MYSTIC SUFI: BOUTEFLIKA'S ISLAMIC GAMBIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ALGIERS 001220

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2018
TAGS: PGOV KISL PREL AG
SUBJECT: MYSTIC SUFI: BOUTEFLIKA'S ISLAMIC GAMBIT

REF: ALGIERS 651

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Thomas F. Daughton;
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: As he did prior to his 2004 reelection,
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has begun raising the profile
of Algeria's Sufi religious schools -- the zaouias -- both as
a tool for political mobilization and to counter Islamic
extremism with a moderate, homegrown alternative. Within
Islam, the zaouias are a flashpoint for controversy, part of
a saint-like tradition that irritates and attracts Muslims on
both sides of the Sunni-Shi'a divide and dates back to the
very origins of Islam itself. Much like an Islamic Order of
Masons, Sufism persists in North Africa as a quiet and
time-worn means of social organization, one of very few
forces still able to bind together a tribal Algerian society
atomized by the terrorism of the 1990s and the desperation of
youth today. Bouteflika, himself an adherent of the Tidjania
zaouia of Tlemcen, has embraced the religious hot potato that
is Sufism as his primary religious strategy to counter the
extreme and imported Salafism that has attracted new recruits
to Al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
While hitching his star to the zaouias has proven effective
in bringing Bouteflika political gain, it is less clear that
his strategy has kept extremism at bay, particularly as
Bouteflika seems to move the zaouias into the spotlight only
around presidential election season. END SUMMARY.

A DISCREET BROTHERHOOD NOW MAKING HEADLINES
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2. (C) A November 4 International Symposium of the Tidjania
brotherhood, a Sufi seminar organized under Bouteflika's
auspices, gathered some 400 participants from a dozen
countries in the restless eastern oasis town of El Oued
(reftel). While it is rare to read about the zaouias in the
Algerian press, the conference made front-page headlines in
several French-language newspapers, including the official
state mouthpiece, El Moudjahid. According to the personal
speech Bouteflika sent to the event, "Sufism is a way to
salvation in a disappointing world of globalization," and
thus the Tidjania zaouia "has a mission to fulfill." The
Tidjania zaouia, like Bouteflika himself, is of uncertain
Moroccan or Algerian origin. Founded in Fes in 1790 by
religious scholar Ahmed Tidjani, Algeria claims its current
headquarters is in Adrar, while Morocco believes it remains
in Fes. Like many other zaouias, the Tidjania network
extends throughout North Africa, through the Sahara and down
into Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali and beyond.

RECONCILING ISLAMIC SAINTS AND ANTI-COLONIALISM
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3. (C) Historically, Sufi zaouias emerge around a holy man,
or marabout, who acquires a following in life and the
trappings of sainthood after death. The very concept of
sainthood, or of any mortal approaching the divine, is
anathema to the hardline Wahabi and Salafi versions of Sunni
Islam to the east, which provide the theological
underpinnings of Al-Qa'ida. Since Algeria's independence in
1962, the Muslim Scholars Association (Ulema) has strongly
fought zaouia influence, with notable Ulema Cheikh Ben Badis
denouncing zaouias as "a serious deviation from Islam," and
worshipping the Sufi saints "a serious affront to God's
uniqueness." Meanwhile, the Sufi zaouias also have strong
historical ties to Shi'a Islam. During the Fatimid caliphate
(909-1171 AD) -- the only period of Shi'a rule in North
Africa -- Sufi culture was also exploited for political
purposes, as the Shi'a tradition of respecting the most
learned Islamic scholars meshed comfortably with Sufi
"maraboutism." Many Sunni Muslims across North Africa worry
to this day that the persistence of the zaouias will one day
sow the seeds for a Shi'a resurgence from within, led by
Iran.


4. (C) The Sufi zaouias have retained their role at the
center of Algerian society in spite of repeated efforts to
eliminate them. In the 1970s President Houari Boumediene
sought to marginalize and contain their political influence,
seeing them as archaic. During the 1990s, the Islamic
Salvation Front (FIS) and its militant cousin, the Armed
Islamic Group (GIA),routinely attacked the zaouias and
killed their leaders. With Bouteflika's election in 1999,
however, the zaouias began to witness a revival that became

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more pronounced prior to his 2004 reelection and have become
more relevant during his second term. As El Watan journalist
Adlene Meddi told us recently, Bouteflika "found religion"
following his grave illness in 2005, and began to see his
Sufi faith as more than just an expedient political bridge
across rival Islamic sects.


