Emir Abdelkader
Emir Abdelkader was born on September 6, 1808. See ranking, bio blurb, and everyone else born that day.
About Emir Abdelkader
Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din (between 1806 and 1808 – 26 May 1883; Arabic: عبد القادر ابن محي الدين, romanized: ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Muḥy al-Dīn), known as Emir Abdelkader or ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Hasani al-Jazaʾiri, was an Arab Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion of Algiers from 1831 to 1847. As an Islamic scholar and Sufi who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he built up a collection of Algerian tribesmen that for 17 years successfully held out against one of the most advanced armies in Europe. His respect for what we now call human rights has often been noted, particularly by his Christian opponents. After his surrender in 1847, he was detained in France for almost five years before being released by Napoleon III and taken to Bursa. Two years later, in 1855, he settled in Damascus. In 1860, his intervention to halt the massacre of the Christian community in Damascus earned him honours and awards from a multitude of countries. It was also in Damascus that he wrote his major work, the Kitab al-Mawaqif (the "Book of [Political] Positions").