al-Jazair al-Tha'ira
- Author died
- 1378 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Hudā
al-Jazair al-Tha'ira (Revolting Algeria) is a collection of political writings, articles, speeches, and historical documents by the Algerian Islamic reformist and activist al-Fudayl al-Wartilani (1900–1959 CE), documenting the struggle against French colonialism and advocating for the Algerian Revolution .
Compilation and Publication History
The material comprising the book was compiled, arranged, and printed in 1956 by Jam'iyyat 'Ibad al-Rahman, a Lebanese Islamic association in Beirut that maintained close ties with al-Wartilani . However, it was not publicly circulated at the time due to the political and military conditions prevailing in Algeria during the revolution .
The work was subsequently reprinted in Beirut in 1963 . A third edition was released by Dar al-Huda in Algeria in 1991, followed by a fourth, expanded and illustrated edition in 2007 featuring an introduction by Dr. Hassan al-Jilani .
Contents and Themes
The book functions as a primary documentary record spanning the period from the establishment of the Front for the Defense of North Africa (Jabhat al-Difa' 'an Shamal Ifriqiya) through the outbreak of the Algerian Revolution in November 1954 and up to 1956 . It incorporates official statements, cables, and memoranda issued by the Association of Algerian Muslim Scholars and its bureau in Cairo, which al-Wartilani directed alongside Muhammad al-Bashir al-Ibrahimi .
Key themes and texts in the collection include:
- Critique of French Colonial Rule: Al-Wartilani cites official French parliamentary records to detail colonial atrocities, notably the massacres of May 1945 in which an estimated 40,000 Algerians were killed and 40 villages burned .
- Open Letters and Political Correspondence: The collection contains eighteen open letters addressed in 1954 to the French ambassador in Cairo—refuting French characterizations of Algerian grievances—and an open letter published in February 1956 addressed to French Prime Minister Guy Mollet .
- National and Regional Unity: Al-Wartilani refutes colonial "divide and rule" strategies aimed at separating Arab and Berber populations, asserting the unified Arab-Islamic identity of North Africa, and argues that the independence of Tunisia and Morocco remains incomplete without the liberation of Algeria .
- Pan-Arab and Islamic Solidarity: The book includes diplomatic telegrams and appeals sent to Arab and international leaders—such as Sudanese Prime Minister Ismail al-Azhari—as well as memoranda concerning the cause of Palestine .
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