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Muḥammad al-Bashīr al-Ibrāhīmī

Savant

Muḥammad al-Bashīr al-Ibrāhīmī is one of the great figures of the Algerian reformist movement. Scholar, teacher, writer and orator, he was, with ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bādīs, one of the main architects of the revival of Arabic and Islamic education in Algeria under colonization. He was born on June 14, 1889 near Sétif, in eastern Algeria, and died in Algiers on May 20, 1965. An exceptional memory Al-Ibrāhīmī grew up in a family of scholars. His uncle, Muḥammad al-Makkī al-Ibrāhīmī, was responsible for his education. As a child, he memorized the Quran, then numerous grammar texts, fiqh and poetry. His memory became legendary: it was reported that he knew thousands of verses of classical Arabic poetry by heart. Medina and Damascus In 1911, he joined his father in Medina, where he continued his studies with numerous scholars. It was in Medina, in 1913, that he met ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bādīs, who had come to perform the pilgrimage. The two men spend long evenings thinking about the situation in Algeria and together develop a project for reform through education. He then settled in Damascus, where he taught for several years, before returning to Algeria in 1920. The Association of Algerian Muslim Ulemas In 1931, he participated with Ibn Bādīs in the founding of the Association of Algerian Muslim Ulemas. He becomes vice-president. The Association sets itself the following objectives: to disseminate the teaching of the Arabic language and Islam; to fight against ignorance and practices that she deemed contrary to religion; to preserve the Arab-Muslim identity of the Algerian people in the face of colonial policy. It creates hundreds of free schools throughout the country. Its motto sums up its program: “Islam is our religion, Arabic is our language, Algeria is our homeland. » President of the Association In 1940, on the death of Ibn Bādīs, al-Ibrāhīmī was appointed to succeed him, while he was placed under house arrest in Aflou by the colonial authorities. He remained under house arrest until 1943. He then relaunched the action of the Association, founded numerous schools and directed the newspaper al-Baṣāʾir, in which he published articles famous for the beauty of their style. Exile and independence From 1952, he lived mainly in Cairo, from where he made the Algerian cause known in the Arab world. He supports the revolution started in 1954. After independence, he returned to Algeria. He delivered the first Friday sermon at the Ketchaoua mosque, returned to Muslim worship. He then criticizes certain directions of power, which results in him being placed under house arrest. He died in Algiers in 1965. His work His writings have been collected under the title Āthār al-Imām Muḥammad al-Bashīr al-Ibrāhīmī. They include articles, speeches, studies on the Arabic language and texts of religious and political reflection. Things to remember Muḥammad al-Bashīr al-Ibrāhīmī was a scholar of education and language. With Ibn Bādīs, he showed that school and culture could be the first weapons of a people to preserve their dignity and identity. Image credit: Muḥammad al-Bashīr al-Ibrāhīmī. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.