Between Algeria and Morocco, the heritage war is declared
The rivalry between Morocco and Algeria extends on all fronts, including culture. Each country is trying to protect itself from what it sees as attempts at cultural appropriation by its rival. To protect its heritage, Algeria wants to strengthen its legislation and secure UNESCO recognition.
In this period of political and diplomatic tensions between Morocco and Algeria, culture has emerged as a new source of discord. To the point that Algiers is considering "shielding" its heritage, reports the Algerian news website TSA .
In response to what Algeria considers to be “repeated attempts at plunder,” Algerian Culture Minister Zouhir Ballalou announced on June 26 that the law on the protection of cultural heritage will soon be revised to include the protection of intangible heritage.
More concretely, Algeria, which accuses its Moroccan neighbor of appropriating cultural elements that are not its own, wants to protect its music, its gastronomy and even its clothing. The country claims in particular from UNESCO the zellige, this “faience which adorns the Mechouar palace, in Tlemcen” , in the northwest of Algeria, and has already been the source of tensions with Morocco, recalls TSA. In 2022, a lively controversy erupted when the Fennecs (nickname of the Algerian football team), wore a jersey featuring patterns inspired by this type of mosaic .
Algeria is also advocating for the inclusion of the burnous (a type of traditional coat), the haik (a female garment) and traditional haouzi music in UNESCO's intangible heritage.
On June 12, Algerian Minister of Communication Mohamed Meziane, for his part, stated during a speech before Parliament that “Morocco took advantage of the black decade [the period of the Algerian civil war, between 1992 and 2002] to steal couscous from us,” reported the Moroccan news website Le 360 , sarcastically. The minister not only mentioned this traditional dish, but also spoke of music, art and poetry.
While Mohamed Meziane indicated that part of this heritage was born in Tlemcen, Le 360 prefers to recall that this city “was under Moroccan influence or domination for several centuries, while Algeria did not yet exist and was not even in the planning stage.” This explains why “the traces of Moroccan culture are numerous and are visible in the monuments and crafts that it has kept as its heritage.”
