Quote Originally Posted by rvg View Post
Sure it is. A lot of its laws are based on sharia, especially when it comes to family law, women's rights, religious freedom, etc.
Just quoted this bit because of the point I'm about to make. That Algeria's family law has islamic influences is to be expected, and this is the case for most countries with (largely) muslim populations. Family law is an area that tends to incorporate lots of religious and cultural influences, outright or subtle. This is also the case in the christian west, allthough probably to a lesser degree.

It certainly isn't secular in any sense of the word, and I find Sharia law to be abhorrent, but I'd still hesitate calling the Algerian government islamist. First and foremost it's a military dictatorship, whose regime has fought a long and bloody civil war against actual islamists. That there are islam-influenced laws on the books in Algeria is just local flavour, and not central to the regime's character, IMO.