Algeria’s Madani dies, leaving a huge violent record behind

Algeria went through some of the bloodiest years. The villages of the North African state were the scene of the most dreadful terrorist attacks that claimed the largest number of lives. Machetes, swords and all types of weapons were used in the execution of these attacks.

Close to 200,000 Algerians were killed in those bloody years. What is known as the Islamic Salvation Front, which was headed by Abbassi Madani, was at the forefront of this violence.

Madani died on April 24 at a hospital in Qatari capital Doha. He was 88.

Madani had a dream of following a leadership course like that of Ruhollah Khomeini in Iran. He founded and headed the front which won the municipal and legislative elections in the early 1990s. The Algerian government canceled out the results of the elections in 1991. In January 1992, Ali Benhadj, another founder of the front, incited the followers of the front to carry up arms against the Algerian army. This opened the door for the bloodiest ten years in Algeria’s history. They came to be known as the “Ten Black Years”.

In February 1992, the Algerian government declared the state of emergency and put thousands of front members in jails. It also started a nationwide crackdown on other members.

Madani escaped to Qatar where he lived a life of luxury together with his family. He reportedly received $15,000 every month as a gift from the emir of Qatar.

Madani’s grandchildren have a Qatari citizenship. One of them plays for the Qatari national soccer team.

Who is he?

Abbassi Madani was born on February 28, 1931 in Biskra Province. His father taught him the Islamic religion. He studied at the schools of the Muslim Scholars Society. He also studied the French language early on in his life.

Madani obtained a PhD in Algeria and then another PhD in education from the UK in 1978.

He taught educational psychology at the School of Humanities at the University of Bouzereah. He was part of the resistance against the French occupation of Algeria in the 1950s. He was also a member of the clandestine organization that started the Algerian revolution. On 11 February 1954, Madani was arrested and spent seven years in jail. After Algeria’s independence, he joined the National Liberation Front Party.

Madani was one of the most outstanding Islamist figures in Algeria during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1982, Algerian authorities arrested Madani against the background of what came to be known as the “University district incidents”. Madani was among demonstrators asking the Algerian government to initiate reforms and apply Islamic law.

He founded the Islamic Salvation Front in 1989, after the application of the multiparty system in Algeria. In the founding charter of the front, Madani and his colleagues said it would work to establish a civilian system of rule based on Islamic law.

On August 31, 1991, Madani was arrested at his office in Algiers. On July 16, 1992, a military court sentenced him to 12 years in jail.

The National Salvation Front won the first round of legislative elections that were held on December 21, 1991, even as Madani was in jail. However, the cancellation of the elections triggered a new wave of violence.

Madani was released on July 15, 1997. In December of the same year, he was placed under house arrest. He was released later.

On August 23, 2003, Madani was allowed to leave for Malaysia for medical treatment. He then travelled to Qatar where he lived for the rest of his life.