Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (between 1806 and 1808 – 26 May 1883; ), known as Emir Abdelkader or ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Hasani al-Jazaʾiri, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of Algiers from 1831 to 1847.
As an Islamic scholar and Sufi who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he assembled a coalition of Algerian tribes that resisted one of the most powerful armies in Europe for 17 years. His treatment of prisoners and civilians has often been cited as an early example of humanitarian conduct in warfare, particularly by his Christian opponents.
After his surrender in 1847, he was detained in France for almost five years before being released by Napoleon III and taken to Bursa. Two years later, in 1855, he settled in Damascus. In 1860, his intervention to halt the massacre of the Christian community in Damascus earned him honours and awards from several countries. It was also in Damascus that he wrote his major work, the Kitab al-Mawaqif (the "Book of Halts").
Name
His full name was Abdelkader Ibn Mahieddine El-Hasani. "Abdelkader" — which is transliterated as ("servant of the Almighty")— can also be spelled "Abd al-Kader", "Abd el-Kader", "Abdul Kader", "Abdel Kader", "Abd el-Qadir", etc. "Ibn Mahieddine" (or "Muhyi ad-Din") means "son of Mahieddine", his father’s name. "El-Hasani" refers to his descent from Hasan ibn Ali, grandson of Muhammad, hence his status as sharif. During his exile in Syria, he was given the name "El-Djazairi" ("the Algerian"), which was passed on to his descendants. He was appointed emir (, "Commander of the Faithful") in 1832.
The choice of the name Abdelkader, common in the emir’s family tree, pays homage to Abdul Qadir Gilani, the 11th-century founder of the Qadiriyya Sufi brotherhood in Baghdad, to which Abdelkader’s family belongs.
Family background
Abdelkader was born in Ottoman Regency of Algiers between 1806 and 1808 in the hamlet of el Guetna (situated on the El-Hammam wadi, about 25 kilometres west of Mascara), into a family belonging to the religious and marabout elite.
Abdelkader belonged to a prominent religious ''awlad sayyid'' family of Arab origin, whose genealogical tradition traced its descent through the Hasanid–Idrisid line. Abdelkader's father, Muhieddine al-Hasani, was the muqaddam of the Qadiriyya zawiya of Oued El-Hammam. His religious knowledge and uprightness made him a mediator between the Bey’s authority and the people. His generosity towards the poor was well known, as were his integrity and impartiality, which meant he was regularly called upon to settle disputes between individuals as well as between tribes. He was on good terms with Sultan Abd al-Rahman of Morocco, who opened his borders to the peoples of the West as early as 1830. Abdelkader’s mother, Lalla Zohra, a woman of letters and well-versed in religion, was the daughter of Omar Bendoukha, muqaddam of a zawiya in Hammam Bou Hadjar. Affiliated with the Hachem tribe, this family had lived in the Ghriss plain since Abd el-Kadr ben Ahmed, a learned figure known as Sidi Kada, settled there around 1640; his mausoleum remains one of the most visited religious sites in the region. From a very young age, Abdelkader was steeped in stories about his ancestors, whose piety and learning served as edifying examples to him.
Youth Abdelkader grew up in his father's zawiya, which by the early nineteenth century had become the centre of a thriving community on the banks of the Oued al-Hammam. Like the hundreds of students supported by the zawiya, he received a traditional education that encompassed the principles and practice of Islam, the rules of etiquette (adab), the practice of virtues, reading and writing, grammar, Quranic exegesis (tafsir), hadith, and jurisprudence (fiqh). According to contemporary biographical accounts, he could read and write by the age of five. At 12, he was authorized to comment on the Quran and the hadiths. A brilliant student, he memorised the entire Quran at the age of 14, thereby receiving the title of hafiz. A year later, his father sent him to Oran, the seat of the Turkish administration, for further education. A gifted orator, he captured the attention of his peers with his poetry and religious oratory. His skill in taming and riding horses dated from his early childhood.
Raised in faith, morality, and moderation, Abdelkader found it difficult to cope with the lax atmosphere in Oran and returned to El Guetna before the end of the school year. There he continued his studies for two years with his cousin Mustapha ben Thami, son of the mufti of Oran.
In 1825, he set out on the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, with his father. He then stayed in Medina, before travelling to Damascus and Baghdad, where he visited the graves of noted Muslims such as ibn Arabi and Abdul Qadir Gilani (called "al-Jilālī" in Algeria). Returning to Mecca a year after his first visit, he undertook a second pilgrimage. These experiences reinforced his religious commitment. On his way back home, he was impressed by the reforms carried out by Muhammad Ali of Egypt. He arrived in his homeland in 1827 and, that same year, married his cousin Kheira bint Boutaleb
French invasion and resistance
1830–1833: French invasion, election of Abdelkader At the beginning of the 19th century, the Ottoman Regency of Algiers was a weakened state. Numerous rebellions were brutally suppressed. Relations with France, which for some forty years had been delaying repayment of a substantial debt owed to the Regency, were strained, and the "fly-whisk incident" (April 1827) served as a pretext for the French navy to blockade the port of Algiers. It lasted until June 1830, followed by the invasion of Algiers and the exile of Hussein Dey (10 July 1830), preludes to the colonial offensive. In France, the July Revolution (27–29 July 1830) brought an end to the Restoration (Charles X), which was replaced by the July Monarchy (Louis-Philippe I).
