Publication of Kassaman

Kassaman, meaning We Pledge, is the national anthem of Algeria. The words were written in the mid-1950s by Mufdi Zakariah, a poet and nationalist who composed them while imprisoned by French authorities in Algiers during the Algerian War of Independence. The music was composed by Mohamed Fawzi, an Egyptian musician. The text honors those who died fighting for independence, and it calls on Algerians to pledge themselves to the nation's freedom. After independence in 1962 it became the national anthem, and it was formally adopted in 1963.

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