[MODERN JUGURTHA VS THE FRENCH COLONIZATION IN NORTH AFRICA] Abd-el-Kader: Emir de l'Afrique du Nord, défenseur de la nationalité Arabe, protecteur des Christiens opprimes. Sa biographie... [i.e. Abd-el-Kader: Emir of North Africa...

MOHAMMED PASHA, (The eldest son of Amir Abd al-Qadir), (19th century)., N. p., [later 1913].

COMPLETE TITLE: Abd-el-Kader: Emir de l'Afrique du Nord, défenseur de la nationalité Arabe, protecteur des Christiens opprimes. Sa biographie. Offerte au profit de la souscription nationale de la Flotte Ottomane par le fils aîne de l'Emir Abd-el-Kader, le général de division Mohammed Pacha. [i.e. Abd-el-Kader: Emir of North Africa, defender of Arab nationality, protector of oppressed Christians. His biography. Offered for the benefit of the national subscription of the Ottoman Fleet by the eldest son of the Emir Abd-el-Kader, Major General Mohammed Pasha].

Original wrappers. Roy. 8vo. (24 x 17 cm). In French. 10 p., 2 unnumbered b/w plates.

Extremely rare early brief French edition of "Kitâb tuḥfat al-zâ'ir fî târîkh al-Jazâ'ir wa-al-Amir 'Abd al-Qâdir" by Amir Abd al-Qadir's eldest son Mohammad Pasha, originally in Arabic in 1903 in 2 volumes, published for "the benefit of the national subscription of the Ottoman Fleet", including a brief biography of Abd al-Qadir, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of Algiers in the early 19th century.

This pamphlet including Amir Abd al-Qadir's biography written by his eldest son Mohammad Pasha has two b/w plates showing a photograph of al-Qadir and his medal that the municipality of Paris had struck in 1862, in memory of the banquet offered on behalf of the Parisian population to the Emir Abd-el-Kader.

Abd al-Qadir al-Jazairi (1808-1883), known as the Emir Abdelkader, Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine or Abdelkader El Hassani El Djazairi, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of Algiers in the early 19th century. As an Islamic scholar and Sufi who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he built up a collection of Algerian tribesmen that for many years successfully held out against one of the most advanced armies in Europe. 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 honors and awards from around the world. Within Algeria, his efforts to unite the country against French invaders saw him hailed as the "modern Jugurtha", and his ability to combine religious and political authority has led to his being acclaimed as the "Saint among the Princes, the Prince among the Saints".

Amir Abd al-Qadir (Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Hassani El Djazairi), (1808-1883), was a venerated Algerian Islamic scholar and a military leader who led a collective resistance against the mid-nineteenth century French colonial invasion of Algeria. He is remembered today as one of the nineteenth century’s most inspiring leaders for his humane treatment of Christian opponents during Algeria’s anti-colonial struggle and for leading an intervention to rescue the Christian community in Damascus from certain massacres in the midst of sectarian riots in 1860. Raised in his father’s zawiya, he excelled as a student, memorizing the Qur’an by the age of 14, and studying the Islamic religious sciences as well as subjects such as philosophy, medicine, and mathematics. He was especially known as a gifted orator who outshone his peers in the recitation of poetry and in delivering religious talks. His father, a notable spiritual leader affiliated with the Qadiriyya order, recognized his son’s precociousness and cast a leadership role upon him shortly after the invasion of Algeria by France in 1830.

After his father, citing his old age, declined to lead a tribal campaign against the French in 1832, Abd al-Qadir found himself elected Emir, or Commander of the Faithful, to organize a resistance that, within a year under his leadership, would unite Algeria’s western tribes. Emir Abd al-Qadir commenced a fifteen-year military struggle during which he often kept the French forces-which boasted one of the world’s most advanced armies-at bay through skillful guerilla tactics, strategic negotiation and treaties, and visionary state-building. All the while, he demonstrated chivalry and compassion toward his opponents and allies alike, taking care, for instance, to respect the individual religious beliefs of his prisoners of war and also purposefully integrating Jews and Christians into his new state. At one point, he released his French prisoners because he did not have the means to feed them adequately. But, by 1847, partly due to ruthless scorched-earth tactics by the French designed to isolate the Emir, he surrendered with a promise that he would not return to Algeria in exchange for exile in the East.

With the rise of the Second Republic, however, the French would break its monarchy's promise, and the Emir was imprisoned in France until 1852, when new political circumstances and advocacy from French notables, including former prisoners that he had treated humanely, led to his release, with a generous pension, to Bursa, Turkey. In 1855, he moved to Damascus and occupied himself with devotion and scholarship, his first loves, writing a philosophical treatise and, later, a book on the Arabian horse.

However, he would gain worldwide attention again in 1860 when a conflict between the Druze and Maronite Christians spread to Damascus. With the minority Christian population facing a massacre, he led his Algerian companions into the Christian quarter to bring thousands of Christians into his home for safety. When a mob demanded their release, he refused, citing Islamic principles to protect innocents. He was credited with saving 10,000 lives and received gifts and accolades from political leaders in France, the United States, Great Britain, and many other parts of the world. The New York Times described him as “one of the few great men of the century,” and his legacy lives on today even in the United States, where the town of Elkader in the state of Iowa is named after him, and among Muslims around the world who regard him as embodying the highest ideals of their faith.

Not in OCLC.