FROM VIOLENCE TO THE JIHAD

October 1988 was the beginning of a cycle of confrontations between opposing forces. It was the official birth date of islamism as a political movement in Algeria. The mosque played an important role in this equation. It became the ideal space for protest and it produced new leaders who were both more credible and more representative than before. These leaders were the imam-s, often university educated and young as are three quarters of the population of Algeria. Their argument involves essentially a radical denunciation of those who in the process of governing have deviated from the behavior proned by their own very ideological discourse: i.e. justice, equality and respect for the moral values which religion inspires. The new imam-s, basing their arguments on the culture of the djihad transmitted by the schools and other ideological institutions for the past thirty years, incite the population, and the young people in particular, to reenact the exploits of the war of liberation against those who marginalise them. In order to understand this behavior, only anthropology offers the necessary insight. According to the holistic culture of Algeria which is still strong, honor is one of the highest values. This concept is at the basis of the order to fight against the ''big man'' (in this case the State) which has failed in its mission of ''necessary generosity''. The combat for honor is therefore imperative. Its goal is not necessarily victory: to resist, at the risk of dying, is sufficient. As they have nothing to lose here on earth, the young people who have rallied to the call, hope that, at least, they will earn a place for themselves in the hereafter.