Algerian Cultural Figure Defends Raï Music’s Origins Amid Morocco Dispute

"Raï cannot be Moroccan. The whole world knows that raï is Algerian," said Nasreddine Touil to TSA Algérie. This popular music is also the subject of a dispute between Oran and Sidi Bel Abbès. Nasreddine deplores a "useless" Algerian-Algerian rivalry that can benefit the neighbor to the West. He recalled that in 2008, the annual festival had taken up residence in Bel Abbès. At the time, Morocco had launched its own international raï music festival.

"It’s suspicious," suspects Nasreddine Touil. His regret, he said, is that this event is reduced to a simple show. "The Sidi Bel Abbès festival, these are evenings. In Oran, we used to organize study days and seminars on raï music with a strong presence of the press, etc. In Sidi Bel Abbès, it’s just a show," he fumes, this former commissioner of the Oran raï music festival from the early 1990s until 2005.

In order to affirm the Algerian origin of raï, the ACPPMO intends to organize days with the participation of researchers from the Center for Anthropological, Social and Cultural Research (Crasc) in Oran. In parallel, the raï festival will be organized. "A major international conference that will see the participation of great researchers. In this way, we will document the true history of raï," he said, adding that with the help of journalists, writers and researchers like the academic Hadj Meliani, a book will be devoted to raï.

"Many people have worked on raï music. With their help, we will make sure to publish a book on the basis of which, tomorrow, foreign journalists will be able to work," projects Nasreddine Touil.