It was founded by the Kabyle Berberist Ferhat Mehenni, now president of the Provisional Government of Kabylie in exile, after the "Black Spring" disturbances in 2001.

[6] The founder of MAK, Mehenni, was arrested by the French authorities and placed in police custody in 2021 as part of an investigation into organised money laundering in relation to sports betting.

[7] In 2011, a close associate of Ferhat Mehenni and a former senior member of the organisation, Idir Djouder, accused the MAK of receiving funds from Morocco (250,000 euros per month) and criticised its management methods.

Idir Djouder uses the term "dictator", he describes his "government" and the content of the meetings as formal with decisions taken "elsewhere".

[8] Algerian authorities accused MAK of ordering the widespread 2021 Algeria wildfires in the region of Kabylia.