Algeria does not conceive Maliki rite as identity

Algeria does not conceive the Maliki rite as an identity but as a way that serves society, the Minister of religious Affairs and Wakfs Mohamed Aissa said Monday in Oran (430-km west of Algiers).
In a statement to the press, on the sidelines of the opening of the ninth edition of Dourouss Mohammadia  (Lessons of Prophet Mohamed PBUH)at the Belkaidia Hebria zawia, in Sidi Maarouf (east of Oran), the minister added that the interest given to the Fiqh schools shows that Algeria does not consider the Maliki rite as a sectarian or an ethnic identity but a way towards the right path which converges with the four renowned imams and the Ibadi movement, to serve society and to get closer to God.
In this regard, he said that these schools reflect the diversity of the “ijtihad,” calling for the necessity to intensify researches to know more about the heritage of imams of these Islamic schools.
Mohamed Aissa hailed the quality of the choice of the themes suggested in Dourouss Mohammadia organized by the above-mentioned zawia, such as this edition which deals with the roles and contributions of these Fiqh schools in the strengthening of the Muslim nation unity.
This event's opening ceremony was marked by the organization of a conference themed "Our four great imams, bright stars," led by Dr Mohamed Benbrika of Algiers, member of the International Sufism Academy and the International Centre for Inter-Religious Dialogue, and author of various books including an encyclopaedia on Sufi methods.