Emir Abd el-Kader: Hero and Saint of Islam

by Ahmed Bouyerdene, Eric Geoffroy (Foreword by)

Overview

This extraordinary biography of the Algerian warrior and Sufi saint, Emir Abd el-Kader (1807/8-1883), shows his dazzling spiritual qualities in the fight against the French colonial authorities. The New York Times called the Emir “one of the few great men of the century,” while Abraham Lincoln and Pope Pius IX both commended the Emir for rescuing 15,000 Christians while in exile in Damascus. In 1846, the town of Elkader, Iowa was named in his honor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936597345
Publisher:	World Wisdom
Publication date:	05/01/2013
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Ahmed Bouyerdene is a researcher in history, and a specialist on the Emir Abd el-Kader. He completed his PhD on the life of Abd el-Kader at the Université Marc Bloch, Strasbourg. He has published two books and several articles on the Emir in his native French, including Abd el-Kader par ses contemporains (Ibis Press, 2008). This is his first work to be translated into English.

Table of Contents

Map viii

List of Illustrations ix

Foreword Eric Geoffroy xi

Introduction Gustavo Polit xv

Chapter 1 The Last Breath 1

Chapter 2 His Roots 9

Chapter 3 The Warrior-Saint 31

Chapter 4 A Liberating Ascesis 55

Chapter 5 An Ethic Tested by Deeds 89

Chapter 6 A Man of His Time 123

Chapter 7 The Accomplishment 145

Chapter 8 The Man of Unity 179

Conclusion The Legacy of Abd el-Kader 205

Chronology 209

Glossary 219

Acknowledgements 225

Suggestions for Further Reading 227

Biographical Notes 229

Index 231

Editorial Reviews

Abd el-Kader’s most renowned deed was the rescue, at great risk to his own life, of over 10,000 Christians who were under all-out onslaught from an army of Druze in Damascus in 1860, an act which attracted the warm acclaim of such figures as Abraham Lincoln, Pope Pius IX, and Napoleon III. The present book centers on Abd el-Kader’s inner life, his knowledge of Sufi mysticism, and his practice of unceasing mental prayer. This book displays the real Islam to a world whose knowledge of Islam is ‘Islamic’ terrorism.

William Stoddart

This book is an excellent overview of the Emir’s life, spirituality, and times. In an era of widespread misunderstanding about Islam, this biography provides a refreshing portrait of a classic ‘defender of the faith’ who was as fiercely dedicated to Muslim chivalry as he was to opposing colonial occupation, and who took full responsibility for the protection of the innocent and vulnerable, no matter their religion or birthplace.

Roger Gaetani

Emir Abd el-Kader was one of the most remarkable figures in recent Islamic history, combining perfection in both the active and the contemplative life, an achievement that remains of great significance today for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The study of this figure by Bouyerdene is one of the best in the field and is likely to draw even greater attention to this hero and saint.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr

This biography of the great Algerian leader—admired in his lifetime not only by his contemporaries such as President Lincoln, but also by his foes—will help us to rediscover in our own times the true spirit of Islam and to gain a better appreciation of the meaning of the misunderstood term jihad, whose qualities of nobility and magnanimity in the face of strife, were exemplified by the Emir’s life.

M. Ali Lakhani

In this superb biography of the life and teachings of the Emir Abd el-Kader one finds brilliantly manifested the deepest ideals of the Islamic faith. It is for this reason that he continues to be regarded in our times as the Muslim hero par excellence—a hero in whom the most noble chivalry was combined with the metaphysical insights of a true sage, and the spiritual graces of a realized saint.

Reza Shah-Kazemi

Groundbreaking, inspiring, and timely, this biography documents the life of the unsung hero of Algerian nationalism. Emir Abd el-Kader was a compassionate warrior and negotiator with the French, as well as a defender of religious minorities in the Ottoman Empire. Ahmed Bouyerdene’s scholarly yet accessible work is an eloquent testimony that religion can be a galvanizing force for the greater good as we work toward building bridges between the Muslim world and the West.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf

This wonderful and much-needed translation conveys the beauty and majesty of the original. It is an accessible and at times exhilarating account of a seemingly legendary individual. The translator’s excellent introduction situates the life of the Emir in the political crosscurrents of his time and spiritual undercurrents of Islam, demonstrating how the former never compromised the latter. Through this work, one gains a true vision of the chivalry and sanctity that defines Islam when practiced in all its depth and breadth.

Joseph Lumbard

Few figures from the last centuries can be considered as embodying the breadth and depth of a whole spiritual tradition, indeed of an entire civilization, as did the Emir Abd el-Kader. Ahmed Bouyerdene’s beautiful biography testifies to an Islam lived up to its most elevated and heroic reaches, an Islam that challenges the narrowness of too many of its fierce critics and zealots alike.

Patrick Laude