The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Abd el Kader ibn Mouhi ad Din

ABD EL KADER IBN MOUHI AD DIN, äb′dĕl-kä′dĕr ’bn′ moohē ad-dĕn, noted Arab chief: b. near Mascara, 1807; d. Damascus, Egypt, 26 May 1883. He was educated at Ghetna in an institution maintained by the Marabouts. When only eight years of age be went with his father on a pilgrimage to Mecca. In 1827, when 20 years of age, he visited Egypt, where he came in first contact with Europeans. His first entry into the affairs of public life was when Algiers was conquered by the French. On the defeat of the Turks, Abd el Kader placed himself at the head of the Arab tribes of the province of Oran and declared himself an independent ruler. On 3 Dec. 1833 he fought a bloody battle with the French, in which the French were decidedly beaten. A month later he again attacked the French under General Desmichels, commanding all the forces of France in Oran, and compelled him to recognize his authority. The result was that his power increased rapidly and he was proclaimed sultan by all the surrounding tribes and peoples. The truce with the French was only temporary, however, and in 1841 Abd el Kadcr was completely defeated and driven into Morocco. Here he appealed to the people in the name of Islam and declared a religious war. France then turned her attention to Morocco, the operations finally terminating in the Battle Isly, in 1844, after which the Sultan of Morocco repudiated Abd el Kader. The latter attacked the Moors on the night of 11 Dec. 1847, but was heavily defeated and obliged to flee to Algeria, where he was compelled to surrender to the French. Abd el Kader was now taken a prisoner to France. For five years he was held in France, though allowed an annuity of 100,000 francs. Finally, in 1852, Napoleon III liberated him, whereupon he retired to Brussa, Asia Minor, later removing to Damascus. During the massacres in Syria, in 1860, he rendered the Christians such services that Napoleon III awarded him the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. In 1865 he visited Europe again and was present at the Paris Exposition in 1867. During his later years he engaged in literary labors, writing a religious work, which was later translated into French (1858) under the title ‘Rappel à l’intelligent: avis à l’indifférent.’