page 3
A Prince Among
Barbarians
Nazmul Hassan
When French troops under General Bourmont landed on
the shores of Algeria in 1830, the Muslims of North
Africa were in a state of disarray. The war
on the French side served as a
‘distraction’ for its populace; the empire
was going through its own phase of
instability as Charles X (the current
King), abdicated in favor of Louis
Philippe. Whatever was the weakness of
the French, they were still the most
powerful army in Europe, and the
depleted Ottoman troops at Algiers stood
little change against that grand killing
machine. Soon, Algiers fell, and Oran
followed, and the intentions of the French were made
clear: this was a colonial project. As a result, the
panicking Arab tribes of Algeria decided to unite under
one man a devout Marabout (religious leader) known as
Muhi alDin who, reluctantly became the leader of a great
Jihad. Muhi alDin soon saw the impracticality of his
position he was old and near death and the Jihad needed
a strong, able man. Thus, he ceded his leadership to his
stout son, a man with deep set eyes and a pensive air
himself a scholar of Islam and a master cavalier. The
tribes fell in love. They named him Emir Al Mu’mineen
Prince of the Faithful.
Throughout the next 15 years, Emir Abd el
Kader would hold the French mission at bay
through several stunning military victories
(the Battle of Macta and others). He would
unite the Muslim tribes, ‘civilize’ them in
ways the French could have never done, do
great deeds worthy of praise from Muslims
and nonmuslims alike, earn the love and
reverence of his enemies, become the 19th
century’s most celebrated humanitarian,
craft his own Islamic state lose it, then see
himself be betrayed by his brothers in faith,
then see all his works disappear right in
front of his eyes. Yet throughout it all the
Emir’s cool and collected character and the
love of his dear mother kept him on his two
feet.
In 1847, the Emir’s Jihad would come to an
end and a more relentless, spiritual Jihad
would begin. Juggling with the fluctuating
loyalties of the Arab tribes (many tribes
abhorred his moralistic principles of war,
such as not decapitating enemy soldiers after
a battle), tired of the continual bloodshed,
and eager to bring about stability in Algeria
under French rule, he surrendered to General
Lamorciere, under the
condition that the
French would allow
him, and a small band
of his followers a noble
exile to Egypt
wherefrom he intended
to perform the Hajj and
pass the rest of his days
in silent, religious
contemplation. The
French agreed, then
proceeded to betray him. The French fleet
took him and his entourage to Toulon, then
moved him to Amboise castle. For nearly a
decade, the French kept him more or less
imprisoned. They stifled his free Arab spirit
by forcing him to live in the sludge of
Europe. Many of his family members
became restless. Some died of heartbreak
and depression, imprisoned in the cold,
morose greenery of rural France.
"[He] would
become the
19th century's
most
celebrated
humanitarian."
continued on pg 6 ...
A MUNA Youth Publication