Shadee Elmasry – 15-Year Jihad Against the French in Algeria- AbdulKader al-Jazairi
AI: Summary ©
The transcript describes the history of Sayyid's relationship with the French during World War II, including his upbringing in a culture ofwill and his closest relative, Mohieddin. The French eventually consolidated control of the region and eventually lead the resistance to French-led war, leading to a conflict that lasts for two years. The French eventually take control of the region and eventually lead the resistance to French-led war, giving General Louis Alexis de Michel the control of the Oran province to the French, which is now the French are saying, we need a break because we can't stop, and we're doing a really good job. They are signing the de Michel treaty, giving control of the Oran province to the French, but they signed it as a start, giving General Louis Alexis de Michel the control of the Oran province to the French, which is now the French are saying, we need a break because we can't stop, and we're doing a really good job.
AI: Summary ©
Abdul Qadir Ibn Muhyiddin was born on the
6th of September in the year 1808.
Amir Abdul Qadir lived until 1883, so he
lived in his to his 70s and he
is a Hassani Sayyid from Ahlul Bayt.
The word Sayyid customarily is attributed to the
Hussainiyin and the Hassanis are tend to be
called Al Ashraf.
This is not a rule, this is more
like a Urf amongst people.
They call the Hassaniyin Ashraf and they call
the Hussainiyin As Sada, Sayyids.
He was an Algerian Imam, not just a
military leader.
He was raised in a culture where the
Shuyukh were engaged in the Jihad against the
French and hence there was no separation between
Ilm and Jihad at that time.
The Tullab Al Ilm had to be Mujahideen
at the same time.
There was no difference, just like Imam Shamed.
And what he did was, as we're going
to see, he inherited the Imara, being the
Amir, from his father.
They deemed him the most fit.
Now it's not always father and son, but
in this case it was.
And the tribes accepted him.
And he was somebody that has a very
unique relationship with Western Europe.
And we're going to tell you why.
Because they hated him at one point, and
they loved him at the end of his
life.
I'll tell you, you're going to see why
when we get to the end of this.
So he was born in Gutna, a town
and commune in Masqara, to a religious family.
And his father, Muhyiddin Al Hassani, was a
Muqaddim of the Qadiriyya.
That is a tariqah that goes back to
Abdul Qadir Al Jailani Al Hanbali from Baghdad.
Like other students, he received that full education,
grammar, mantiq, fiqh, hafidh al-Qur'an, without
a say, that was.
That's just a given.
Hafidh al-Qur'an by 15, that's like
you finish that by middle school.
Thereby, he was a hafiz.
He went to other cities to further his
education.
Now, what separated him from others?
He began to become an excellent orator.
Like Imam Shamil, Amir Abdul Qadir was a
great speech giver, and he could give rousing
speeches and rally people to a cause.
As a young man in 1825, he went
to Hajj.
And there in Mecca, he encountered Imam Shamil.
And it was recorded that they spoke at
length on different matters, including Imam Shamil's history
against the Russians and the jihad against the
Russians.
And they shared basically the same, they're about
to live the same life, essentially.
But one is by the Caspian Sea and
one's by the Mediterranean Sea.
That's the only difference.
He went to Damascus, he went to Baghdad,
and then he went to Egypt and said
that he was impressed with the reforms of
Muhammad Ali in Egypt.
Muhammad Ali, of course, being from the Qulqas,
the lineage of the Mamluks.
Of course, Sheikh Murad never fails to remind
us that his people ruled over Egypt.
And to be honest with you, why don't
you come back and take it again?
You'll probably do a better job.
I haven't been to Egypt in a long
time, but it's always seems to be a
bit chaotic.
In any event, in the beginning, Amir Abdel
Qadir was an unstoppable force.
In 1830, the invasion of France occurred.
French colonial * over Algeria supplanted the Ottomans
and the Koulooghils.
There were a lot of pent up resentment
against the Ottomans when the French arrived.
And due to numerous rebellions, the Algerians could
not oppose the French at all initially.
When the French Africa army reached Algeria in
1831, they reached Oran where Abdel Qadir's father
was asked to lead the resistance by the
tribes.
Mohieddin, this is the dad now, called, and
he and his sons were among those involved
in early attacks below the walls of the
city.
It was at this point that Abdel Qadir
came to the fore at a meeting with
the Western tribes.
