plex economies and within two centuries formed
two major kingdoms. The region was then ruled
by Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, and ultimately
Arabs, who in the seventh century c.e. invaded
from the east, initiating a long slow process of
Arabization and Islamization of the native popula-
tion. Political rule of the area for Arabs remained
elusive, however, alternating between Berber king-
doms and Arab dynasties until the 16th century,
when Ottomans extended their power south from
istanbUl and took control of Algeria. Throughout
this period, North Africa provided a vital corridor
for economic and cultural exchanges between the
Middle East, Islamicate Spain, and sub-Saharan
Africa. Also notable in this period was the devel-
opment of prominent Sufi (marabout) brother-
hoods (including the Qadiriyya, Tijaniyya, and
Rahmaniyya) that were organized around char-
ismatic spiritual leaders and were renowned for
fostering spiritual and political communities that
transcended powerful tribal affiliations.
From 1830 to 1962, France occupied and
administered Algeria as a colony. Early resistance
was led by abd al-qadir, a young man educated
in the qadiri sUFi order, but ended in his defeat
in 1847 and exile to damascUs in 1855. Algerians
ultimately gained independence from France on
July 5, 1962, after a protracted and bloody war
lasting eight years. They established a secular
socialist state led by the revolutionary FLN (Front
de Liberation National) party, which has governed
uninterrupted until the present day. During the
cold war, Algeria became prominent in the non-
aligned movement, a bloc of countries committed
to creating a third world force through a policy of
nonalignment to the United States and the Soviet
Union. Beginning in the 1980s, the state faced an
increasingly powerful Islamic opposition move-
ment that resulted in major electoral victories
for the FIS (Front Islamic du Salut) in 1990 and
- The military responded by nullifying the
election results, which touched off years of vio-
lence between militant Islamist groups and the
Algerian military in which up to 100,000 civil-
ians are believed to have been killed. By 2005,
the major violence had subsided, and moderate
Islamist groups were brought into the govern-
ment. Many core issues such as the role of religion
in Algerian society, government corruption, and
the desire of Kabylie Berbers for more autonomy
remain unresolved.
See also almohad dynasty; ottoman dynasty;
politics and islam; sUFism.
Michelle ZimneyFurther reading: Robert Malley, The Call from Alge-
ria: Third Worldism, Revolution, and the Turn to Islam
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996); Hugh
Roberts, The Battlefield: Algeria 1988–2002, Studies in
a Broken Polity (New York: Verso, 2003); John Ruedy,
Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992).Aligarh
A city in Uttar Pradesh (a state in northern india),
Aligarh first came under Muslim influence at the
end of the 12th century during the rule of Qutb
al-Din Aybak (r. 1206–11), the sUlta n at delhi.
ibn bat tUta (d. 1369), the great Muslim traveler,
visited Aligarh during his journeys in India. The
region remained under Muslim rule through the
Mughal period until 1785, when it was conquered
by the Hindu Marathas and eventually annexed by
the British in 1803.
The town is most famous for an educational
institute founded by Sir sayyid ahmad khan (d.
1898) in 1871. Beginning as a boys’ school in
1878, the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MAO)
College was incorporated there. The curriculum
incorporated Islamic sciences with instruction
in Arabic and modern edUcation modeled on
the British system with instruction in English.
Although the college’s mission has always been
focused on uplifting the Muslim population of
India, the enrollment has also been open to non-
Muslims. The goal of the institution was to cre-K 32 Aligarh