5. (C) The Sufi zaouia tradition, while present throughout
the region, has its North African epicenter in western
Algeria. Government offices in Oran, which in Algiers would
feature exclusively the portrait of Bouteflika, display
prominent photos or paintings of Emir Abdelkader, the Sufi
marabout from Oran who led the fight against the French in
the 1830s and 40s -- and became a Freemason in 1864. During
our October 20 visit to Oran, Mayor Saddek Benkada, also a
historian, explained the huge significance of the Sufi zaouia
tradition in Algerian society. He observed that the zaouias
dotting the western Algerian landscape have always been a
primary tool for mobilizing the population. Through messages
passed by the zaouias, western Algerians rallied to chase the
Spanish from Oran's coasts in 1792, Benkada explained, and
then Abdelkader used them to organize the fight against the
French. As a result, he said, the zaouias are more powerful
and more concentrated in those areas where the anti-colonial
fight was strongest -- in his view, the west, where Algeria
is closest to Europe. Although they try to remain
apolitical, Benkada said that it was impossible for the
zaouia brotherhoods to hide their political force,
"particularly under Bouteflika."

USING WESTERN SUFISM TO UNITE ALGERIA
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6. (C) During the three-day El Oued symposium, participants
debated Sufi mysticism and the "triptych" of knowledge, work
and belief, which makes up the backbone of Sufi thought. The
conference unsurprisingly concluded with a recommendation for
a Tidjania renewal, to consolidate its ties and develop its
connections throughout the world. The Tidjania zaouia, while
centered in western Algeria, boasts tens of millions of
followers across the globe. Known for a moderate and
tolerant brand of Islam, Tidjania's current spiritual leader,
Cheikh Mohamed Laid Tidjani, emphasized in closing that "all
members should work for a synergy of skills in order to
revive the beacon of forgiveness and dialogue" within Islam.


7. (C) According to political analyst Rachid Grim, "Algerians
are naturally attracted to the zaouias, because there they
practice a type of Islam they know and like." Even among the
inhabitants of big cities, who are not as exposed to the
zaouias as their rural counterparts in the bled
(countryside),most Algerians visit the "family zaouia" on
regular occasions. For most Algerians, first exposure to the
Qur'an comes not in a mosque but in extra-curricular time
spent at a zaouia. Moreover, in many small cities and
villages, the settlement of family and financial conflicts
takes place not in courts but at the hands of the cheikh of
the local zaouia, who, more than the mayor, is the key
influential figure at the local level.

SUNNI BY DAY, SUFI BY NIGHT
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8. (C) Grim added that the zaouias have "always been used to
counterbalance political Islam and outsiders," a fact that
represents a source of fear and concern for the Algerian
authorities. Because an Algerian's affiliation with a zaouia
is not advertised and rules for political and social Islam
are not clearly defined in Algeria, Grim said, zaouias may
"overstep" into the political arena. El Watan journalist
Salima Tlemcani followed Bouteflika during the 2004
presidential campaign. She told us recently that
Bouteflika's focus on the zaouias leading up to the elections
was "systematic," as he stopped "at every zaouia in his path,
bringing suitcases full of cash to donate," showing respect
and humility towards zaouia leaders, and visiting the
mausoleums of deceased Sufi marabouts. Said Tlemcani, "he
openly asked their for their blessing and political support
at each stop."

COMMENT: HOPING HIS LUCK DOESN'T RUN OUT
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9. (C) With the rise of Al-Qa'ida-style extremism,
Bouteflika's government has relied on the zaouias to play the

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card of tolerance and dialogue while exploiting his personal
version of Sufi Islam for political gain. As a political
choice, the Sufi zaouias are a potent part of the Algerian
identity, one of very few that can transcend religious and
tribal lines. The problem with pitting the zaouias against
Salafism and AQIM, as expressed by journalist Tlemcani, is
that Bouteflika only highlights the zaouias "in election
season" whereas the fight against extremism is a constant
struggle. While betting on the ancient Sufi mystic tradition
may seem ironic for a president who stated upon election that
"Islam should be open to universality and modernity," lately
Bouteflika has succeeded in rehabilitating and activating the
zaouias once again, for social and political influence. In
March 2008, Cheikh Zouhir, president of the National
Association of Zaouias in Algeria (ANZA),issued a statement
openly inviting Bouteflika to run for a third term -- a
statement that reached the most distant corners of Algerian
society through the zaouia network. "Thanks to him," Zouhir
wrote, "the zaouias have regained their position in society."
Having the the zaouias on his side can only help Bouteflika
maintain his grip on his political base in advance of the
2009 presidential elections.
DAUGHTON