Publisher : L'Harmattan -

French

2020
470

The legal status of non-Muslims in Algeria. The example of evangelicals and Ahmadis.

This book, which focuses on the situation before 2019, provides keys to explaining the origins of the popular protest movement, the hirak. It shows how the State controls the society, which is predominantly Sunni, but has a religious plurality. The presence of Protestants became known in 2004 following mass conversions to evangelicalism; Ahmadis appeared on the legal landscape in 2016, after a series of arrests. Through the study of the legal status of non-Muslim Algerians, this work examines Algerian law in relation to Algeria’s international commitments. It is based on an analysis of case law, solid fieldwork and numerous interviews. It shows that the State controls the religious field and that Islam serves as an identity reference in an Algerian society that rejects any religious form that is considered alien to its society.

Cet ouvrage, portant sur la situation antérieure à 2019, donne des clés d’explication quant aux origines du mouvement de protestation populaire, le hirak. Il montre comment l’État contrôle la société, laquelle, majoritairement sunnite, connaît une pluralité religieuse. La présence des protestants s’est fait connaître en 2004 suite à des conversions massives vers l’évangélisme ; les ahmadis sont apparus dans le paysage juridique en 2016, après une série d’arrestations. À travers l’étude du statut juridique des Algériens non-musulmans, ce travail examine le droit algérien au regard des engagements internationaux de l’Algérie. Il repose sur l’analyse de la jurisprudence, un solide travail de terrain et de nombreux entretiens. Il en ressort que l’État contrôle le champ religieux et que l’Islam sert de référent identitaire dans une Algérie rejetant toute forme religieuse stigmatisée comme étrangère à sa société.

وضع غير المسلمين القانوني في الجزائر. نموذج الإنجيليّين والأحمديّين كمثال.
يتناول هذا الكتاب وضعَ الجزائر قبل العام 2019 ويقدّم أدوات تشرحُ أصول حركات الاحتجاج الشعبيّة التي عُرفت بالحِراك. ويوضّحُ كيفية سيطرةِ الدولة على المجتمع ذات الغالبية السنيّة الذي يشهدُ تعدّديةً دينيّةً. والواقعُ أنّ الحضور البروتستانتي تجلّى في العام 2004 بعد ظاهرة اعتناقات جماعيّة مكثّفة للإنجيليّة. أمّا الأحمديّون فظهروا في المشهد القانوني في العام 2016 بعد سلسلةٍ من الاعتقالات. ويتفحّص هذا العملُ مدى احترام القانون الجزائري لالتزامات الجزائر الدولية، على ضوء دراسة وضعِ الجزائريين غير المسلمين القانوني. ويستندُ إلى تحليل الاجتهادات، وعمل ميدانيّ متقن ومقابلات كثيرة. ويتوصّل إلى استناج مفاده أنّ الدولة تسيطر على الحقل الديني وأنّ الإسلامَ يُشكّل مرجعاً للهويّة في الجزائر التي ترفضُ أيّ دين تصِمه بالغريب عن مجتمعها.

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