Mohamed Bachir El Ibrahimi

• Religion — Islam • Name — Mohamed Bachir El Ibrahimi • Native Name — محمد البشير الإبراهيمي • Born — 13 June 1889 • Birthplace — Ouled Brahim, French Algeria • Died — 20 May 1965 • Place of death — Setif, Algeria • Movement — Salafiyya, Islamic Reformism • Creed — Athari • Jurisprudence — Maliki

Mohamed Bachir El Ibrahimi was born on 13 June 1889 (14 Shawwal 1306 AH) in Ouled Brahem within the Arab tribe of Awlād Ibrāhīm, in a family descended from Muhammad, where he began his religious education by memorizing the Quran and studying some texts (moutoun) of Maliki jurisprudence (fiqh) with his father and uncle.

In 1911 (1330 AH), he joined his family in Medina via Cairo (where he stayed for 3 months during which he met the Egyptian poets Ahmed Shawqi and Hafez Ibrahim). In the second holiest city in Islam, he studied Imam Malik's Muwatta and Maliki jurisprudence under the patronage of Sheikh Abdelaziz al-Tounissi, and Sahih Muslim under Hussain Ahmed Madani, a prominent figure in Deobandism and Indian nationalist activism. He was also influenced by students of religious science (toulab al-ilm) from Chinguetti. Additionally, he undertook memorizing several collections of poems, thereby gaining eloquence that would be beneficial for his career.

In 1916, due to political unrest in the Hejaz (Arab revolt, siege of Medina), he moved to Damascus, where he continued his religious education at the Umayyad Mosque alongside scholars (ulema) Mohammed Al-Khidr Hussein, Djamal ad-Dine al-Qassimi, and Badreddine al-Hassani. In 1919, he participated in the founding of the Arab Academy of Damascus with Muhammad Kurd Ali.

Upon his return to Algeria in 1920 (1338 AH), he worked on spreading reform (al-islah) and religious education in the city of Sétif, where he ran a mosque not affiliated with the French colonial authorities.

After Algeria gained independence in 1962, he held the positions of imam and khatib in the Ketchaoua Mosque. However, opposed to Ben Bella's socialist self-management regime, he once again faced house arrest and died in this situation on 20 May 1965, less than a month before the coup d'état that ousted Ben Bella.