Bni Mzab

Bni Mzab
El-Atteuf, Bounoura, Mlika, Beni and Izguen Ghardaia form the pentapole (set of five cities) of the M'Zab Valley. Organized confederation, they were built in the eleventh century by followers of a legalistic conception of Islam, refugees in the valley of the Sahara, 600 km from Algiers: Ibadi. Religious education still plays a key role in the company Mozabite (named after the river Zab). A federal religious council (Halka of Azzaba) governs the eight Ibadi cities (the Pentapolis, over the most recent three cities). The Halka is a unique college Islamic power in the world. It is responsible for strict compliance with the precepts of the Ibadi doctrine, dispute settlement and all matters relating to the life of the community: the given weight of gold as dowry to women with the duration of marriage ceremonies through the terrible "blacklisting". But since the discovery of oil and gas in the valley cities Zab became the hub of southern Algeria, and it is now easier for Ibadi, to transgress the many taboos in their community.