Elkader’s namesake served Muslims, Christians

By Shams Ghoneim

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President Lincoln, Queen Victoria, Pope Pius IX, Sir Richard Burton, and French prisoners all sang Emir Abd el-Kader's praises.

Abd el-Kader demonstrated and lived the true teachings of Islam. His brave struggles during peace and war, imprisonment and exile can be a lifelong lesson across faith cultures.

In 1846, the founders of an Iowa community paid tribute to Abd el-Kader by naming their town, Elkader, after him.

John Kiser's book - “Commander of the Faithful” - pays homage to a pious Muslim born in 1808 in the Ottoman province of Oran, today's western Algeria, and Qur'anic scholar who became a much admired figure from Iowa to Moscow.

Abd el-Kader's path to worldwide recognition began with his ongoing resistance to the ill-advised and bungled occupation of Algiers in 1830 by a French army of 30,000 soldiers. His strength was rooted in his moral authority, deep faith, keen intelligence, and his bravery as a warrior. His significant weapons of choice were his diplomatic skill, desert-hardened horses, and his Jewish intelligence network.

Upon his death in 1883, the New York Times hailed him as “one of the few great men of the century.”

During the last 20 years of his life, Abd el-Kaderbecame a spiritual bridge between Europe and the Muslim world. He played a pivotal role in assuring Arab support for the Suez Canal project. He intervened to save thousands of Christians threatened by a Turkish-instigated pogrom in 1860.

In today's America and globally, Islam and Muslims continue to be under siege. The 9/11 attacks, the likes of Osama bin Laden, and other attacks by misguided extremists who held Islam and its followers hostage have largely contributed to misunderstandings, discrimination, and even hateful acts and speech.

One such act was in late March when a Muslim mother of five, Shamia Alawadi, a southern California Iraqi American woman, died after being brutally beaten in her home after receiving several threatening notes, one left by her body telling her to go back to her country (Los Angeles Times reports).

The image of Muslims and their religion, Islam, continues to face false criticism, politically motivated speech by several GOP presidential candidates, and in some media outlets. So-called anti-Sharia laws bills have been proposed in Iowa and nationally, fueling fear and bias about Muslims and Islam.

Kiser writes of Abd el-Kader: “Today he would be dismissed by many in the West as a ‘fundamentalist,' a label signifying to the secularist, a retrograde, narrow-minded, extremist.” The fact is el-Kader was none of the above. He was rightly guided and saw himself as a tool to do God's will according to the teachings of Islam, the traditions of the Prophet, and the noble Qur'an. For him there was no contradiction between faith and reason. Being a good Muslim mandated that he be a good soldier, a just, empathetic leader, and a compassionate, ethical man.

Kiser adds: “Abd el-Kader's resistance to French imperialism, and superiority has many parallels with America's efforts to democratize the Arab world today.”

May 5 celebration

This year, Elkader, is holding the Abd el-Kader Education Project that was born from the Kiser book. At 2 p.m. May 5, Elkader is celebrating its namesake with a free public forum in the historic Elkader Opera House. The fourth annual such forum also will honor the 2012 statewide winning Abd el-Kader essay by high school and college students along with international speakers, cultural entertainment, live music, and time for networking and discussions.

For more information, contact kathygarms@

yahoo.com.

Shams Ghoneim of Iowa City is the coordinator of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Iowa Chapter. Comments: shamsghoneim@mchsi.com.