[1] The association emphasised the Arab-Islamic national identity of Algeria by encouraging education and the use of the Arabic language instead of French.

[3] The organisation was established on 5 May 1931 in Constantine by Abdelhamid Ben Badis, with a leadership consisting largely of middle-class men, most of whom were Arabic-speaking schoolteachers.

[4] It opposed assimilation with the French, but did not support independence, instead supporting Arab nationalism until 1955,[5] when it backed the incipient National Liberation Front insurgency and played an important role; many of the Algerian militants in the war against France, such as Brahim Mezhoudi and Nacer Mohammedi, were either sympathetic to or linked to the Association.

[6][4] Despite this, the French authorities sought to closely control the organisation, eventually leading to it forming alliances with nationalist parties.

They played a leading role in influencing Algerian public opinion through articles and declarations published in their weekly newspapers, Al-Basa'ir and Al-Shihab.