Algiers, June 2 (IANS) All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Chief, Asaduddin Owaisi visited the grave of brave military commander Amir Abdul Qadir, who was an Algerian religious and military leader for leading the freedom struggle against the French colonial invasion of Algiers in the early 19th century.

Being part of the all-party Parliamentary delegation led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Baijayant Jay Panda, Owaisi on Sunday afternoon (local time) took to his official X account, saying: “At the Muqam (grave) of Amir Abdul Qadir Al hasani Al Jazairi, rta in Algiers. Amir led Algerian Revolution against Barbaric French who invaded Algeria, amazing human being, military leader with a Moral Compass, Islamic Scholar (Aalim) Poet, Qadiri Sheikh, wrote Al Mawaqif.”

Earlier in the day, the AIMIM Chief in another post on X wrote: “Amir Abdul Qadir was a Military Commander against French Invasion, United all the Tribes of Algeria, was a great Orator, Abraham Lincoln send his revolvers as a gift… Saint Among Princes, the Prince among Saints… Hero for Algerians and all who oppose Oppression and Injustice.”

After concluding their successful engagements in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, the delegation arrived in Algeria on Friday and will hold various meetings till June 2 to garner international support against cross-border terrorism emanating from the soil of Pakistan.

The delegation, led by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda, includes BJP MPs — Nishikant Dubey, Phangnon Konyak and Rekha Sharma, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi, BJP MP Satnam Singh Sandhu, and former Indian diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

The outreach is taking place in the immediate aftermath of the horrendous April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, Operation Sindoor, and subsequent developments to foster global cooperation in countering terrorism.

Emir Abdelkader or Abd al-Qadir al-Hassani al-Jaza’iri was an Islamic scholar and Sufi, who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he built up a collection of Algerian tribesmen that for many years successfully held out against one of the most advanced armies in Europe.

His consistent regard for what would now be called human rights, especially as regards his Christian opponents, drew widespread admiration, and a crucial intervention to save the Christian community of Damascus from a massacre in 1860 brought honours and awards from around the world.

Within Algeria, he was able to unite many Arab and Berber tribes to resist the spread of French colonisation.

His efforts to unite the country against French invaders led some French authors to describe him as a “modern Jugurtha” (Jugurtha was a king of Numidia, the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa) and his ability to combine religious and political authority has led to his being acclaimed as the “Saint among the Princes, the Prince among the Saints”.

In 1830, Algeria was invaded by France; French colonial domination over Algeria eventually supplanted domination by the Ottoman Empire and the Kouloughlis. Western Algeria had already been the hotbed of numerous anti-Ottoman revolts, leading to little in the way of coordinated resistance to the French.

When the French Africa Army reached Oran in January 1831, Abdelkader’s father was asked to lead a resistance campaign against them; Muhieddine called for jihad and he and his son were among those involved in early attacks below the walls of the city, however these did not involve a broad coalition of tribes.

It was at this point that Abdelkader came to the fore. At a meeting of the western tribes in the autumn of 1832, he was elected him Amir al-Mu’minin (typically abbreviated to “Emir”). Following his father’s refusal of the position on the grounds that he was too old.

Abdelkader was seen as an appropriate candidate not only because of his age but also because of his own learning, devoutness and saintly bloodline. The appointment was confirmed five days later at the Great Mosque of Mascara where a proclamation was read calling in deeply religious terms on tribal leaders to join him.

–IANS

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