Abdelkader Alloula

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Abdelkader Alloula (Ar. عبد القادر علولة) was an Algerian playwright, born in 1929 and assassinated in 1994.

He was born in Ghazaouet in western Algeria, and studied drama in France. He joined the Algerian National Theatre upon its creation in 1963 following independence. His works, typically in vernacular Algerian Arabic, included:

• El-Aâleg (1969) - "The Leech", a satire of corrupt administration
• El-Khobza (1970) - "Bread"
• Homq Salim (1972) - "Salim's Madness", a monologue based on Nikolai Gogol's Diary of a Madman
• Hammam Rabbi (1975) - "God's Bath", based on Gogol's The Government Inspector
• The Generous Trilogy:
  • El-Agoual (1980) - "The Sayings"
  • El-Adjouad (1984) - "The Generous"
  • El-Litham (1989) - "The Veil"

He was working on an Arabic version of Tartuffe when he was assassinated by two members of FIDA (Islamic Front for Armed Jihad) during Ramadan on March 10, 1994, as he left his house in Oran. His widow, Radja Alloula, and friends set up the Abdelkader Alloula Foundation in his memory.

His brother, Malek Alloula, is also a noted Algerian writer.