كتاب تاريخ الجزائر الثقافي

الجزء التاسع - محتوى الجزء التاسع - ج: 9 - ص: 366

of Algiers was founded) ushered in a new era for the French orientalists. These activities, however, culminated in ١٩٠٥ when the ١٤ th International Congress of the Orientalists was held in Algiers under the leadership of René Basset himself and the sponsorship of the Governor Général Charles Jonnart. The French orientalists while working to consolidate their country's colonial plans, translated and published manuscripts and studies which served in many ways the Algerian cultural heritage.

The French period witnessed also the birth of various scientific commissions, societies, specialized institutions and congresses. They all left a great deal of materials which those interested in Algerian culture find very useful

The Algerians, although they contributed to the Arabic and Islamic culture, were not aware of their particular role. At the time of the Ottomans, Algerian Ulama (scholars) such as Ahmed Al-Makkary, Yahia Al-Shawi, Ahmed Ibn Ammar .... found themselves immigrants in Morocco and in the Near East. In most cases, the Ottoman regime alienated Algerian scholars who, consequently, sought refuge elsewhere. Some of them, however, remained home but they were domesticated or they entered into a mystic seclusion. This was the time of great saints or holy men

During the French period the Algerian Ulama gradually disappeared in different manners. From the beginning the French exiled the most active opponents (such as Muhammad Ibn Al-Annabi, Mustafa Al-Kababti, Kaddour Ibn Rouilah, Amir Abdelkader, Hamdan Khuja ...); some of them chose to immigrate because they did not want to live under foreign rule. Those who chose to remain in Algeria had to accept to live with a limited cultural package . Only three bilingual schools established by the French (around ١٨٥٠) provided some Arabic education. Some surviving zawias (Koranic schools) were also allowed to teach Arabic and Islamic elementary education . In this atmosphere Arabic culture could not have been expected to flourish . Algerians who were

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