ABSTRACT
The dramatic entry of women into the collective consciousness since the war is paralleled only by the equally dramatic rise of religiosity in politics. The concept of "fundamentalism" commonly used to refer to this phenomenon is a misnomer in the sense that groups who use religion for the purpose of seizing power do not advocate the fundamentals of religion. If they did they would have to uphold the Quran against erroneous interpretations of women’s roles in society held by their members. In addition, the concept is deceptive since it implies that religion as practiced is in violation of some assumed fundamental principles of which these groups are the guardians. Yet a close look at the agenda of the Front of Islamic Salvation (or F.I.S.) and its practices during its control of city councils from 1990 to 1991 reveals that apart from a stricter enforcement of culinary restrictions, such as drinking alcohol, and conservative dress code, its focus was on a redefinition of state power and legitimacy rather than what are the basic tenets of pietistic life. Concepts such as "integrisme" and "Islamism" used by French scholars and French media are equally inadequate. "Integrisme" assumes that the aim of religious opposition is to bring about integrity in social and political life. To accept this assumption is to downplay the actual power ambitions of the opposi tional groups and blur the distinction between ideology and practice. The concept of "Islamism" seeks to distinguish between Islam as a religion and its use as a political weapon.2 However, by using essen tially the same term to refer to the two orders of phenomena it remains confusing. I will use the concept of "religiosity" in politics and the expression, "religiose" movement, to identify the groups involved in order to emphasize the manipulation of religion as a tool of justifica tion and acquisition of political power. Understanding the religiose
movement in Algeria requires an analysis of the interface between social class, politics, sex and economic crisis.
