French law retroactively legalized settlers’ forcible seizure of Algerian waqf land

Evidence

Nearly half the land, as expected, was waqf, known to the Algerians as hubus (Fr. habous). Mostly by force, the French settlers gained control of a good deal of property in the waqf domain, causing the beneficiaries of the endowments to sue for the restoration of the sequestered property. In response, the French declared all property in the hands of the colons, whether acquired lawfully or not, to be lawfully owned by its colonial usurpers. And as if this was not enough arbitrary sovereign power, new laws of property came to displace those of Shariʿa, facilitating further the settlers’ commercial ambitions. — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 235 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Absentee Property Law of 1950 legally barred expelled Palestinians from reclaiming property — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 1003; Colonial property law retroactively legalized forced seizures of waqf land — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 235; French expropriation of Algerian waqf land served the wine industry (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Colonial property law retroactively legalized forced seizures of waqf land #corroborates (0.95) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 235