THE EMIR ABDELKADER

Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine  ('Abd al-Qādir ibn Muḥyiddīn)), known as Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Djezairi, born on 6 September 1808 in El Guettana and died on 26 May 1883 in Damascus,  is an Algerian religious and military leader who fights against the French invasion of Algeria in the middle of the nineteenth century. A Muslim and Sufi scholar, he finds himself unexpectedly leading a military campaign.  It is a group of Algerian tribes that, for many years, successfully resist one of the most advanced armies in Europe.  His constant respect for what is now known as human rights, especially with regard to his Christian opponents, arouses widespread admiration, his crucial intervention to save the Christian community of Damascus from a massacre in 1860, brings him  honors and awards from around the world.  In Algeria, his efforts to unify the country against outside invaders see him hailed as "modern Jugurtha" and his ability to combine religious and political authority, led him to be hailed as "prince among the saints, and holy among the  princes " Related article: Abdelkader (first name). The name Abdelkader is sometimes transliterated "'Abd al-Qadir', 'Abd al-Kader', 'Abdul Kader' or other variants.  He is often referred to simply as Emir Abdelkader (since El Djezairi means "Algerian").  "Ibn Muhieddine" is a surname which means "son of Muhieddine", and "al-Hasani" is an honorific surname indicating his descendants of Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad.  It is often given, also the titles of emir "prince" and shaykh Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine Family origins Abdelkader was born near the city of Mascara in 1808 , a family of religious aristocracy from the Rif according to the Larousse encyclopedia . His father, Muhieddine (or "Muhyi al-Din") al-Hasani, is a muqaddam in a religious institution affiliated with the Sufi Brotherhood Qadiriyya and claims an offspring of Muhammad, via the Idrissids  Abdelkader is therefore a sheriff, and has the right to add to his name the honorific name of al-Hasani ("descendant of al-Hasan"). He grew up in the zaouïa of his father who, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, is the center of a flourishing community on the banks of the Oued el Hammam river.  Like other students, he receives a traditional education in theology, jurisprudence and grammar;  he is said to have been able to read and write at the age of five.  Gifted student, Abdelkader managed to recite the Koran by heart at the age of 14, thus receiving the title of hafiz.  A year later, he went to Oran to continue his studies .  He is a good speaker and can excite his peers with poetry and religious diatribes . In 1825, he and his father went on pilgrimage to Mecca.  There, he meets Imam Chamil;  both of them discuss a lot of different topics.  He also travels to Damascus and Baghdad, and visits the graves of notable Muslims, such as Ibn Arabi and Abdelkader al-Jilani, also known as El-Jilali in Algeria.  This experience cements his religious enthusiasm.  On the way back, he is impressed by the reforms led by Mehemet Ali in Egypt.  He returns to his homeland a few months before the arrival of the French. French invasion and resistance First successes (1830-1837) In 1830, Algiers was invaded by France;  the French colonial domination over the regency of Algersupplante the domination of Deys.  There was much resentment against the Ottomans when the French arrived, and because of many rebellions in the early nineteenth century, the territory is too divided to effectively oppose the French.  When the French army arrived in Oranen in January 1831, Abdelkader's father was in charge of carrying out a campaign of harassment .  Muhieddine calls for jihad, and he and his son participate in the first attacks under the walls of the city It is at this moment that Abdelkader appears in the foreground.  At a meeting of the western tribes in the fall of 1832, he was elected emir, or Commander of the Believers (following the refusal of his father to occupy this position, on the grounds that he is too old)  .  The post is confirmed five days later at the Grand Mosque of Mascara.  In one year, thanks to a combination of punitive raids and cautious politics, Abdelkader managed to unite the tribes of the region, and restore security - his area of influence now covers the entire province of Oran .  French General Louis Alexis Desmichels, local commander-in-chief, sees Abdelkader as the main representative of the region during the peace negotiations, and in 1834 he signs the Desmichels treaty, which almost completely cedes control of the province of Oran to  Abdelkader .  For the French, it is a way of establishing peace in the region while confining Abdelkader to the west;  but its status as co-signer greatly contributes to raising it in the eyes of the Berbers and the French . Using this treaty as a starting point, he imposes his domination on the Chelif, Miliana and Medea tribes .  The French high command, dissatisfied with what he now considers as the unfavorable terms of the Desmichels treaty, recalls General Desmichels and replaces him with General Trézel, which provokes a resumption of hostilities.  The tribal warriors of Abdelkader meet the French forces in July 1834 during the Battle of Macta, where the French suffered an unexpected defeat . France reacted by intensifying its pacification campaign and, under new commanders, the French won several important meetings, including the Battle of Sikkak.  