Yahia Boushaki (1935 – 28 December 1960), commonly known as Si Omar or simply as Boushaki, was a prominent revolutionary leader during the
Algerian war of independence as a member of the
Front de Libération Nationale (FLN; National Liberation Front) that launched an armed revolt throughout
Algeria
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, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
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, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
and issued a proclamation calling for a sovereign
Algeria
)
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, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
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n state.
Education
Boushaki was born in 1935 in the village of
Soumâa south of the present city of
Thenia, about 50 km east of the great city of
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
, and his Sufi family descends from the
Maliki
The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...
te theologian
Sidi Boushaki
Sidi Boushaki or Ibrahim Ibn Faïd Ez-Zaouaoui () (1394 CE/796 AH – 1453 CE/857 AH) was a maliki theologian born near the town of Thenia, east of Algiers. He was raised in a very spiritual environment with high Islamic values and ethics wi ...
(1394-1453), who founded the
Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki
Zawiyet Sidi Brahim Boushaki ( ar, زاوية سيدي إبراهيم البوسحاقي) or Zawiyet Thénia is a zawiya of the Rahmaniyya Sufi brotherhood located in Boumerdès Province within lower Kabylia of Algeria.
Construction
The za ...
in 1440 during the 15th century.
His father is
Abderrahmane Boushaki (1883-1985), a veteran of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(1914-1918) who returned from the
Maginot line
The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...
with the rank of
corporal of the , while his mother is Khedaouedj Boumerdassi, descendant of Sufis and theologian Sidi Boumerdassi, who founded
Zawiyet Sidi Boumerdassi in 1714 during the 18th century.
His grandfather
Ali Boushaki (1855-1965) was
Muqaddam of
Tariqa
A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth".
...
Rahmaniyyah in
Lower Kabylia and his paternal and maternal uncles were
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
imam
Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...
s as were his cousins.
He then received a religious education according to the
Algerian Islamic reference
The Algerian Islamic reference is the fundamentalist and legal framework for the practice of the religion of Islam in Algeria within Sunnism under the tutelage of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments.
Reference elements
Sunnism
...
as well as a political consciousness according to the ideology of
Algerian independence nationalism through his paternal uncle
Mohamed Seghir Boushaki (1869-1959), who was an elected
municipal councilor
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
from 1919 to 1939.
In addition to his academic activity in this Sufi environment under the immediate patronage of Imam
Brahim Boushaki (1912-1997), he worked in agriculture and animal husbandry near the surrounding villages of
Meraldene
Meraldene or Merabtene is a village in the Boumerdès Province in Kabylie, Algeria.
Location
The village is surrounded by Meraldene River, the Meraldene Dam and the town of Thénia in the Khachna mountain range.
Zawiya
* Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki ...
,
Tabrahimt,
Gueddara,
Azela and
Mahrane.
Political activity
From his adolescence, his desire to join the ranks of clandestine separatist activities within the
Algerian nationalism was clearly manifested.
It was inspired by the failure of the political activities advocated by the political process that followed the proclamation of the 30th petition for
Civil and political rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
on July 18, 1920, which sought to obtain these rights of the
indigenous Algerians at the same time, on an equal footing with
European settlers in Algeria, and whose failure was consummated by the
massacres of May 1945.
He then joined the Movement for the
Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD) and the
Special Organization (OS) to prepare the insurrection against
French colonialism
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that existe ...
.
Military combat
![Bab ezzouar map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Bab_ezzouar_map.jpg)
As soon as the
Algerian revolution
The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
broke out, he joined the ranks of the
National Liberation Front (FLN) as a
political commissar, and the
National Liberation Army (ALN) as a soldier and later as a
military officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...
in
Kabylia
Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...
and in
Mitidja
Mitidja, (Arabic: , Berber: Mettijet ⵎⴻⵜⵙⵉⵛⵝ) is a plain stretching along the outskirts of Algiers in northern Algeria. It is about long, with a width of . Traditionally devoted largely to agriculture and serving as the breadbasket ...
plain.
Captain Boushaki initiated extensive sabotage operations of colonial properties and participated with his soldiers in several battles between
Thenia and
Bouira against
French paratroopers, resulting in the destruction of several combat aircraft belonging to the
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
.
He synchronized his operations in concert with the command of the military region based in the
Zbarbar forest where his friend the journalist
Mohamed Aïchaoui (1921-1959) was entrenched.
Death
Boushaki prepared in the
Blida Province
Blida ( ar, ولاية البليدة) is a provinces of Algeria, province (''wilaya'') in Algeria. Its capital is Blida. The Chréa National Park is situated here.
