Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine was an Algerian political and religious leader.
Background
Abdelkader was born near the town of Mascara on September 6, 1808, to a family of religious aristocracy. His father, Muhieddine (or "Muhyi al-Din") al-Hasani, was a muqaddam in a religious institution affiliated with the Qadiriyya Sufi order of Islam and claimed descendance from Muhammad, through the Idrisids. Abdelkader was thus a sharif, and entitled to add the honorary patronymic al-Hasani ("descendant of al-Hasan") to his name.
Education
He received a traditional education and mastered the subtleties of Islamic theology.
Career
At the end of his adolescence he visited Mecca and several Middle Eastern countries.
The trip greatly influenced his development.
In November 1832, 2 years after the French occupation of Algiers had begun, the Algerian tribes designated Abd el-Kadir to conduct a holy war against the invaders.
At the age of 24 this pious marabout became transformed into an energetic and highly capable warrior.
His example helped forge the embryo of the Algerian nation.
Abd el-Kadir's first task was to unite under his authority tribes torn by internal rivalries and others content to collaborate with the invaders. French errors facilitated his task: in an 1834 treaty they recognized Abd el-Kadir's sovereignty over the province of Oran and gave him the arms and the money to consolidate his power.
Once Abd el-Kadir felt strong enough, he revolted against the French, who reacted in 1836 by sending to Algeria the 19th-century master of counter insurgency warfare, Marshal Bugeaud de la Piconnerie.
Bugeaud defeated his adversary but proved to be a better soldier than a diplomat, since the Treaty of Tafna (1837), which he negotiated with Abd el-Kadir, extended the control of the marabout over a portion of the province of Algiers.
During the following years Abd el-Kadir reorganized the territory under his command and founded a theocratic state.
He set up an administration, organized a regular army, levied taxes, and created an arsenal.
By 1839 two-thirds of Algeria acknowledged his sovereignty. Disturbed by his success, the French government again ordered Bugeaud to contain the upstart. Abd el-Kadir was defeated and took refuge in Morocco.
The French used his presence there to declare war against the Moroccans and defeated them at the battle of Isly in 1844.
Abd el-Kadir returned to Algeria and organized the resistance anew. Abandoned by his followers and declared an outlaw by the Moroccan sultan, Abd el-Kadir surrendered in 1847.
He ended up in a French prison, where he remained until 1852, when the French allowed him to retire to Damascus.
In 1865 he refused the offer of Napoleon III to become the viceroy of Algeria.
In 1870 he condemned the insurrection of the Algerian Kabyle Berbers.
Abd el-Kadir died in Damascus on May 26, 1883.
Religion
His fervent faith in the doctrines of Islam was unquestioned. In the struggle that followed, his vision was always more religious than nationalistic.
His consistent regard for what would now be called human rights, especially as regards his Christian opponents, drew widespread admiration, and a crucial intervention to save the Christian community of Damascus from a massacre in 1860 brought honours and awards from around the world.
Politics
He played down his political power, however, repeatedly declining the title of sultan and striving to concentrate on his spiritual authority.
Abdelkader demonstrated political and military leadership, and acted as a capable administrator and a persuasive orator.
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
His wife Isabel described him as follows:
"He dresses purely in white…enveloped in the usual snowy burnous…if you see him on horseback without knowing him to be Abd el Kadir, you would single him out…he has the seat of a gentleman and a soldier. His mind is as beautiful as his face; he is every inch a Sultan. "
In 1843 Marshal Soult declared that Abd-el-Kader was one of the three great men then living; the two others, Imam Shamil and Muhammad Ali of Egypt also being Muslims.