But the political opinion in France becomes ambivalent towards Algeria, and when the French general Thomas Robert Bugeaud is deployed in the region in April 1837, he is "authorized to use all means to incite Abd el-Kader to make openings  of peace .  The result, after long negotiations, is the Treaty of Tafna, signed on May 30, 1837. This treaty gives even more control over the internal parts of Algeria to Abdelkader, but with the recognition of the right of France to the  imperial sovereignty.  Abdelkader thus takes control of all Oran and extends his influence to the neighboring province of Titteri, and beyond The peace period that follows the Treaty of Tafnaben reaches both sides and Emir Abdelkader takes the opportunity to consolidate a new functional state, with Tagdemt as its capital.  He downplayed his political power, repeatedly refusing the title of Sultan and striving to focus on his spiritual authority .  The state it creates is largely theocratic and most positions of authority are occupied by members of the religious aristocracy;  even the main unit of money is called muhammadiyya, according to the prophet His first military action is to move south into the Sahara and at-Tijini.  Then he moves east to the valley of Chelif and Titteri but the Bey of Constantine, Hadj Ahmed, opposes resistance.  In other cases, he massacred the Kouloughlis of Zouatna for supporting the French.  At the end of 1838, his reign extended to the east to Kabylie, south to Biskra and the Moroccan border .  He continues to fight in Tijini and besieges his capital at Ain Madhi for six months, eventually destroying it. Another aspect of Abdelkader that helps him run his nascent state is his ability to find and use good talent regardless of his nationality.  He employs Jews and Christians on the path of building his nation.  One of them is Léon Roches . His approach to the army is to have a permanent troop of 2,000 men supported by local tribal volunteers.  He places in the towns of the interior, arsenals, warehouses and workshops where he stores items for sale for arms purchases from England.  Thanks to his frugal life (he lives in a tent), he teaches his people the need for austerity and through education, he teaches them concepts such as nationality and independence Peace ends when the Duke of Orleans, unaware of the terms of the Tafna Treaty, leads an expeditionary force that crosses the iron gates.  On October 15, 1839, Abdelkader attacked the French as they colonized the plains of Mitidja, and routed them.  In response, the French formally declared war on 18 November 1839 .  The fighting gets bogged down until General Thomas Robert Bugeaud returns to Algeria, this time as governor general, in February 1841. Abdelkader is initially encouraged to hear that Bugeaud, the promoter of the Treaty of Tafna, was returning;  but this time, Bugeaud's tactics would be radically different.  This time, his approach is that of annihilation, with the conquest of Algeria as a goal Abdelkader is effective in guerrilla warfare and for a decade until 1842 won many battles.  He often signs tactical truces with the French, but they do not last.  His power base is in the western part of Algeria, where he managed to unite the tribes against the French.  He is known for his chivalry;  on one occasion, he frees his French captives simply because he does not have enough food to feed them.  During this period, Abdelkader demonstrates political and military leadership and acts as a competent administrator and a persuasive speaker.  His fervent faith in the doctrines of Islam is undisputed. Until early 1842, the fight is in his favor.  However, the resistance is repressed by Marshal Bugeaud, because of Bugeaud's adaptation to the guerrilla tactics used by Abdelkader.  Abdelkader strikes quickly and disappears into the field with light infantry.  However, the French are increasing their mobility.  The French armies brutally repress the native population and practice a policy of burning land in the countryside to force the inhabitants to starve to desert their leader.  In 1841 his fortifications were almost destroyed, and he was forced to wander inside Oran.  In 1842 he lost control of Tlemcen and his lines of communication with Morocco were not effective.  He managed to cross the border into Morocco for a reprieve, but the French beat the Moroccans at the Battle of Isly . He leaves Morocco and can continue the fight against the French, taking Sidi Brahim, at the battle of Sidi-Brahim in September 1845 .  In 1846, he joined the Kabyles and was pushed back to Morocco with great difficulty Abdelkader est en fin de compte contraint de se rendre. Son échec à obtenir le soutien des tribus de l'Est, à l'exception des Berbères de l'ouest de la Kabylie, contribue à l'étouffement de la rébellion, et un décret d'Abd al-Rahman du Maroc, après le traité de Tanger, bannit l'émir de tout son royaume . Le 21 décembre 1847, Abdelkader se rend au général Louis de Lamoricière en échange de la promesse qu'il serait autorisé à aller à Alexandrie ou à Acre a commenté sa propre reddition avec les mots : « Et Dieu défait ce que ma main a fait » (bien que cela soit probablement apocryphe). Sa demande est acceptée et, deux jours plus tard, sa reddition est rendue officielle au gouverneur général français d'Algérie, Henri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale, auquel Abdelkader remet symboliquement son cheval de bataille En fin de compte, cependant, le gouvernement français refuse d'honorer la promesse du Général de Lamoricière : Abdelkader est envoyé en France et, au lieu d'être autorisé à être conduit en Orient, est gardé en captivité Abdelkader, his family and his faithful were detained in France, first at Fort Lamalgue in Toulon, then in Pau, and in November 1848, they were transferred to the castle of Amboise . The damp conditioning of the castle led to the deterioration of the health, as well as to the morale of the emir and his followers, and his destiny became a famous cause in certain literary circles.  