National Anthem Comparison
Algeria vs Tunisia
2
Shared themes
✓
Same mood
25
25 years apart
✓
Same continent
Comparison Analysis
Algeria and Tunisia, both Africa nations, take distinct approaches to their national anthems. Algeria's "Kassaman (We Pledge)" was written in 1955, while Tunisia's "Defenders of the Homeland" dates to 1930.
Both anthems share themes of battle / war and freedom. Algeria additionally explores independence, revolution and flag, while Tunisia also touches on resilience.
Both anthems carry a fierce tone, creating a similar emotional register despite their geographic distance.
Tunisia changed its national anthem in 1987, reflecting a shift in the nation's identity or political landscape.
Shared themes
Algeria
⚔ Battle / War 🗽 Independence 🕊 Freedom 🔥 Revolution 🚩 Flag
Tunisia
⚔ Battle / War 🕊 Freedom 💪 Resilience
Shared themes:
⚔ Battle / War 🕊 Freedom
Metadata
| Algeria | Tunisia | |
|---|---|---|
| Written | 1955 | 1930 |
| Adopted | 1962 | 1987 |
| Lyricist | Moufdi Zakaria | Mustafa Sadik al-Rafii / Aboul-Qacem Echebbi |
| Composer | Mohamed Fawzi | Mohammed Abdel Wahab (disputed; also credited to Ahmed Kheireddine) |
| Language | ar | ar |
| Region | North Africa | North Africa |
Lyrics Side by Side
Algeria
قَسَمًا
Original
قَسَمًا بِالنَّازِلَاتِ الْمَاحِقَاتْ
وَالدِّمَاءِ الزَّاكِيَاتِ الطَّاهِرَاتْ
وَالْبُنُودِ اللَّامِعَاتِ الْخَافِقَاتْ
فِي الْجِبَالِ الشَّامِخَاتِ الشَّاهِقَاتْ
نَحْنُ ثُرْنَا فَحَيَاةٌ أَوْ مَمَاتْ
وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ
فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا…
نَحْنُ جُنْدٌ فِي سَبِيلِ الْحَقِّ ثُرْنَا
وَإِلَى اسْتِقْلَالِنَا بِالْحَرْبِ قُمْنَا
لَمْ يَكُنْ يُصْغَى لَنَا لَمَا نَطَقْنَا
فَاتَّخَذْنَا رَنَّةَ الْبَارُودِ وَزْنَا
وَعَزَفْنَا نَغْمَةَ الرَّشَّاشِ لَحْنَا
وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ
فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا…
يَا فِرَنْسَا قَدْ مَضَى وَقْتُ الْعِتَابْ
وَطَوَيْنَاهُ كَمَا يُطْوَى الْكِتَابْ
يَا فِرَنْسَا اِنَّ ذَا يَوْمُ الْحِسَابْ
فَاسْتَعِدِّي وَخُذِي مِنَّا الْجَوَابْ
اِنَّ فِي ثَوْرَتِنَا فَصْلُ الْخِطَابْ
وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ
فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا…
نَحْنُ مِنْ أَبْطَالِنَا نَدْفَعُ جُنْدًا
وَعَلَى أَشْلَائِنَا نَصْنَعُ مَجْدًا
وَعَلَى أَرْوَاحِنَا نَصْعَدُ خُلْدًا
وَعَلَى هَامَاتِنَا نَرْفَعُ بَنْدًا
جَبْهَةُ التَّحْرِيرِ أَعْطَيْنَاكِ عَهْدًا
وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ
فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا…
صَرْخَةُ الْأَوْطَانِ مِنْ سَاحِ الْفِدَا
اِسْمَعُوهَا وَاسْتَجِيبُوا لِلنِّدَا
وَاكْتُبُوهَا بِدِمَاءِ الشُّهَدَا
وَاقْرَأُوهَا لِبَنِي الْجِيلِ غَدَا
قَدْ مَدَدْنَا لَكَ يَا مَجْدُ يَدَا
وَعَقَدْنَا الْعَزْمَ أَنْ تَحْيَا الْجَزَائِرْ
فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا… فَاشْهَدُوا…
Translation
We swear by the devastating calamities,
By the pure and stainless blood,
By the bright flags that wave,
Flying proudly on the high mountains
That we are in revolt, whether to live or to die,
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness!
