Abstract: It is common to consider arab nationalism, and anti-colonial movements in general, as inheritors of the European Enlightment. The article tries to deconstruct this narrative by examining the case of Algeria. It studies the way concepts of Islam and civil religion evolve and are modified, going from Rousseau to the algerian nationalist, Messali Hadj. The purpose of the article is to analyse some of the ruptures that undermine the idea of a transfer going from Europe to the Arab World.
