Their confidence shattered by an earthquake which last month
took at least 2 200 lives, with hundreds still missing, the weary and
demoralised people of Algeria are increasingly turning to Islam for spiritual
comfort.
Each aftershock creates panic and, in a country where in the past few regularly
attended prayer services at mosques, religious observance is becoming more
common.
"Since the earthquake, every time there is a tremor, Samiha gets out her
prayer mat and beseeches Allah," said one man, astonished by the change of
behaviour in his daughter, who works in the information technology field.
These days Samiha (24) observes the five daily prayers so that "God will
stop his anger" and has taken to wearing a headscarf, while continuing to
wear Western-style clothes.
The earthquake of May 21 was measured at 6.8 on the Richter scale but Algerians
have been dismayed and frightened by the intensity of some of the aftershocks,
some of which have been registered at 5.8 on the scale.
Many people whose faith was, in the words of a local newspaper, "soft and
wobbling" have suddenly found it lent extra vigour by emotion and terror.
"Powerless before the dimensions of the disaster and the limited
explanations offered by science, people are rediscovering their faith after
yielding to panic," the newspaper la Tribune noted.
In some mosques, imams, or religious leaders, have been quick to take up the
theme of "divine vengeance", arguing that God is punishing people who
"have strayed from their right path". Their arguments have won a
hearing in some sections of the population.
"How do you want God to spare us when bars remain open?" said one man
in his 40s, terrified by a sharp aftershock, pointing to an establishment
serving alcohol.
Imams have used their sermons to single out women, attacking their lifestyles
and their "provocative dress", which they say profanes God's will.
At the same time, religious activists are busy in the tent cities in which 100,000 of the homeless have been placed by the government.
Islamists in Afghan dress proclaim the tremors "divine punishment"
because women have become "Westernised"; they believe women should
wear loose-fitting clothes so as not to attract looks from men.
According to one sociologist, "Fear combined with these reproaches have
contributed to a revival of faith in some people who are searching for an
explanation or help in religion."
But not everyone is persuaded. "You would think we were back in the old
days of the Islamic Salvation Front," said one regular customer in an
Algiers bar, referring to the group that was set to win power in a 1992 general
election cancelled by the military.
"The bearded ones (Islamists) seize every occasion to resurface. In fact,
I see that the bars of Algiers have never been so full, and the atmosphere is
more than warm. It's good for morale in these uncertain times," he joked.