AMIR ABDELKADER

AMIR
ABDELKADER`








Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā'irī (6 September
1808 - 26 May 1883, in Arabic
عبد القادر الجزائري) was an Algerian Islamic scholar,
Sufi, political and military leader who led a struggle against the French invasion in
the mid-nineteenth
century, for which he is seen by the Algerians as their national
hero.

He is often referred to only as `Abd al-Qādir, since
al-Jazā'iri means simply "the Algerian". His name can be
variously transliterated as Abd al-Kadir, Abdel Kader, Abdelkader,
etc.

He is also often given the titles Amir, prince, and Shaykh.

Early years




He was born in the town of Muaskar in the
area of Oran. His
father was a shaykh
in the Qadiri sufi order of Islam. In his
childhood he learned to memorize the Qur'an and was
well trained in theological
and linguistic studies, having an education far better than that of his peers.
In 1825 he set out
for the Muslim pilgrimage,
hajj, with his
father. While in Mecca
he encountered Imam Shamil; the two spoke at length on different
topics. He also traveled to Damascus and Baghdad, and visited the graves of famous Muslims such Shaykh
Ibn Arabi. This experience cemented his religious enthusiasm. On his way back
to Algeria, he was impressed
by the reforms carried out by Muḩammad
`Ali in Egypt.
He returned to his homeland a few months before the arrival of the French.

French invasion and resistance



In 1830,
Algeria was invaded by France; French colonial
domination over Algeria
supplanted what had been domination in name only by the Ottoman
Empire. Within two years, `Abd al-Qādir was made an amir and with
the loyalty of a number of tribes began a rebellion against the French. He was effective at using guerrilla
warfare and for a decade, up until 1842, scored many victories. He often
signed tactical truces with the French, but these did not last. His power base
was in the western part of Algeria,
where he was successful in uniting the tribes against the French. He was noted
for his chivalry;
at one occasion released his French captives
simply because he had insufficient food to feed them.

However, `Abd al-Qādir was eventually forced to surrender.
The French armies grew large, and brutally
suppressed the native population and practiced a scorched-earth policy.
`Abd al-Qādir's failure to get support from eastern tribes, apart from the Berbers of western Kabylie, also
contributed to the quelling of the rebellion. On December 21,
1847, after being
denied refuge in Morocco
(strangely parallelling Jugurtha's career two thousand years earlier), `Abd al-Qādir
was forced to surrender. Two days later, his surrender was made official to the
French Governor-General of Algeria, Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale. `Abd
al-Qādir was exiled to France,
in violation of the promise that he would be allowed to go to Alexandria
or Acre,
on the faith of which he had surrendered.

Life in exile



`Abd al-Qādir and his family were detained in France, first at Toulon, then at Pau, being in November
1848 transferred to the château of Amboise. There he remained until
October 1852, when he was released by Napoleon III on taking an oath never again
to disturb Algeria.
The amir then took up his residence in Brusa, moving in 1855
to Damascus.
While in Damascus
he befriended Lady Jane Digby and Richard and Isabel
Burton. In July 1860,
conflict between the Druze
and Maronites
of Mount
Lebanon spread to Damascus, and local Muslims attacked the Christian quarter,
killing over 3,000 persons. `Abd al-Qādir and his personal guard saved large
numbers of Christians, bringing them to safety in his house and in the citadel. For this action the French government,
which granted the amir a pension of 4000 Louis,
bestowed on him the Grand Cross of the Légion d'honneur.

He thereafter devoted himself to writing and philosophy
until his death in Damascus in 1883. There is a Mosque in Constantine, Algeria dedicated to him. He was
buried in Damascus in the same mausoleum as Ibn Arabi
until his remains were returned to Algeria in the 1970's, after
Algerian independence.

DUMP MERGE



Abd el-Kader (c.1807–1873) was an Algerian nationalist.
He led a struggle and insurgency against the French colonial forces until his
eventual surrender in 1847.
Known as the amir of Mascara, he was a great opponent of the conquest of Algeria by France.

He was born near Mascara in 1807
or 1808. His family were sherifs or descendants of Mahomet, and his father, Mahi-ed-Din, was celebrated throughout North
Africa for his piety and charity.

Abd-el Kader received the best education attainable by a
Mussulman of princely rank, especially in theology and philosophy, in
horsemanship and in other manly exercises. While still a youth he was taken by
his father on the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina and to the tomb of Sidi Abd-el-Kader El Jalili at Bagdad--events which stimulated his natural tendency to
religious enthusiasm.

While in Egypt
in 1827, Abd-el-Kader is stated to have been impressed, by the reforms then
being carried out by Mehemet Ali with the value of European civilization,
and the knowledge he then gained affected his career. Mahi-ed-Din and his son
returned to Mascara shortly before the French occupation of Algiers (July 1830) destroyed the government
of the Dey. Coming forward as the champion of Islam against the infidels,
Abd-el-Kader was proclaimed amir at Mascara in 1832. He prosecuted the war
against France vigorously
and in a short time had rallied to his standard all the tribes of western Algeria. The
story of his fifteen years' struggle against the French is given under ALGERIA.

To the beginning of 1842 the contest went in favour of the
amir; thereafter he found in Marshal
Bugeaud an opponent who proved, in the end, his master. Throughout this
period Abd-el-Kader showed himself a born leader of men, a great soldier, a
capable administrator, a persuasive orator, a chivalrous opponent. His fervent
faith in the doctrines of Islam was unquestioned, and his ultimate failure was
due in considerable measure to the refusal of the Kabyles, Berber mountain tribes whose Islam is somewhat
loosely held, to make common cause with the Arabs against the French. On the
21st of December 1847, the amir gave himself up to General Lamoriciere at Sidi Brahim. On the 23rd, his submission was formally
made to the duc d'Aumale, then governor of Algeria. In
violation of the promise that he would be allowed to go to Alexandria
or St Jean d'Acre, on the faith of which he
surrendered, Abd-el-Kader and his family were detained in France, first at Toulon, then at Pau, being in November
1848 transferred to the chateau of Amboise. There Abd-el-Kader remained
until October 1852, when he was released by Napoleon
III. on taking an oath never again to disturb Algeria.

The amir then took up his residence in Brusa, removing in
1855 to Damascus.
In July 1860, when the Moslems of that city, taking advantage of disturbances
among the Druzes
of Lebanon,
attacked the Christian quarter and killed over 3000 persons, Abd-el-Kader
helped to repress the outbreak and saved large numbers of Christians. For this
action the French government, which granted the amir a pension of L. 4000, bestowed
on him the grand cross of the Legion
of Honour. In 1865, he visited Paris and London, and was again in Paris at the exposition of 1867. In 1871, when the
Algerians again rose in revolt, Abd-el-Kader wrote to them counselling
submission to France.
After his surrender in 1847 he devoted himself anew to theology and philosophy,
and composed a philosophical treatise, of which a French translation was
published in 1858 under the title of Rappel a l'intelligent. Avis a l'indifferent. He also wrote a book on
the Arab horse. He died at Damascus
on the 26th of May 1883.