We are soldiers, for the sake of justice we revolted,
And for our independence we waged war,
When we spoke, nobody listened to us,
So we have taken the noise of gunpowder as our rhythm
And the sound of machine guns as our melody,
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness!
O France, the time of reproof is over
And we have closed it as a book is closed;
O France, this is the day of reckoning
So prepare to receive from us our answer!
Our revolution has the final word;
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness!
From our heroes we shall send forth an army,
From our dead we shall build up a glory,
At the price of our lives we shall rise to immortality
And above our heads we shall raise the standard.
To the nation's Liberation Front we have sworn an oath,
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness!
The cry of the motherland sounds from the battlefields.
Listen to it and answer the call!
Let it be written with the blood of martyrs
And be read to future generations.
Oh, glory, we have held out our hand to you,
We are determined that Algeria should live,
So be our witness, be our witness, be our witness!
Tunisia
حماة الحمى
Original
حماة الحمى يا حماة الحمى
هلموا هلموا لمجد الزمن
لقد صرخت في عروقنا الدما
نموت نموت ويحيا الوطن
لتدو السماوات برعدها
لترم الصواعق نيرانها
إلى عز تونس إلى مجدها
رجال البلاد وشبانها
فلا عاش في تونس من خانها
ولا عاش من ليس من جندها
نموت ونحيا على عهدها
حياة الكرام وموت العظام
حماة الحمى يا حماة الحمى
هلموا هلموا لمجد الزمن
لقد صرخت في عروقنا الدما
نموت نموت ويحيا الوطن
ورثنا السواعد بين الأمم
صخورا صخورا كهذا البنا
سواعد يهتز فوقها العلم
نباهي به ويباهي بنا
وفيها كفا للعلا والهمم
وفيها ضمان لنيل المنى
وفيها لأعداء تونس نقم
وفيها لمن سالمونا السلام
حماة الحمى يا حماة الحمى
هلموا هلموا لمجد الزمن
لقد صرخت في عروقنا الدما
نموت نموت ويحيا الوطن
إذا الشعب يوما أراد الحياة
فلا بد أن يستجيب القدر
ولا بد لليل أن ينجلي
ولا بد للقيد أن ينكسر
حماة الحمى يا حماة الحمى
هلموا هلموا لمجد الزمن
لقد صرخت في عروقنا الدما
نموت نموت ويحيا الوطن
Translation
[Translation excerpt: opening refrain and final stanza only. A full translation is pending review against the corrected original.]
O defenders of the homeland!
Rally around to the glory of our time!
The blood surges in our veins,
We die, we die, so that the homeland may live!
If the people one day will to live,
Then destiny must surely respond,
The darkness must surely lift,
And the chains must surely be broken.
Interesting facts
Algeria
- 1. The best-known story, reported by the Algeria Press Service, holds that Zakaria had neither paper nor pen in his cell and wrote the verses on the wall in his own blood; a scholarly study calls it a legend.
- 2. The third stanza names France directly and declares that the day of reckoning has come. In the 1980s, under President Chadli Bendjedid, the authorities tried to remove it, arguing that Kassaman was the only anthem in the world to name another country, but a parliamentary committee rejected the amendment.
- 3. In November 2008, Algeria amended Article 5 of its Constitution to declare the anthem 'immutable' and to define it as Kassaman in all its stanzas.
- 4. A presidential decree signed by Abdelmadjid Tebboune in May 2023 made all five stanzas mandatory at official commemorations attended by the president; the 1986 rules had reserved the full anthem for FLN congresses and presidential inaugurations, and a shortened version is still played at other official ceremonies with the president and on state visits.
Tunisia
- 1. The anthem closes with the opening lines of Echebbi's poem 'The Will to Live': 'If the people one day will to live, destiny must respond.' During the 2011 Arab Spring these lines were chanted and written on signs and walls in Arab cities.
- 2. From 1958 to 1987 Tunisia's anthem was 'Ala Khallidi'. Humat al-Hima replaced it on 12 November 1987, five days after Ben Ali removed President Habib Bourguiba in a bloodless coup.
- 3. Mohammed Abdel Wahab, to whom the music is usually credited, also composed Libya's anthem 'Libya, Libya, Libya' in 1951.
- 4. Both constitutions adopted since the 2011 revolution name Humat al-Hima as the national anthem: Article 4 of the 2014 constitution and Article 11 of the 2022 constitution.
Listen
Algeria
Tunisia
