Mebarek el Mili

Mebarek el Mili (Arabic:مبارك الميلي), known as El Mili, was an Algerian reformist who became active during the French occupation of Algeria. He was also a prominent member of the Association of Algerian Muslim Ulema.

Early life and education He is Sheikh Mubarek Bin Mohammed Ibrahimi el Mili who was born in Mechta Dria Romane located in the municipality of ghebala, the state of Jijel Settara District in the eastern region of Algeria. He was born on 26 May 1896. Some resources say he was born in 1898. His father died when he was 4, so his grandfather became his caretaker, then his uncles.

He started his education in Ouled Mubarek in El Milia under the care of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Taher Mezhoud until he finished memorizing the Quran. He then moved to Mila, which was a big scientific town back then, and continued his education there in Sidi Azzouz mosque with Sheikh al-mu'allam el Mili Bin Mansser before even passing the age of twelve. He says he descends from the sons of Mubarek Bin Ḥabbās from ethbij, the Hilali Arabs, who are one of the few Arab tribes from the Jijel area. His ideas were distinctive as well as against sorcery and superstitions. He struggled with diabetes in 1933, and then died in 1945.

Work in journalism Sheikh Mubarek el Mili was active in his writing, especially in his newspaper articles, which were published in the Arabic speaking Algerian newspapers, such as "Al-Muntaqad newspaper", "Al-Shihāb", and "Al-Sunnah wa-al-Baṣā'ir" which he started managing after Sheikh Al-Ṭayyib Al-ʻUqabī in 1935. El Mili was distinguished for his strong clear style that was filled with the renewed urge against the miserable conditions of fellow Algerians, especially from the Islamic aspect. In 1937 he wrote a book titled "Risālat al-shirk wa-maẓāhiruh" and kept managing it in "Al-Baṣā'ir newspaper" until it was banned by the occupation with the start of the second world was in 1939.

Association of Algerian Muslim Ulema In 1931, Sheikh Mubarek el Mili helped with creating the "Association of Algerian Muslim Ulema". He was also voted to be a member of the Administrative office and the financial secretary from the first day. He was appointed manager for "Al-Baṣā'ir newspaper" in 1937, after Sheikh Al-Ṭayyib Al-ʻUqabī who resigned from managing the organization and its newspaper. He was assigned by the association to go to Laghouat where he taught in Atiq Mosque for 7 years and worked as a supervisor in the Shabiba School, which some students graduated from and played an important role in the reform plan afterward, like Abū Bakir al-Aghwātī, Aḥmad Būzayd Qaṣībah, and Ahmad Shaṭṭah. In 1933, Sheikh el Mili went back to Mila to continue his reformative efforts in the guidance and education field. Later on, when Sheikh Abdelhamid Bin Badis died in April 1940, Sheikh Mubarek el Mili took over teaching his lessons in Green Mosque in Constantine. Sheikh Mubarek el Mili made multiple trips through Algerian soil to check upon the people of the "Association of Algerian Muslim Ulema". He wrote about some of his trips in Western Algeria in 1936. He also traveled to France in 1938 on a scientific and medical job, where he met some of the representatives of the "Ulema" association in France, some of them being Saʻīd Ṣāliḥī, Saʻīd al-Baybānī, Muhammed al- Zāhī. (his hometown Settara, the state of Jijel not Mila).

Published works El Mili's published works include:

Research articles which he wrote in "Al Jamʻīyah" Associationnisme et Sex Aspects Polytheism Message and its Manifestations (original title:Risālat al-shirk wa-maẓāhiruh), 2001 Articles and Opinions of Scholars of Muslim Scholars' Association (original title:Maqālāt wa-ārāʼ ʻulamāʼ Jamʻīyat al-ʻUlamāʼ al-Muslimīn) The History of Alegeria in Ancient and Modern Times (original title:Tārīkh al-Jazāʻir fī al-qadīm wa-al-ḥadīth)

Death El Mili struggled with diabetes from 1933, and his state got worse when his Sheikh and friend Abdelhamid Ben Badis died. El Mili died on 9 February 1945 in Mila after he was moved there in a pitiful condition after his request.