Two years later into the jihad, he was
elected Amir al-Mumineen, and he was given
that name Amir al-Mumineen, following his father's
refusal to accept the position because he was
too old.
So the appointment was confirmed five days later
in the Grand Mosque of Maskara.
Within a year through raids, through politicking and
gathering the tribes, Abdel Qadir succeeded in uniting
all the tribes in the region, reestablishing security,
and his area of influence now covered Oran,
the entire province of Oran, the local French
commander-in-chief, General Louis Alexis de Michel.
He saw Abdel Qadir as the principal representative
of the area during peace negotiations.
And in 1834, they signed the de Michel
treaty, which ceded total control of the Oran
province to Abdel Qadir.
Basically, the French are saying, we need a
break because we can't stop.
You're doing a really good job.
We can't defeat you.
So this is a way that they establish
peace in the region, but confining Abdel Qadir
to the west.
They wanted to stop him.
And Oran is, as you see it, there's
right on the Mediterranean Sea.
So his status as a co-signatory elevated
him in the eyes of both the Berbers
and the French because now the Algerian people
see, okay, he's signing on our behalf.
He's our leader.
The French are saying, okay, this is the
man we're going to deal with.
So that signing that elevated him to that
level.
So using this treaty as a start, he
imposed his rule on the tribes around the
area.
The French high command were unhappy that they
saw this treaty as unfavorable because now, although
he's confined to the Oran province, which is
that northern province there, he's also getting stronger
and he's gathering more tribes and he's preparing
more.
So what did they do?
They recalled General de Michel and replaced him
with General Camille Alphonse Trezell, which caused a
resumption of hostilities.
They said, no, you gave up too much.
So Abdel Qadir's tribal warriors got ready for
war.
Now we're in year four of the Jihad.
So fought year two, they made peace.
Now we're in year four and General Trezell
has come down and they started fighting in
the summer, in July.
At the Battle of Macta and the French
suffered a surprise and unexpected defeat because Amir
Abdel Qadir, he had a victory.
Then he had two years to strengthen everybody
again.
So at that Battle of Macta, completely defeated
the French.
France's response was to step up its military
campaign.
Again, it took two years.
Now we're in year six of the Jihad.
They increased their numbers and they met them
again at the Battle of in 1836.
But political opinion in France was becoming wary
and ambivalent towards Algeria.
And when the new general came, took out,
Trezell is gone.
Now General Thomas Robert Bougad was deployed to
the region in April of 1837.
He was authorized to use all means to
induce Abdel Qadir to make peace again.
Why?
He's getting too strong.
He defeated us again.
The result after these protracted negotiations was a
new treaty called the Treaty of Tefna, signed
in year seven of the Jihad, 1837.
This treaty gave even more control to the
southern areas now under Oran, the interior portions
of Algeria to Abdel Qadir, but with the
recognition of France's right to imperial sovereignty.
Amir Abdel Qadir took the opportunity to consolidate
a new functional state with a capital in
Taqdemt.
He played down his political power, however, repeatedly
declining the title of a Sultan and striving
to concentrate on the education of the people
in Islam.
The state he created was a theocratic state.
Most positions of authority were held by scholars.
Even the main unit of currency was renamed.
The currency they used was called Al-Muhammadiyah.
So it was a purely religious state, just
as Sheikh Othman Danfodio did in Nigeria, which
we're going to read next.
And then just as Imam Shamil did in
Dagestan.
What was his first action?
His first military action was to move south.
Remember, he's up north, so he keeps pushing
south to gain more tribesmen.
He moved into the Sahara desert, and then
he moved east to the valley of Shalif
and Teteri.
But there he was resisted by local leaders.
Hajj Ahmed resisted him.
They said, no, no, you rule your area,
don't come and rule our area.
By the end of 1838, his rule extended
east to Kabili, south to Biskra.
These are all Berber names, by the way.
It's Amazigh.
This language is Amazigh.
And all the way to the Moroccan border,
the Emara of Abdel Qadir began to reach
its peak, its zenith.
And what helped him lead this nation was
his ability to find and use good talent
regardless of its nationality.
He would employ Yahud.
He would employ Christians on his way to
building his nations.
He had no problem with that.
And we take demonstrable knowledge from anybody, anyone
who has good, solid, demonstrable knowledge.
Keep in mind, there's demonstrable knowledge, there's rational
knowledge, and there is transmitted knowledge.