Moufdi Zakaria
Cultural Identity & Memory
“He gave a country the words it sings to itself.”
Moufdi Zakaria wrote a nation's faith into verse. His words became the anthem of a people — proof that poetry, in the right moment, can carry the weight of a revolution.
He is the poet of the nation: through 'Kassaman' and his epic poems, he gave Algeria a shared voice of resistance, dignity and unity.
Author of Kassaman — every Algerian schoolchild meets him through the national anthem.
Born in Beni Isguen in the M'zab valley, Moufdi Zakaria devoted his life to the Algerian cause through poetry. Imprisoned several times by the French colonial authorities, he wrote the words of 'Kassaman' — Algeria's national anthem — in 1955, while held in Barberousse prison in Algiers. According to tradition, he wrote it on the wall of his cell with his own blood.
- Kassaman — National AnthemLyrics written in 1956; music by Mohamed Fawzi; adopted at independence in 1962.
- Iliyadha al-Jaza'ir (The Algerian Iliad)An epic poem of over 1,000 verses celebrating Algeria's history and unity.
- Barberousse Prison, AlgiersPlace where 'Kassaman' was composed during his imprisonment.
- Beni Isguen, M'zab ValleyHis birthplace in 1908 — a town famed for its Mozabite heritage.
- Al-Lahab al-Muqaddas (The Sacred Flame)A celebrated collection of his nationalist poetry.
His poem 'Kassaman' was set to music by Egyptian composer Mohamed Fawzi and adopted as Algeria's national anthem at independence in 1962.
Tradition says Moufdi Zakaria wrote 'Kassaman' on the wall of his prison cell in Barberousse — with his own blood — in April 1956.
Tradition says he wrote "Kassaman" on his prison wall — the anthem of a nation born behind bars.
Sources & Further Reading
- ArchiveAlgerian National Archives — anthem manuscripts