From Shore to Shore: Algeria’s History Will Not Be Erased — A Response to Macron by General Mohamed Abdennacer Guettaf

BY: General Mohamed Abdennacer Guettaf (Ret.)

Translated with Adaptation by Dr. Hana Saada

Algiers, Algeria | January 03rd, 2025 — In a compelling letter addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron, retired General Mohamed Abdennacer Guettaf delivers a profound and unapologetic reminder of Algeria’s rich history, cultural depth, and unwavering spirit. Responding to controversial remarks that seek to minimize Algeria’s historical legacy, the letter meticulously traces the nation’s millennia-old contributions to civilization, resistance against colonialism, and its profound impact on global history. Guettaf’s eloquent words serve as both a historical lesson and a firm defense of Algerian identity, rejecting attempts to distort or erase the sacrifices and triumphs of a proud nation.

Mr. President of the French Republic,

Look beyond the narrow lens of revisionist history and gaze upon the distant horizon of truth. Search the depths of the centuries, and you will witness Massinissa, the valiant Numidian king, astride his Berber steed, commanding his warriors in battle when the Gauls still feared the heavens would collapse upon them. Massinissa was no Roman general but a sovereign who led his Berber legions against Carthage, shaping the ancient Mediterranean world.

Look closer, and you will see Jugurtha, another Numidian king, defiant in his chains, preferring death in captivity over surrendering his dignity to Rome. After him emerged Juba II, a noble scholar and monarch who ruled Numidia alongside his queen, Cleopatra Selene, daughter of the illustrious Cleopatra of Egypt.

Should fate ever guide you to Cherchell, once known as Caesarea, visit the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania — an enduring monument to Algeria’s ancient grandeur. This “Tomb of the Christian Woman,” as it was later named, speaks of faith in Christ long before your ancestors claimed it. Recall that Saint Augustine, an Algerian from Hippo, was one of Christianity’s greatest theologians.

When your gaze shifts to the Mediterranean’s turbulent waters, you will see the corsairs of Algiers — Raïs Hamidou and the legendary Barbarossa — commanding the seas against colonial invasions. Further west, Tariq ibn Ziyad, yatagan in hand, crossed into Andalusia, forever altering the course of history.

Venture east to Bejaia, where even Leonardo da Vinci once came to learn from its scholars. If fortune favors you, you might find Ibn Khaldun reflecting upon his Muqaddimah, a masterpiece of historical analysis. Travel to Tlemcen, where the prophet Joshua lies, and where Moorish art flourished in sublime harmony with the melodies of Ziryab, rivaling Mozart’s symphonies.

And should you lose yourself in the scorching sands of the Algerian Sahara, know that Tin Hinan, the matriarch of the Tuareg, will extend her protective hand. Algeria’s history pulses through every stone and grain of sand, a legacy beyond erasure.

Yet the echoes grow louder. Do you hear the galloping hooves? It is Emir Abdelkader, saber drawn, pursuing the forces of General Trézel at El-Maktaa. And there stands Fatma N’Soumer — not just a figure of resistance but a saintly heroine, whose martyrdom parallels that of the young, angelic Hassiba Ben Bouali.

Ask your own war heroes about Algeria’s defiance. Inquire of General Bigeard about Larbi Ben M’hidi’s unyielding spirit. Ask Graziani’s men about Djamila Bouhired’s unbreakable resolve against colonial brutality.

Without belligerence, but with unflinching clarity, we affirm: We fight for our just cause, and we know how to die for it. If you doubt our sacrifice, ask those who fought alongside us in Verdun, or those your nation faced in our mountains. Ask those who witnessed our valor in the Italian campaign, where the Algerian Third Infantry Division liberated Italy while your allies landed in Normandy.

But even as Europe celebrated victory over Nazism, 45,000 Algerian martyrs were slaughtered at Sétif, Guelma, and Kherrata — a genocide unerasable by even the most eloquent of speeches or historical commissions. No historian, not even Benjamin Stora, can cleanse the blood of entire tribes wiped out during the colonial massacres and forced suffocations.

Today, the weapons of colonialism have shifted. No longer satisfied with killing men, the strategy now seeks to erase memory, to distort the truth in pursuit of a guilty conscience’s absolution.

Yet propaganda cannot rewrite time. Truth advances, unyielding, towards the final Day of Judgment. No force, no rhetoric, no President can distort the story of our martyrs. Their legacy stands eternal.

Your words, Mr. President, were indeed offensive. But Algeria’s wisdom surpasses provocation. We will not hate France because of you, nor because of those like Marine Le Pen. You are but the thorns on a rose. Neither will we despise our Christian and Jewish brothers, for Allah revealed the Torah and the Gospel before the Qur’an. Yet racism, Zionism, and the oppression of free peoples — these we shall resist, always.

Beyond the reach of colonial guilt lies Algeria’s true power. Not a mere francophone nation struggling under the weight of linguistic imperialism, but a spiritual beacon with the Tidjaniya Order, founded by Sidi Ahmed Tidjani, uniting over 500 million adherents worldwide.

Algeria remains the cradle of global revolution. Algiers was, and remains, the Mecca of freedom fighters — from Che Guevara and Nelson Mandela to Amilcar Cabral, the revolutionary spirit echoes through this land.

More than a nation, Algeria is a culture, a faith, a cause.

Know this, Mr. President: your Eiffel Tower gleams with the iron of Miliana, while the White House still bears the marble of Skikda. The scarlet coral from La Calle outshines all, and the purest oasis lies in El Goléa. Yet among these riches, Algeria’s most precious treasure remains its youth.

