Algeria- For historical reasons, it is famous for Algeria With the remarkable spread of Sufi orders in all its governorates, where their number exceeds at least 30 orders, although most of them are branches of the major orders in the country, which are the Rahmaniyya, Tijaniyya, Qadiriyya, Balqaidiyya, Shadhiliyya, and Alawiyya.
Although the activities of the Sufi orders are primarily educational, teaching and social, directed at their followers through more than 1,600 zawiyas throughout the country, according to unofficial estimates, their sheikhs have a close relationship with the men of state and authority, as they have moved their functions from the religious to the secular, and from the sacred to the political.
Many Algerian officials are also linked to Sufi notables, whether out of religious convictions or seeking religious approval, in order to consolidate their governmental positions, given the influence of the major zawiyas on the decision-making authority, especially during recent decades.
This Sufi entanglement with the state apparatus has provided it with a political presence and administrative influence, through the nomination of its members and friends to membership in national bodies related to the religious space, such as the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the “Supreme Islamic Council,” and the “Deanship of the Great Mosque of Algiers,” which is currently headed by a sheikh of a zawiya with the rank of minister.
hidden political role
The importance of Sufi influence within state institutions is highlighted by the appointment of an advisor to the presidency of the republic in charge of Quranic schools and corners, in addition to its interference in the appointment of figures close to it within government staff and senior positions.
Academic researcher Mohamed Ben Brika estimates the number of followers of Sufi orders in Algeria at least 2.5 million people, according to indicators concluded by his famous international encyclopedia in 21 parts, which makes its influence significant in electoral competitions.
In this regard, the General Caliphate of the Tijaniyya Order – one of the most widespread orders in the country – called on Algerians to participate strongly in the presidential elections of September 7, and to rally around the “New Algeria Project,” according to a statement signed by the General Caliph Sheikh Ali Belarabi Tijani.
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For its part, the Algerian Tayyibi Tihamiyya order, which is concentrated in the west of the country, also confirmed its support for the president. Abdelmadjid TebbouneEarlier, the General Sheikhdom of the Qadiriyya Order in Algeria and all of Africa announced its involvement in “the President’s efforts to unite and consolidate ranks, and unite all the sons of Algeria.”
Regarding the ability of the zawiyas and their notables to influence public opinion in the elections and direct it in favor of the candidates, the researcher in political sociology, Faisal Izdarn, says that the Sufi orders are “religious, educational, and advocacy institutions, and in their entirety are reformist. They do not have a political project, or even a political discourse, and they cannot formulate that, but they enjoy religious authority and a symbolic charge with which they influence their followers.”
The analyst confirms to Al Jazeera Net that the Sufi orders have a role “behind the scenes” in structuring the Algerian political scene, explaining that “the authorities have used them since the 1990s to confront Islamic movements that draw their ideas from outside the borders, to curb their rampant sweeping of the social space in all its terrain,” as he put it.
Izdaran added that the late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika He was a follower of the Belkaidiya Zawiya, and his rule witnessed an effective role for Sufi orders in mobilizing loyalties to political authority. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has repeatedly praised the importance of the Zawiya in social life, crediting them with preserving the cultural and religious identity of Algerians and contributing to the fight against extremism and deviation.
Therefore, the analyst believes that Sufi orders have moral and symbolic authority, which enables them to grant certificates of satisfaction to competitors, and all the disciples have to do is follow the choice of the zawiya or the method. However, their influence remains subject to geographical and urban considerations, “as we find their influence in the interior cities of western Algeria, the high plateaus and the desert areas, due to a tight organizational structure and considerable material and moral resources, unlike the urban basins.”
Historical relationship
Regarding the candidate most likely to benefit from the popular Sufi vessel in the upcoming presidential elections, the researcher in the political roles of Sufi orders in the African Sahel, Bouhania Qawi, confirmed that the choices of the Algerian zawiyas are disciplined and linked to two variables:
- The first is the vision and strategy of the Sheikh of the Tariqa, which is close to hierarchical institutions (the hierarchical administrative apparatus), as it adheres to the instructions of the leadership.
- The second variable that local angles do not deviate from is the official state vision, represented in resorting to its supreme leadership and public policies, where during electoral dates it is closer to the nation’s perspective towards the ruler, but according to a political assessment that tends towards the correctness of the regime’s vision and the best options that guarantee stability and continuity, according to the researcher’s description.
In the same context, Bouhania explained that the historical relationship between the political system and the zawiyas is stable and almost free of conflict, especially during the last two decades, with the growing media presence of the major Sufi orders in the country, leading to the presidency of the “Algiers Mosque Foundation” being assigned to the Sheikh of the Rahmaniya Zawiya with the rank of minister, in reference to Sheikh Muhammad al-Mamun al-Qasimi al-Hasani.
The analyst highlighted his idea by saying that the Sufi discourse in Algeria has always been reconciled with the political administration since 1962, and that it tends to be calm and non-revolutionary, and therefore did not agree with the “political Islam” project. Accordingly, the zawiyas in Algeria can only align with national choices, “to ensure that they do not risk supporting Islamic movements that have been unfriendly to them for decades.”
As for the Kabylie region, which contains many historical corners and has a great impact on the Algerian collective conscience, its candidate, Youssef Ouchich, did not flirt with it in his speeches, and did not address religious affairs except in passing in his talk about “Islam in North Africa,” as the analyst himself states.
Therefore, the expert does not expect the Kabyle corners to support the Socialist Forces Front candidate in an influential way, especially since Abdelmadjid Tebboune recently made a historic visit to Tizi Ouzou province.
First beneficiary
In contrast, Bouhenia Qawi asserts that the candidate president will be the first to benefit from the electoral pot of the Sufi corners for several reasons. Tebboune has previously said it clearly, “I support the corners,” while “we have not heard any other candidate to date speak this language,” the researcher says, considering the position of the candidate president a message of confidence and reassurance, which the corners will meet with voting behavior.
He added that Tebboune maintains special relations with the Sufi corners, due to his southern descent from the Naama Governorate and its geographical extensions in the Sahara Desert, in addition to the fact that he himself is the son of an ancient corner that extends to Ben Samghoun.
Tebboune has strengthened his ties with the notables of the Sufi orders during his years of work. Analyst Bouhenia recalled Tebboune’s initiative to sponsor the first comprehensive international African conference in the name of the Sufi scholar Abdelkrim El-Maghili, which is an important and strategic gesture, from his point of view.
All these factors push the deeply rooted corners in Algeria to line up around President Tebboune explicitly and without concealment, which is currently observed in the electoral rallies, before being translated through the ballot boxes next Saturday, according to the analyst’s expectations.
