Algeria Seeks UNESCO Recognition for Zellige Art, Intensifying Cultural Rivalry with Morocco

"This April, we have filed the dossier ’Art of architectural ornamentation in zellige: knowledge and skills’, for its inscription in the name of Algeria on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity with UNESCO," announced Thursday in Béjaia Soraya Mouloudji, Minister of Culture and Arts, at the opening of the heritage month (April 18-May 18), recalling that her country has "11 intangible elements on the UNESCO World Heritage lists" and that a file has been submitted in March 2023 for the "classification of the traditional dress of eastern Algeria" on the UNESCO list. The "common Arab dossier relating to henna" which has been submitted to the UN organization will be "examined in December 2024," she specified.

Algeria’s decision to register the zellige on the list of its intangible heritage at UNESCO could revive the animosity between Morocco and Algeria. For years, these two neighboring countries have been disputing the paternity of what is designated as a mosaic made up of multicolored ceramic tiles, forming geometric or figurative patterns, which can be found both inside buildings and on facades. In September 2022, the Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication had asked the services of the lawyer Mourad El Ajouti to send a formal notice to Adidas for "theft" of "Moroccan zellige" patterns in designs of the football jersey of the Algerian national team. The lawyer had informed the head of Adidas "that the patterns used in [his] creation are inspired by patterns present in the monuments of the Medina of Fez and the Site of Chellah, inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1981 and 1985...".

"Thus, I formally notify you to kindly ask your teams to remove the collection mentioned above within 15 days from the receipt of this letter, in case of default, plan a communication relating to the patterns used from the art of Moroccan zellige, and possibly pay a share of the profits for the Moroccan artisans holding rights," he had added. In its response to Morocco, the German equipment manufacturer said it "regrets the controversy." "The design was indeed inspired by the Zellige mosaic pattern and was never intended to offend anyone," Adidas had acknowledged in a statement, expressing its "deep respect for the people and artisans of Morocco".