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Moufdi Zakaria (born Zekri Cheikh; 12 June 1908 – 17 August 1977) was an Algerian activist and nationalist , poet and writer. He wrote " Kassaman", the Algerian national anthem while in prison in 1955.


Biography

Cheikh Zakaria Ben Slimane Ben Yahia Ben Cheikh Slimane Ben Hadj Aissa was born on 12 June 1908. He was given the nickname of ''Moufdi'' by a school friend. Of Mozabite origin, he was born and attended school in the M'zab region of Algeria. He became associated with Algerian nationalists and served time in prison for his beliefs in 1937 and 1938. In 1955 he was imprisoned in
Serkadji prison Serkadji Prison, formerly Barberousse Prison, is a high-security prison in Algiers, Algeria; in 1995, about two-thirds of the 1,500 prisoners detained are (or were) accused or convicted of terrorism. History The Barberousse Prison was construct ...
by the French for his politics. There he wrote a poem called ''Qassaman'' or ''The Pledge''. It was said that he wrote the poem on the walls of his cell using his own blood because he had neither pencils nor paper to write in the prison. The poem was later set to music by
Mohamed Triki Mohamed Bin Ali Triki (; ) (born 1931) is a Tunisian government official who served as President of Les Scouts Tunisiens, as well as Chairman of the Arab Regional Scout Committee. In 2002, he became a member of the World Scout Committee and prom ...
in 1956 and then by
Mohamed Fawzi Mohamed Fawzi may refer to: *Mohamed Fawzi (general) Mohamed Fawzi ( ar, محمد فوزي; 5 March 1915 – 16 February 2000) was an Egyptian general and politician who served as minister of defense. Early life and education Fawzi was born in A ...
. The final song was heard in 1957. This poem became the Algerian national anthem shortly after 5 July 1962 when independence was achieved. Zakaria died in 1977 in Tunisia but his body was buried in Algeria.


His Poetry

His university education was in
Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...
where he met a number of poets including Kasman. His first poetry was published in a Tunisian newspaper in 1925. Moufdi Zakaria uses implied texts in his poems through which readers can get different reflections from his poems. Quran is one of the implied texts in his works and it is strongly present in his works. His poetry was believed to be largely influenced by the work of Egyptian poet Ahmed Shawqi.


Legacy

Zakaria left his poetry and the words to Algeria's national anthem. He has postage stamps issued in his honour and
Noumérat – Moufdi Zakaria Airport Noumérat – Moufdi Zakaria Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport de Ghardaïa / Noumérat – Moufdi Zakaria) , also known as Noumerate Airport, is a public airport serving Ghardaïa, the capital of the Ghardaïa Province in Algeria. It is locate ...
in Ghardaïa,
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
is named in his honour.AIP
an
Chart
for ''Aéroport de Ghardaïa / Noumérat – Moufdi Zakaria'' (DAUG) from ''Service d'Information Aéronautique – Algerie''
His name was also given to cultural centre built in 1984.


Portrayals in film

"Moufdi Zakaria, the Poet of the Revolution," by director Said Oulmi, 2012.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakaria, Moufdi 1908 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Algerian poets Algerian expatriates in Tunisia Algerian male poets Algerian songwriters Berber Algerians Berber poets National anthem writers People from Ghardaïa 20th-century male writers