Movement for the Society of Peace
| Leader | Abderrazak Makri |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1990 |
| Headquarters | Algiers, Algiers Province, Algeria |
| Ideology | Sunni Islamism |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| National affiliation | Green Algeria Alliance |
| International affiliation | Muslim Brotherhood |
| Website | |
| www.hmsalgeria.net | |
The Movement for the Society of Peace (Arabic: Harakat mujtama' as-silm حركة مجتمع السلم, formerly called Hamas حماس, French: Mouvement de la société pour la paix) is an Islamist party in Algeria, led until his 2003 death by Mahfoud Nahnah. Its current leader is Bouguerra Soltani. It is aligned with the international Muslim Brotherhood.
The Muslim Brotherhood reached Algeria during the later years of the French colonial presence in the country (1830–1962). Sheikh Ahmad Sahnoun led the organization in Algeria between 1953 and 1954 during the French colonialism. Brotherhood members and sympathizers took part in the uprising against France in 1954-1962, but the movement was marginalized during the largely secular FLN one-party rule which was installed at independence in 1962.
Islamist forces however remained active in religious education, mosques and religious associations, including sympathizers of the Muslim Brotherhood. Brotherhood activists generally refrained from confronting the regime, which did not tolerate independent opposition, but sometimes protested the government and generally argued for a greater role for Islam in the country's politics.
Islamists also called for increased Arabization of education and the state bureaucracy, and gained a foothold through heavy state backing for the early Arabization programs under Presidents Ahmed Ben Bella and Houari Boumédiène. The reformist-Islamist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, in particular, was strengthened through the recruitment of Arabic language teachers from other Arab countries, particularly Egypt, which is the Brotherhood's main stronghold.
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