In January 1831, the French army took Oran, the capital of the Western Province, and drove out the Bey and his garrison. Left to their own devices, the tribes of the West experienced a period of political instability: rival powers, recurring intertribal conflicts, looting and the collapse of trade caused by insecurity, as well as the absence of effective taxation and judicial administration.
In April 1832, Abdelkader's father was asked to lead a resistance campaign against the occupiers. Muhieddine called for jihad and he and his son were among those involved in early attacks below the walls of the city, but to no avail, prompting the leaders of the three tribes of Oranie —the Hachem, the Beni Amer and the Ghraba— to join forces.
On 22 November 1832, representatives of these tribes gathered at Khassibia, near Mascara, to elect a leader. Following Muhieddine's refusal of the position on the grounds that he was too old (he died 7 months later), Abdelkader, aged around 25, was elected Commander of the Believers, Amir al-Mu'minin (typically abbreviated to "Emir"), and so leader of the resistance.. Abdelkader was seen as an appropriate candidate not only because of his age but also because of his own learning, religious devotion and claimed descent from Muhammad. Despite the reluctance of certain other tribes, the appointment was confirmed five days later at the great mosque of Mascara, and then by Sultan Abd al-Rahman of Morocco, whose pre-eminence Abdelkader was careful to acknowledge. Proclamation of Mascara:
The western tribes responded in contrasting ways to the call for jihad: the power vacuum left by the capture of Algiers led some makhzen tribes and the Kouloughlis to ask him to recognize the authority of the Turks of the Constantinois; the Moors of Tlemcen, deprived of the Mechouar occupied by the Kouloughlis, asked him to recognize the authority of the Sultan of Morocco; and the Douair and Smala makhzen tribes, commanded by Moustapha Ben Ismail, asked him to recognize their agreement with France. Abdelkader suppressed any attempts at secession; upon his entry into Tlemcen (summer 1833), he had his authority recognized, except by the Turks and the Kouloughlis of the Mechouar, who, however, consenting to establish peaceful relations, offered him a golden parasol, but without opening the gates of their citadel to him. With the support of the Moors, the emir launched the siege of the Mechouar, which failed. (A further attempt, in 1835, also failed and was followed by an appeal to the French by the Kouloughli garrison, which led to the first French occupation of the city (January 1836).)
It was in the name of Islam and jihad that the Emir rallied and motivated the numerous tribes and their fighters, and within a year, through a combination of raids against the rebel tribes and a cautious policy, he succeeded in uniting the tribes of the region and restoring security. His sphere of influence now covered the entire province of Oran, and the Army of Africa treated him as its principal interlocutor.
1834–1835: Desmichels Treaty, Battle of La Macta
On 26 February 1834, the French commander of western Algeria, General Louis Alexis Desmichels, proposed a peace treaty to Abdelkader, who accepted it. The treaty recognised his sovereignty over the western territories, with the exception of the port cities of Oran, Mostaganem and Arzew. The treaty called for good relations between the French and the indigenous peoples, respect for religions, the immediate exchange of prisoners, freedom of trade, and so on. For the French, this was a way of establishing peace in the region while also confining Abdelkader to the west. His status as a signatory helped strengthen his position in the eyes of the Berbers and of the French. In order to enable the emir to subdue the rebellious tribes, the general helped him to train a regular infantry force and supplied him with weapons.
Using this treaty as a start, the Emir imposed his rule on the tribes of the Chelif, and captured the towns of Miliana and Médéa. The French high command, unhappy with what they now saw as the unfavourable terms of the Desmichels Treaty, recalled General Desmichels and replaced him with General Camille Alphonse Trézel, which caused a resumption of hostilities. Abdelkader's tribal warriors met the French forces in June 1835 at the Battle of Macta, where the French were defeated. France responded by stepping up hostilities, and under new commanders it captured Mascara in December 1835 and Tlemcen in January 1836.
1836–1837: General Bugeaud, Treaty of Tafna In the spring of 1836, fresh reinforcements arrived to bolster the Army of Africa, now led by General Thomas Robert Bugeaud. The first clash between the two armies took place in July 1836 on the banks of the Sikkak; it ended in a clear French victory. But political opinion in France was becoming ambivalent towards Algeria, and with a desire to end the conflict, General Bugeaud was "authorized to use all means to induce Abd el-Kader to make overtures of peace".Service Historique de l'Armée de Terre, Fonds Serie 1H46, Dossier 2, Province d'Oran, cited in Bouyerdene 2012, p. 48}} The result, after protracted negotiations, was the Treaty of Tafna, signed on 30 May 1837. This treaty gave even more control of interior portions of Algeria to Abdelkader, who won control of all of Oran Province, the neighbouring province of Titteri, and even beyond.
Following a failed initial attempt in November 1836, the French army, under the command of Marshal Bertrand Clauzel, captured Constantine in October 1837—the last Ottoman stronghold of the Regency—forcing Ahmed Bey into exile. Two years later, he surrendered to the French.