Several personalities, including Émile de Girardin and Victor Hugo, ask for more details on the situation of the emir.  The future prime minister, Émile Ollivier, is conducting a public opinion campaign to raise public awareness of his fate.  There is also international pressure.  Lord Londonderry (known as George Vane-Tempest, 5th Marquess of Londonderry) visits Abdelkader in Amboise, and later writes to the then President, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (whom he met during his exile  in England) to appeal for the liberation of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (later Emperor Napoleon III) is a relatively new president, who came to power in the 1848 revolution when Abdelkader was already imprisoned.  He wants to break with several policies of the previous regime, and the cause of Abdelkader is one of them .  Finally, on October 16, 1852, Abdelkader was released by the president and received an annual pension of 100,000 francs . swearing never to foment trouble in Algeria.  He moved to Bursa, now in Turkey, and moved in 1855 to Amara district in Damascus.  That year, he wrote an Epistle to the French, in which he declared: "The inhabitants of France have become a model for all men in the field of science and knowledge .  He devoted himself again to theology and philosophy and composed a philosophical treatise, a French translation of which was published in 1858 under the title of Rappel à l'intelligent.  Notice to the indifferent .  He writes an article on the beard horse, also dealing with the origin of the Berbers . While in Damascus, he became friends with Jane Digby, as well as with Richard Francis Burton and Isabel Burton.  Abdelkader's knowledge of Sufism and his skill in languages earned him the respect and friendship of Burton.  His wife Isabel describes him as follows: "He dresses only in white ... wrapped in the usual snowy burnous ... if you see him riding without knowing it to be Abdelkader, you would get him out ... he has the seat of a gentleman  and a soldier.  His mind is as beautiful as his face Anti-Christian riots of 1860 In July 1860, the conflict between the Druze and the Maronites of Mount Lebanon spread to Damascus, and the local Druze attacked the Christian quarter, killing more than 3,000 people.  Abdelkader warns the French consul and the council of Damascus that violence is imminent;  When the conflict finally broke out, it sheltered a large number of Christians, including the heads of several foreign consulates as well as religious groups such as the Sisters of Mercy, in his home, in safety.  His eldest sons are sent out on the streets to offer all Christians shelter from the threat, under his protection, and it is said by many survivors that Abdelkader himself played an instrumental role in their rescue. "We were dismayed, we were all convinced that our last hour had arrived In this expectation of death, in these moments of indescribable anguish, heaven has sent us a savior!  Abd el-Kader appeared, surrounded by his Algerians, about forty of them.  He was on horseback and without armories: his beautiful, calm and imposing face contrasted strangely with the noise and disorder that reigned everywhere. - The Century, August 2, 1869 The reports published in Syria, while the riots have subsided, highlight Abdelkader's pre-eminent role, followed by considerable international recognition.  The French government increases its pension to 150,000 francs, and gives it the grand cross of the Legion of Honor ;  he also receives from Greece, the great cross of the Savior, the order of the Medjidied first class of Turkey, and the order of Pius IX of the Vatican.  Abraham Lincoln sends him a pair of inlaid revolvers (now exhibited in the Algiers Museum) and Britain, a shotgun encrusted with gold.  In France, the episode represents the culmination of a remarkable turnaround, of being considered an enemy of France during the first half of the nineteenth century, and of becoming a "friend of France" after having intervened in favor of  persecuted Christians . In 1865, he visited Paris at the invitation of Napoleon III, and was greeted with both official and popular respect.  In 1871, during the revolt of the Mokrani in Algeria, he denied one of his sons who excited the tribes around Constantine .  He writes Recall to the intelligent, notice to the indifferent . Abdelkader died in Damascus on May 26, 1883, and is buried near the great Sufi Ibn Arabi in Damascus. His body is found in 1965, and is now in the El Alia cemetery in Algiers.  The transfer of his remains is the subject of a film, entitled Poussières de Juillet, made in 1967 by Kateb Yacine and M'hamed Issiakhem . the only collaboration between these two figures of Algerian artistic and literary modernity.  This transfer is controversial, because Abdelkader clearly wanted to be buried in Damascus, with his master Ibn Arabi.