A response on the Berriane Post

This doesn't count as a weekend posting, but Kal at The Moor Next Door has noted and replied online at length to my post on Berriane, Ibadis, Berbers, etc. Admittedly, after the flattering "Michael Collins Dunn, Editor of the prestigious Middle East Journal, wrote an interesting "Backgrounder" on the Berriane violence..." he proceeds to detail what I left out, got wrong, or should have said. I thank him for that since I make no claim to be an Algeria specialist* and the only Ibadis I've ever had contact with (unless some Algerian friends were and I didn't know it) were Omanis. But I'm pleased to learn from him and delighted that the conversation is starting: that ought to be what blogging is about. I'm never too old to learn...

[*Though the man who introduced me to Middle East studies as an undergraduate, and was my primary advisor as a doctoral candidate as well, Professor John D. Ruedy, most definitely is, and is the author of Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation.]

Kal also posted a comment on my original post, but do go read the longer critique on the blog. I learned from it and you will too. I'll be setting up a blogroll sometime soon, and I'm just getting to know The Moor Next Door, but if you're interested in the Maghreb, and Algeria in particular, it is more than worthy of your attention.

And as the old saying goes, as long as they spell your name right ...

One item I want to throw in since I've actually had two posts up on Algeria: on those posts I linked to English-language stories on Algerian press websites that have English pages. Of course the most extensive literature on Algeria is French and Arabic. I don't yet know the audience for this blog, and may post a poll sometime soon to find out if people will be annoyed/or overjoyed if I post links to articles in other languages. I did consult French and Arabic articles on those posts but didn't link to them, assuming many readers would not have an interest. This is an area I'll explore further, especially once more people know the blog is here and thus there's hope for a decent polling sample.