the capital itself and its environs, and the Armed Islamic Movement, based in the eastern and western parts of the country. In January of the same year, President Lamin Zerual , elected in the elections of November 16, 1995, promised to start a dialogue with the Islamic Salvation Front. In April 1996, the president announced a pacification program, which included three stages: holding a national conference in the middle of the year, holding a nationwide referendum on the proposed constitutional reform, and holding elections to the country's legislative body by mid-1997. The text of the new constitution received massive support at a 1997 referendum, but the opposition said its results were falsified.

Until 1989, the only legal political party was the National Liberation Front , which from the very first days of independence established a monopoly on power. The first congress of the party, in the conditions of Algerian independence, elected Ahmed Ben Bella as Secretary General of the TNF.

Following the legalization of political parties in 1989, many prominent members of the TNF left its ranks to create their own political organizations. The split in the ranks of the TNF between conservatives and reformers led to its crushing defeat in the 1990 and 1991 elections. By the time of the coup in January 1992, some political groups that had left the TNF had joined the Islamic parties. (Mokhov 2006: 426)

• Algeria

• Andrianov B.V. Algerians // Peoples and religions of the world / Chapters. ed. V.A. Tishkov . - M .: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1999.
• Mokhov N.V. Political system of Algeria: reasons for stability // Oriental collection / Chap. ed. A.O. Filonik. - M. , 2006 .-- 490 p.
• Asia and Africa today . Magazine No. 9. - M. , 1996. - S. 19-21.