Islamic clubs for a Muslim sport? Football and religious reform in colonial Algeria

The article sheds light on the adoption of football by the indigenous population in late colonial Algeria and the function of this European import in anticolonial Muslim identity politics. Beyond that, it focuses on the Islamic reformist movement in particular, to investigate the development of an ethics of sports, revolving around practices of virtue and character formation. Thereby, the article contributes to the cultural history of (anti-) colonialism as well as to the historical anthropology of religious reform.

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Publication Details

Journal
Soccer and Society
Published
2026-08-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2026.2718666
Primary Topic
North African History and Literature
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Islamic clubs for a Muslim sport? Football and religious reform in colonial Algeria

Jakob Krais
Soccer and Society
North African History and Literature
article

Islamic clubs for a Muslim sport? Football and religious reform in colonial Algeria

Jakob Krais
article en

Abstract

The article sheds light on the adoption of football by the indigenous population in late colonial Algeria and the function of this European import in anticolonial Muslim identity politics. Beyond that, it focuses on the Islamic reformist movement in particular, to investigate the development of an ethics of sports, revolving around practices of virtue and character formation. Thereby, the article contributes to the cultural history of (anti-) colonialism as well as to the historical anthropology of religious reform.

Soccer and Society
Universität der Bundeswehr München (DE)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
North African History and Literature
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