* Greg Noakes is the news editor for the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. He was in Algeria during the winter of 1992.
Islam is, historically, one of the most powerful opposition political forces in Algeria, as well as the tie that binds the country's ethnically diverse population together. Islam's ability to mobilize the people stems from its importance in defining Algerians' sociocultural identity, its status as a coherent political, social and economic system, and the individual's spiritual devotion. The Algerian Islamist movement is one of the most vibrant in the Arab and Muslim worlds, exhibiting a degree of organization, sophistication and, indeed, success that is difficult to find elsewhere. Yet the movement also faces a number of grave internal and external threats and challenges. How has the Algerian Islamist movement evolved since independence, what are some of the difficulties it faces and how can these challenges be met?
