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A path to world-wide fame and the struggle that went with it
"History," as Rappahannock County author John Kiser noted, "is written by the victors." Perhaps more accurately, history is imagined by the victors, overlooking wrongs and often proclaiming self-righteous destiny.
What makes Kiser's new book – “Commander of the Faithful, The Life and Times of Emir Abd el-Kader” – so compelling is the mirror it holds against American history, both past and present, and the reflection is not always pleasant to look at.
Kiser calls this, "A story of true jihad," and it is about Algeria of 1830, and an Arab hero, Emir Abd el-Kader – once greatly admired by many Americans including Abraham Lincoln – who, with his faith and sense of justice, stands against imperial aspirations of France; a France driven by national pride, arrogance and greed, "masquerading," said Kiser, "as a 'civilizing' force."
When France began its colonization of Algeria in 1830, the inhabitants of its capital city, Algiers, were described by the American consul there, William Shaler, as "...civil, courteous and humane." Shaler also noted that they lacked "extraordinary bigotry, fanaticism or hatred," for those of different religions, and professed the, "Mohammedan creed," without hostility toward anyone else.
Unless, of course, one arrives with a flotilla of 700 ships and 30,000 infantry bringing the superior civilization of France along with a military policy which regarded the "American Solution" – simply eradicating interior tribes (also known as genocide) – as an option.
History is often better understood through the lens of the familiar, so imagine a young, 24-year-old native American who is extraordinarily brave, an excellent horseman, is devout in a deeply spiritual way, has both a scholarly and worldly education, and an oratorical flair to ignite the hearts of a vast army of plains Indians taking on the federal government.
Like the Sioux and Cheyenne, el-Kader and his confederacy of tribes defeated their overconfident enemy, the French, in a decisive battle. How different would history have been if Crazy Horse had sustained his leadership after Little Big Horn?
More obscure, but perhaps a better comparison in terms of religious authority and diplomatic acumen, was the life of Tecumseh who perished in the struggle between the British and Americans in the War of 1812. Like Tecumseh, el-Kader was able to sustain his moral authority even in the face of disagreement with his allies.
The interior of Algeria was not all that different from the American West: The soaring skies and plains of Montana, the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho, the deserts of Arizona; and the conditions and circumstances of the West were very similar to Algeria of 1830 with the exceptions of a unifying leader with a powerful faith in God and a common culture firmly rooted in Islam.
For 17 years, el-Kader defied and defeated the French, but in the end, their version of the "American Solution" worked. El-Kader eventually made the choice that the suffering of his people was not worth the continued fight, and so he surrendered to the French.
By then, el-Kader had become admired across the world, even in France. General Lamoriciere – a feisty French officer who had come to greatly respect el-Kader as his military opponent – negotiated honorable terms allowing el-Kader to leave Algeria to live in exile in the Middle East. However, promises were broken, and the Emir and his household were held captive in France for fours years before they were finally released.
The Emir and his family went first to Turkey, and then eventually settled in Damascus. It was here, perhaps, that el-Kader earned his enduring reputation.
Sparked by an incident involving unpaid taxes, Turkish officials spurred a virtual pogrom against Christians and foreigners. El-Kader gave refuge to the Christians. When an angry crowd demanded he hand them over, he refused citing the teachings of Islam. Some credit el-Kader with saving more than 10,000 people from the rampaging mobs.
The book is a good view from a Western perspective into the mind of a Muslim leader and a more accurate meaning of Jihad.
“Commander” is thoroughly researched – Kiser took six years to write it spending two to three months each year in many of the locations the story takes place – with a well-paced narrative, giving the reader a real flavor of a culture we really haven't spent a lot of time trying to understand. It is also a reflection of the prejudice, bigotry and ignorance that often drives foreign policy, even the foreign policy of this country in our own time.
Kiser says his books have, "a contrarian flavor," portraying subjects such as Islam when there seems to be, "irreconcilable differences between Islam and the West."
"Abd el-Kader was a man of deep faith combined with chivalrous humanism and intellectual openness," said Kiser.
On a visit to Algiers, Kiser relates that a Catholic nun showed him this passage from el-Kader's writings:
"If you think God is what the different communities believe – the Muslims, Christians, Jews – He is that, but also more...No one is an infidel in all the ways relating to God. No one knows all God's facets. Each...worships and knows Him in a certain way, and is ignorant of Him in others."
Kiser wrote “Commander” as a follow up to his book, “Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love and Terror in Algeria” – a book about Muslim-Christian harmony that ended in tragedy during the political upheavals in Algeria during the 1990s.
Kiser is a former technology consultant and broker and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and an MA in European history from Columbia University. He lives in Sperryville with his wife and young son.
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