May peace be upon Prophet Muhammad. May Allah guide humanity without distinction, granting mercy and justice to all. And may He eternally protect Algeria — the blessed land of prophets, saints, and martyrs.

Translation of the Letter: 

FROM ONE SHORE TO THE OTHER: THE NOTEBOOKS OF DENIED HISTORY

Mr. President of this great nation, delve deep into the distant horizons of history, explore the depths of the centuries, and you will see, astride his Berber steed, at a time when the Gauls feared the sky would fall upon their heads, a warlord clad in iron armor, sword in hand, storming Carthage with his legions of Berber centurions. He is no Roman general—he is Massinissa, King of the Numidians. Look closer still, furrow your brow further, and you will witness another Numidian king, Jugurtha, imprisoned like a lion, choosing death in chains over the disgrace of surrendering to Rome. After him, you will be dazzled by the nobility of Juba II, the erudite, august, and just king who ruled Numidia alongside his wife, Queen Cleopatra Selene, daughter of the equally noble Cleopatra of Egypt. And if fate ever leads you to Cherchell, once known as Caesarea, take Madame to visit the majestic royal mausoleum still standing as a witness to this ancient history you now deny—the mausoleum known as the Tomb of the Christian Woman, named so because she embraced Christianity long before you, for Jesus was a prophet in this land before his brother Mohamed.

Revisit your schoolbooks, and you will find that Saint Augustine himself preached the teachings of Christ in Hippo. And if you gaze toward the Mediterranean at the close of your dark Middle Ages, you will see Barbarossa, Raïs Hamidou, and their corsairs triumphantly leading naval battles amid flames, crashing waves, and the thunder of cannons. Further west, you will glimpse Tariq Ibn Ziyad, scimitar in hand, landing in Andalusia.

Should you journey to Béjaïa, you will find Leonardo da Vinci himself drawing inspiration from its mathematics, and if fortune favors you, you might even cross paths with Ibn Khaldun meditating on his timeless Muqaddimah. Venture to the city of kings, Tlemcen, where the prophet Joshua rests and where Moses once followed the path of his Lord, and you will be captivated by the Moorish art and the melodies of Ziryab, as sublime as those of Mozart. And should you ever lose your way in the sun-scorched, rocky ergs, the shadow of Tin Hinan, the legendary queen of the Tuareg, will extend a fraternal hand to guide you.

Do you hear that distant sound of galloping hooves? It is Emir Abdelkader, rallying his troops at El-Maktaa, sword in hand, pursuing the shattered ranks of General Trézel. And Fatma N’Soumer? She was more than Jeanne d’Arc—she was a saintly heroine, felled by the same hatred that tore apart the angelic and fragile Hassiba, barely more than a child.

Not far from you, ask Bigeard what mettle Ben M’hidi was made of. Ask Graziani’s torturers what kind of unyielding spirit was Djamila. Without belligerence, free from fanaticism, we know how to fight for our just cause, and we know how to die for it. If you doubt this for a moment, ask those who fought alongside us at Verdun, ask those who faced us in our mountains, ask those who stood with Sharon in Suez—they will tell you. Your history books will teach you that North Africans formed the backbone of the Free French Army, and while the Allies struggled ashore on that long and arduous day in Normandy, the Third Algerian Infantry Division was liberating Italy. Just as in the days of Massinissa and the Punic Wars. They will also remind you that the first French soldier to enter Berlin was an Algerian.

And yet, while the Free World celebrated the Allied victory over the Nazis, forty-five thousand Algerian martyrs were massacred in Sétif, Kherrata, Guelma, and beyond. Neither Stora’s reports nor eloquent speeches can absolve the genocide of entire tribes, the massacres, and the mass asphyxiations. But today, in a cruel twist of history, neocolonialism no longer seeks to kill men—it seeks instead to erase and distort their memory and history, all to ease the conscience of yesterday’s oppressor.

Propaganda, disinformation, and lies cannot turn back time to alter facts. Time never moves backward; it advances inexorably toward the Day of Judgment. As for our history, the history of our valiant martyrs, no force on this earth can pervert it.

Indeed, Mr. President, your remarks were offensive; you allowed yourself to be swept away by an unfortunate rhetoric. Yet we will not hate France because of you, nor because of Marine, for you are but the thorns on the rose. Nor will we hate our Christian or Jewish brothers, for it was Allah who revealed the Torah and the Gospel before the Quran. But racism, Zionism, oppression, and the subjugation of peoples—we will always despise and resist them. Consider yourself warned.

Beyond the Commonwealth, beyond a faltering Francophonie desperate for dominance, Algeria holds in the Tarîqa Tidjania, as established by Sidi Ahmed Tidjani, a spiritual following of five hundred million souls. More than that, Algiers remains the Mecca of all revolutionaries, for Che Guevara, Mandela, Amilcar Cabral, and every revolutionary spirit in the world is, in essence, Algerian. Algeria is more than a nation; it is a culture, a faith, a cause.

Your Eiffel Tower still boasts the iron of Miliana, and the White House gleams with the marble of Skikda. The reddest coral is found in La Calle, the most paradisiacal beach in Ziama, and the most enchanting oasis in El Goléa. Algeria is immensely rich in resources, but its greatest treasure remains its youth.

May peace be upon our Prophet Mohamed. May Allah guide men and women without distinction, may He grant them His mercy, and may He forever protect Algeria, the blessed land of prophets, saints, and martyrs.

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