The head of state is the president of Algeria, who is elected for a five-year term. The president was formerly limited to two five-year terms but a constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament on November 11, 2008 removed this limitation.
Algeria’s culture is strongly influenced by its religion, Islam, although in the past it was mainly influenced by the French culture.
Muslim festivals are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations.