On the anniversary of his death.. Prince Abdelkader renews the historical controversy between Algeria and France

A visitor looks at a painting of Emir Abdelkader in the exhibition bearing his name in a museum in Marseille (Nicolas Tokat, French)

Amboise Palace in the French department of Indre-et-Loire is famous for being the residence of many French kings throughout history. However, among its former guests is a famous Algerian prisoner, Prince Abdelkader, the first opponent of French colonialism in Algeria and the founder of the modern Algerian state, who later became 140 years since his death, at the heart of the memory and history debate between France and Algeria.

The activist and poet Abdelkader Ibn Muhyiddin (1808-1883) - the Sufi religious scholar and hero of the resistance against France who united all opponents of colonialism in the 1840s after the Algerians pledged allegiance to him as the emir of the resistance - was arrested in this palace with about a hundred members of his family and entourage, after he fought French forces in Algeria at the beginning of French colonialism.

After resistance that lasted 15 years, he laid down his arms in 1847 in exchange for a French promise that he would go into exile in Alexandria or Acre. However, Paris did not adhere to this promise, but rather transferred him to France, where he remained detained from 1848 until 1852.

On January 20, 2021, French historian Benjamin Stora delivered the “Memory Reconciliation” report to French President Emmanuel Macron regarding his country’s colonial past in Algeria, and his recommendations included the construction of a statue of Emir Abdelkader in France, which was rejected by members of the late Emir’s family.

The report was widely criticized for its reluctance to take a position requiring a French apology for the colonial past.

Following its issuance, the French presidency renewed its exclusion of “the option of repentance and apology” to Algeria.

Historical memory

The hero of the Algerian resistance - who was later awarded the French Legion of Honor in 1860 - returns to dominate the discussion between France and Algeria about the "reconciliation of the two memories."

Algeria demands the return of Emir Abdelkader's sword and robe, among the conditions it set for President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's visit to France, which was postponed several times.

The ongoing talks within the Algerian-French History and Memory Committee, which the two countries formed in 2022, also address the return of “other property symbolizing state sovereignty” belonging to Emir Abdelkader, including his Qur’an and tent.

At the end of last January, the Algerian members of the Memory Committee visited the Amboise Palace in search of traces of the prince that had faded with time.

The palace's director, historian Mark Mitai, said, "There are very few indications that reveal his capture, and this has sometimes generated frustration among those who go to this place to remember him."

The halls in which the prince, his family, and his entourage were arrested were rearranged to reflect the era of the French monarchy.

The prince is in French captivity

In the palace gardens, monuments were erected honoring in Arabic the memory of 24 of the prince’s relatives who died in Amboise, but the palace is working on several projects to explain the prince’s arduous life in captivity.

Algerian writer Ammar Belkhoja, who has published books about Prince Abdelkader, said, "When we were children in school, we were told that he lived a palace life, but the truth is quite the opposite. He was detained, while he was accustomed to riding long distances on horseback."

Mitai believed that "the story of his captivity must be looked at realistically, even if there may be difficulties related to the sensitivity of the subject."

In Algeria, some historians fear that French history will continue to portray the prince as the "great vanquished" at the expense of his path and image as a fighter against colonialism.

Prince's property

The issue of returning Prince Abdul Qader’s property appears to be a dilemma in which factors of history, law, politics, and culture intersect.

The sword and prince that Algeria is demanding are owned by the French Army Museum, which confirmed that it obtained them legally, explaining that the prince himself handed over his sword in 1847, and that his son presented the prince.

“The properties in question (the prince and the sword) were legally acquired by the French state through a gift from the Abdelkader family,” Jean-Luc Martinez, former director of the Louvre Museum, wrote in a 2021 report.

The Martinez report led to the issuance of two laws that allowed for a departure from the rule of “non-disposal” of public collections, in order to return property looted by the Nazis and human remains.

In order to respond to Algeria's request, France should pass a third law authorizing the return of cultural property.

At the end of last January, French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati confirmed that she would be “proud” to present this law, without announcing any timetable for that.

Meanwhile, items linked to Emir Abdelkader remain the subject of close follow-up in France.

Prince Abdelkader exhibition at a museum in Marseille, France (Nicolas Tokat, French)

Last October, the Algerian authorities discovered that one of his swords would be put up for sale at a public auction in France, so they bought it.

Likewise, a rare Islamic manuscript believed to have been seized by the French army from the Emir in 1842 was cancelled, after a campaign among the Algerian community.

“This manuscript was in the garage of a family whose grandparents were in Algeria,” auctioneer Jacques-Philippe Royland told Agence France-Presse after canceling the bid for the document, which was eventually returned to the Algerian authorities. “It is important that these items return to the best possible hands,” he said.

Biography of the prince

Prince Abdul Qadir was born near the Algerian city of Camp in 1807. His family belongs to the Idrisids, and they were rulers of the regions of the Maghreb and Andalusia, and his father was one of the symbols and sheikhs of the Qadiriya Sufi order in the country.

In 1830, Algeria was subjected to French colonialism, which prompted Prince Abdelkader to gather the tribes there, because of his leadership and lineage, and he was pledged to lead the revolution against the occupation, and he began to form an army and achieve successive victories in many cities, so he is considered the leader of the first popular revolution against the French forces after It invaded Algeria.

In 1847, he was imprisoned in France, and remained captive until 1852, until Napoleon III released him after his rise to power. He then left for Istanbul, where he met Sultan Abdul Majeed, where he settled there and in the city of Bursa for a while, after which he traveled to Damascus, where he lived for the rest of the year. His life until his death in 1883 at the age of 76, and he requested that he be buried near Ibn Arabi’s grave in the Salihiya cemetery.

After Algeria's independence, his remains were transferred there in 1965 in a large military funeral, led by the late Algerian President Houari Boumediene.

Source: Al Jazeera + French