ABSTRACT
Colonized Algerians found a great deal to be desired in Abduh's reformist ideas when he lectured them, during a visit to Algiers in 1903, about avoiding political resistance to France, and authorized them to eat meat from animals that had not been slaughtered according to Muslim rite or to wear French hats. Despite his lectures on social issues, ranging from the ethic of upholding contracts in business transactions to the consequences of avarice, Ibn Badis was more interested in political questions, to which he devoted more time. Perhaps his mission was a political one presented as a cultural reform. Marriage and divorce being central to the Algerian family, proof of either was not an issue among natives. These laws were passed to make the administration of Algeria more efficient, and help in litigations among Algerians that were brought to French colonial courts.
