Rumors Swirl: Is Raï Music Icon Cheb Khaled Barred from Entering Algeria?

It all started with a post on a blog. Cheb Khaled would be banned from entering Algeria. He would have been turned away at Houari Boumediene International Airport. The performer of "Morocco forever" would be accused of favoring Moroccan interests. This post has gone viral on social media. Comments are pouring in from all sides. Some Internet users express their support for the king of raï. According to them, the singer is the victim of an injustice and remains an Algerian citizen in his own right despite occasional tensions. Others, on the other hand, describe Cheb Khaled as a "traitor".

Is Cheb Khaled really banned from entering Algeria? To date, the Algerian authorities have not issued any statement on a possible ban. The singer has not yet commented on this information. These would therefore be "fake news".

For many years, many Algerians have held a grudge against Cheb Khaled, a native of Oran married to a Moroccan, because of his proximity to certain Moroccan leaders, including King Mohammed VI. He also holds Moroccan nationality. In 2019, he had been criticized by Algerians for the song he had composed for the Moroccan national team, as part of the Africa Cup of Nations football (CAN Egypt). He had also been criticized for the appearance of the Moroccan flag in the music video for the tribute single "Ismouha Beyrouth" ("Her name is Beirut") in solidarity and support for the Lebanese people following the deadly double explosion that occurred on August 4, 2020 in Beirut.