It differed from the Ulema both in a more modernistic interpretation of Islamic dogma and in its social demands, which included the redistribution of land among the fellahs. Much of Messali’s ideals of popularist socialism was later to be inherited by the F.L.N. and present-day Algeria. By 1933 Messali was already talking of “revolution”, and the Étoile programme declared for universal suffrage in Algeria, “a struggle for the total independence” of all three Maghreb nations, and confiscation of all property acquired by the French government or colons.

XREF: Connects to the broader history of Algerian independence and the FLN, relevant to understanding the ideological roots of the anti-colonial movement. QUESTION: Worth investigating how direct the lineage is between Messali's Étoile programme and actual FLN policy after independence.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 109