Mokhtar Mokhtefi

Mokhtar Mokhtefi (; 1935–2015) was a member of the National Liberation Front (FLN) during the Algerian War of Independence. He wrote about his experiences growing up in Algeria and fighting in the war as a radio operator in his memoir, I Was a French Muslim.

Early life and education Mokhtefi was born in 1935 in Berrouaghia, Algeria. His father was a butcher. On 8 May 1945, Mokhtefi witnessed both Victory in Europe Day and the Sétif and Guelma massacre in which the French army massacred thousands of Algerians.

Mokhtefi was the only one of his family's six children to attend secondary school, after one of his teachers encouraged his father to let him take an entrance exam. To set up communication posts, he undertook dangerous border crossings, including crossing the Morice Line.

Mokhtefi references a "climate of fear and disdain" in the ALN in his memoirs. Mokhtefi ends his memoirs with the statement: "Ignorance out of the barrel of a gun is preparing us for bitter tomorrows."

In 1972, Mokhtefi met his future wife, Elaine (née Klein), at a friend's dinner in Algiers. At the time, she worked in the Algerian administration as a fixer. His wife, Elaine, dedicated a bench to him in Riverside Park where he had enjoyed sitting. In 2024, she set up the Elaine and Mokhtar Mokhtefi Endowment to support students at the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies.

Memoir Towards the end of his life, Mokhtefi began working on his memoirs.

GQ Middle East included it on a list called "Best Middle Eastern Literature to Read Now".