Arabic Education in the Literature of the Independence Current within the Algerian National Movement, 1946–1954

Abstract

The independence current was among the most prominent components of the Algerian national movement, which attached considerable importance to Arabic education despite colonial efforts to erase the cultural identity of Algerian society. This current recognition of the scale of responsibility incumbent upon it in confronting the policy of cultural assimilation and in working to curb the deterioration that had affected both the cultural and educational spheres. Following the events of 8 May 1945, it intensified its activity in this field by establishing national schools and funding student missions to the Mashriq and the Maghreb to form elites deeply imbued with national identity. The purpose of these initiatives was not merely to disseminate education; rather, it extended to addressing the consequences of colonial policy. These schools were thus characterised by a distinctly national ethos that reinforced the values of belonging and anti-colonial resistance while adopting an educational organisation closely resembling that of the schools of the Association of Algerian Muslim Ulama.