History
The province was created from parts of Alger (department) and El Asnam d ...
with a command of the
National Liberation Army (ALN) an operation against the
French Armed Forces
The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces.
Franc ...
during the month of December 1960 in order to deconfine the repressive pressure against the mujahideen maquis east of Algiers,
Mitidja
Mitidja, (Arabic: , Berber: Mettijet ⵎⴻⵜⵙⵉⵛⵝ) is a plain stretching along the outskirts of Algiers in northern Algeria. It is about long, with a width of . Traditionally devoted largely to agriculture and serving as the breadbasket ...
and
Kabylie
Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of the ...
.
This great operation took place just after the , which put an end to the myth of
French Algeria
French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...
by opening the way to the establishment of a sovereign and independent Algeria, and this is how the new year was celebrated, bring with it the hint of
Algerian self-determination, accentuating the pressure of the guerrillas on the
colonial troops.
Thus, while captain of a unit, he was killed in combat in
Meftah on December 28, 1960, during the battle of
Souakria along with Abdelkader Madjène and other
Mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
, the rest of the unit blending in with the surrounding maquis.
Tributes
![Thenia الثنية - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Thenia_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9_-_panoramio.jpg)
He gave his name to an important district of
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
north of the
El Alia Cemetery
El Alia Cemetery ( ar, مقبرة العالية ) is a cemetery in a suburb of Algiers in the commune of Oued Smar in Algeria. The name "El Alia" means in Arabic ''which is high'', but came from the surname of the donor of the land in 1928, ...
in the municipality of
Bab Ezzouar and which bears the name of the
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
named
Yahia Boushaki
kab, ⵢⴰⵃⵢⴰ ⴱⵓⵙⵃⴰⵇⵉ
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline = Bab ezzouar map.jpg
, image_alt =
, image_caption ...
.
He also gave his posthumous name to a street in
Thenia in the
Boumerdès Province that bears the name of , the former Avenue .
A promotion of officers of the
Algerian People's National Army (ANP) was named the Yahia Boushaki Promotion in 1995 during their training at the École Supérieure de la Défense Aérienne du Territoire (ESDAT). Four promotions of officers of the
Gendarmerie Nationale Gendarmerie Nationale most commonly refers to:
* Gendarmerie Nationale (France)
* Gendarmerie Nationale (Belgium), merged with Belgian police in 2001
Gendarmerie Nationale may also refer to:
*Gendarmerie Nationale (Algeria)
* Gendarmerie National ...
(GN) were appointed Promotions of Yahia Boushaki as of June 16, 2008.
General (1936-2019), accompanied by various ministers of the
Algerian government, personally bestowed the name of Yahia Boushaki on the active elements of these four promotions. In
Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
and in the , he is considered a national hero.
See also
*
Yahia Boushaki
kab, ⵢⴰⵃⵢⴰ ⴱⵓⵙⵃⴰⵇⵉ
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline = Bab ezzouar map.jpg
, image_alt =
, image_caption ...
(neighbourhood in Algiers)
*
Yahia Boushaki Boulevard (boulevard in Thénia)
*
Yahia Boushaki tram stop Yahia (Arabic: يحيى, romanized: Yaḥyā), is a common Arabic male given name also written as Yahya (name), Yahya or Yehia. People with the name include:
Given name
*Yahia Badreddin al-Houthi (born c. 1965), political leader of the Zaidi re ...
(tram stop in Algiers)
*
List of Algerians
Notable Algerians include:
Artists
Writers (including poets)
*Ferhat Abbas (1899–1985), political leader and essayist
*Mohamed Aïchaoui (1921–1959), political leader and journalist
*Abdelkader Alloula (born 1939), playwright
*Al-Akhd ...
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boushaki, Yahia
1935 births
1960 deaths
People from Thénia
People from Thénia District
People from Boumerdès Province
Algerian Sufis
Kabyle people
Boushaki family
Deaths in Algeria
Zawiyet Sidi Boushaki alumni
Violent deaths in Algeria
Deaths by firearm in Algeria
Algerian revolutionaries
Executed revolutionaries
Executed Algerian people
Indigenous activists of Africa
People of the Algerian War
Members of the National Liberation Front (Algeria)
Muslim martyrs
Muslims killed in battle
Military personnel killed in action
Algerian military personnel
Members of the National Liberation Army (Algeria)
Algerian resistance leaders
National Heroes of Algeria
Algerian political people
Arab politicians
National Liberation Front (Algeria) politicians
People executed by France by firearm
Burials in Algeria