ALGERIA - The Rifts Within Muslim States - Part 1.

From the perspective of the Algerian government, the war against terrorism began in February 1992, just after the cancellation of elections in which the Front Islamique du Salut (FIS) was poised to win. Today, almost exactly one decade later, it is not clear whether the military-backed government of the country is better off than it was when the violence began. The massacres continue, the economy is facing similar problems, and many observers believe Algerian society is more deeply split than it was in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

The regime is also facing a new set of challenges that go beyond radical Islam to ethnic identity - with the Berber community currently agitating for greater rights. The sudden flare-up of violence among the Algerian Berbers, with clashes beginning in April 2001, came as a shock to the leadership. The violence has abated, but incidents continue and some recent arson events in the country have been attributed to Berber saboteurs (see following).

There are indications, however, that the Berber unrest is only one facet of the larger problems facing Algeria. While observers agree that the catalyst for the upsurge of Berber unrest in Algeria is a crisis of identity, they note that economic desperation, along with frustration at the government's inability to implement a positive socio-economic programme, is perhaps an equally important factor. They point out that the anti-government spirit among the Berbers has been spreading to the non-Berber community as well.

Although the rioting was limited mainly to Berber areas in April and May, non-Berbers also began to join in the protests as the weeks passed. By June 15, for instance, protests had spread to the north-eastern towns of Khenchela, Skikda and Ain Fakroun, and southward to Dirah. On the other hand, the split exists within public opinion as well - with the urban-rural divide being one of them. Observers noted that during the Berber protests in Algiers, non-Berber residents of the city clashed with the Berbers telling them to go and destroy property in their own towns and cities.

One perspective on the main reason for the sudden explosion of violence in the Kabylie region, where Algerian Berbers are concentrated, is the impact of globalisation. There are indications that the social crisis within Algeria is as much a clash between rich and poor as between ethnic identities or between Islamic and secular ideologies (see following pages).

Although there are prominent exceptions - i.e. "moderate" Islamists, Berber government officials, etc. - the section of the population that is agitating also tends to be the poorer segment. Berbers feel discriminated against in comparison to their Arab counterparts, while those among the Arabs who are poor tend to favour the Islamists worldview - which, among other things, projects that the secular elite, led by the military establishment, has the biggest share of the economic pie in the country.