Name : Mahfoud Nahnah
Date of birth : January 28th *1942
Place of birth : Blida (Algeria ) a city known by a "city of roses "
Status and family : married and has got 10 children
He passed there his childhood and grew up in a conservative family.
He attended one of the schools of the reformers which were built by the nationalist movement (before the liberation war). These schools represented bastions of resistance and defense of the arabo-Islamic culture against the loss of self and the occidentalization.
- He took part in the national liberation war in spite of his young age.
- He finished his primary* secondary and undergraduate studies in Algeria. He was devoted to Islamic preaching during more than thirty years .During these years and now on* he was against socialism-Marxism and the propagation of the Francophile culture. He was known as being one of the most opponents of the Marxism and Francophile and at the same time a defender of the spiritual values of his people.
- He was a director of the center of the arabisation at the university of Algiers.
- He was imprisoned in 1975* shown to be behind a plot of coup d'état against Houari Boumediene. Whereas he was just against the installation by force of a socialist Marxist system in disregard of the bases and values of the Algerian society* in disregard also to the Arab-Islamic dimension of the Algerian people. He also militated for more political and economic freedoms. He was then condemned for 15 years of firm prisons. His brothers of the movement were also condemned to the same occasion but less then him. The prison was then* for him and his friends* an occasion for being better educated and more learned and also an occasion to further his political thoughts and ideals. Thanks to his ideas* a significant ****** of prisoners found the right way and became models of repented.
- Sheikh Mahfoud Nahnah worked hardly for the creation of the Islamic league of preaching (Rabitatou e’daw’a al islamiya ) because he believed that the Algerian people must have a religious reference which protects them from any deviation. He then founded with his friend sheikh Mohamed Bouslimani (assassinated by the armed groups in 1994) ' El Irchad wa El Islah' (orientation and reform) association.
- He was a candidate to the presidential elections of November 1995. He took the second position with more than three million voice according to the official results. These elections were regarded as being the first of the kind in the Moslem world with the participation of an islamists whom was proclaiming it openly.
- He took part in several international conferences and seminars through Europe* America* Asia and Africa treating of Islam and the Western World* human-rights and democracy. During these meetings his could met a lot of leaders and high ranked persons in charge of these countries like: France* Spain* Sweden* U.S.A* Germany* Great Britain * Italy* Syria* Jordan* Saudi Arabia* Sudan* Qatar* Kuwait* Morocco Libya and many others .
- He militated with great determination to avoid the collapse of his country and the safeguard of its image at the international meetings. He gave great concessions* that everyone knows* for the sake of his country recovers its institutions.
- Among the most important ideas that Sheikh Mahfoud Nahnah defends: the ‘choura’ (consultation)* democracy* development* forgiveness* coexistence* mutual respect* human rights* participation of women in the ongoing life* respect of the minorities* dialogue of civilizations* more participation of the citizens in the ruling of their country* peaceful alternation* respect of the personal and fundamental freedoms* moderation* for more relations and contact between the rulers and the ruled people.
- Since the beginning of the Algerian crisis he denounced violence and terrorism and any form of religious extremism. He regarded the latter as being foreign acts to the Islamic values and the Algerian people. He devoted more than thirty years of his life for the safeguard of the true beliefs and values of moderations of Islam. This caused to his movement to be the target of the extremists by murdering more than 500 militants* among them his best friend Sheikh Mohamed Bouslimani.
- Sheikh Mahfoud Nahnah was also characterized by his clear and precise positions concerning socialism* secularism* regionalism* Zionism* the Palestinian question and the Afghan affair.
- The movement (party) under the leadership of Sheikh Mahfoud Nahnah could carried out important political winnings; second position at the presidential elections where Sheikh Nahnah was one of the four candidates* second position in the parliamentary elections with 70 deputies* third position in the local elections* participation with seven ministers in the preceding government and three ministers in the current one composed with seven parties that in the recent past were against participation. In fact with this widened government the party has achieved one of his goals and principles : the participation of all in the building of a nation.
- Sheikh Nahnah always preached to make in evidence the national interest before any other interest He always defended the idea to make a distinction between the obligation of the safeguard of the Algerian state and the opposition to the system in place.
- He prefers taking part in a widened government more than to verse in a radical opposition or the withdraw from the scene. Moreover the last events showed the accuracy of his choice.
- Several political works praised his political choices such as : the man of the dialogue* a step towards presidency etc. in addition to his interviews* writings and participations in several newspapers and magazines* conferences and seminars national and international such as the dialogues islamo-Christian in Italy and Sweden.
- His position towards the stop of the electoral process in the 90’s was that the errors of the system should not be cured by more errors such as terrorism* the use weapons* decapitation* destruction and the culture of hatred. He declared that the popular national army was the legitimate downward of national liberation army and it must return to its barracks after the return of peace and stability.
- In addition to his political activities* he is currently devoted to the writing of several works clarifying his ideas in the analysis of the events while proposing the adequate solutions to the Algerian* Arabic* Moslems* and international problems. A first book appeared lately as being the fruit of his analysis under the title : The sought Algeria* the lost equation: Islam* nationalism* and democracy.
Sheikh Nahnah was died on Thursday* June 19th* 2003 in Algiers and buried the next day at Al-Alia cemetery and tens of thousands of people were there.
Sheikh Nahnah lived for his religion and his country. How great he was !
