Livre - Emir Abd el-Kader

Emir Abd el-Kader (1807/8-1883), Algerian warrior and Sufi saint, was named as "one of the few great men of the century" by The New York Times. This exceptional and fascinating biography of the great Arab hero, by Abd el-Kader specialist Ahmed Bouyerdene, examines the spiritual life of the Emir from his idyllic early years in the almost biblical ambience of the desert, to his battles against the colonizing French Africa Army, ending at last with his exile in Syria. “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, The George Washington University, author of Sufi Essays and The Heart of Islam “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, author of What’s Right with Islam and Moving the Mountain “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, author of What Does Islam Mean in Today’s World? “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