Religious Violence and the Cultural Alienation of North African Youth

Religious Violence and the Cultural Alienation of North African Youth Jun 28, 2014 Written by  Eden Almasude, Guest Contributor Since December 2013, deadly clashes have occurred in Algeria’s central Ghardaia region, breaking the calm tension after Algeria’s recent history of religious violence and civil war in the 1990s. These clashes have been between the Arab-identified Maliki and Amazigh Ibadi communities—religious communities in the region with doctrinal differences. With at least 13 people killed and thousands of Algerian police and gendarmes deployed to the province, the situation in Ghardaia requires attention from a foreign policy perspective, as it points to an underlying issue of religious stability in North Africa. While there are superficial doctrinal disputes between the Maliki and Ibadi groups, the fundamental issues in Ghardaia are ethnic and sociopolitical. Religious violence is not a new phenomenon in the country: the legacy of the Algerian Civil War throughout the 1990s continues to impact politics through the memories and political landscape of the people. This history is inextricably intertwined with the...

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