The population of many cities, especially those on the coast, was ethnically diverse and predominantly non-Algerian in origin. Turks dominated the political life of Algiers [...]. Descendants of Andalusian refugees, whom the French called Maures (Moors) and whose culture and dialect clearly distinguished them from the populations of the countryside, constituted a large majority of the population of Algiers and other cities. [...] Continuing inputs of Christian converts or 'renegades' from around southern Europe adapted over time to Moorish culture, but in so doing they enriched Moorish culture, contributing to its widespread reputation for cosmopolitanism.

France made little effort to convert the Muslims of Algeria to Christianity, but she did try to replace their language by her own, and she did so hastily and without bestowing real citizenship in exchange.

Ironically, it was the separateness encouraged by the settler ideology that allowed for the development of a cohesive social base from which to agitate against colonial rule and eventually demand independence.

Algeria had no royal family or previous ruler to rally around during the colonial occupation. A unifying element was found in the religion and language that denied Algerians a place in French Algeria, namely Islam and Arabic.

Nowhere else in Africa has the language issue been so central in the fight against colonialism [as in Algeria].