Ahmed Tewfik El Madani  Ahmed Tewfik El Madani (also spelled Ahmad Toufik al-Medani etc.) (1899–1983) was an Algerian nationalist leader during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–61), and a minister of the GPRA, a provisional exile government of the Front de libération nationale (FLN). He belonged to the Association of the Ulema, an Islamic organization that formed a main pillar of the nationalist movement. After the war, he became minister of religious affairs (1962-1965) an acclaimed historian. Ahmed El Madani produced extensive historical writings in Arabic celebrating the Muslim and Arab ancestors of Algeria.