What always stuns me is that for hundreds of years while my European ancestors were not the most "civilized" folks in the world, Muslims were advancing science, math, and freedom of religion. Here we have the story of Abd el-Kader that begins at the end.
The year was 1860, and the world was, as usual, in upheaval. In China, the Second Opium War was coming to an end. America was preparing itself for major surgery, in the form of the Civil War, that would finally cure the young nation of its congenital defect of slavery. And in the heart of the Middle East, in a province of the Turkish Ottoman Empire that would later become modern-day Syria, an unholy concoction was brewing. That’s right: politics was mixing with religion.
Christians and Muslims had lived side-by-side in the holy land for over a thousand years. Muslim armies had conquered modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt in the middle of the seventh century, and while the Muslims maintained full political authority, Christians and Jews were allowed to freely practice their religion. The notion that non-Muslims were forced to convert at the point of a sword is laughable–in Egypt, for instance, it is estimated that Muslims made up only half of the population in the year 1200–five hundred years later.
The is the story of Abd el-Kader. He was born near the town of Mascara near Oran, in 1807 or 1808 to a family of warriors and religious leaders. Saying he was raised to be a great man might be an understatement, although something he never wanted. Later in his life he said he just wanted to lead a life of prayer, meditation, and teaching.
But history got in the way (funny how that happens sometimes).
In 1830, Algeria was invaded by France. Abd el-Kader was elected the leader of the resistance. Off and on for the next 17 years he fought the French. I say off and on cause at every turn he was successful in negotiating truces and treaties (he had no desire to fight), which the French broke each and every time.
At one point 100,000 French soldiers or 1/3 of their entire army could not capture nor control him, even though they tried ruthless tactics. One French general wrote in his journal:
I shall leave not a single tree standing in their orchards, not a head on the shoulders of these wretched Arabs [....] I shall burn everything, kill everyone.
On the other hand Abd el-Kader by some is considered the "grandfather" of the Geneva Convention. He had very specific written rules for how captured French soldiers should be treat and numerous times he'd go so far as to free them if he didn't have enough supplies to feed them.
Eventually in 1848 the French proved too much and he surrendered and was forcibly exiled to France. Long story short, in 1855 Abd el-Kader was allowed to move to Damascus. And this is where things get really, really interesting.
And so it was that in 1860, Abd el-Kader, the tragic hero of the Arab world, found himself in the epicenter of the maelstrom of mayhem. Abd el-Kader had retired from political life, but he still wielded a substantial amount of symbolic power, should he need it. He would.
At the time Druze (an offshoot of Islam) and Christians (including many Europeans) made up the majority of the population in Damascus. The Turks controlled the government and military. They felt if they could turn the Druze population against the Christians it would help them politically. So they staged events, which they blamed on the Christians to enrage the citizens.
The goal was for the citizens to riot, where the Turks would direct all the Christians to a church outside of town and slaughter them. Or as the Ahmed Pasha, the governor of Damascus said, he wanted nothing more than to give his population a "correction." Today we would call it ethnic cleansing.
Abd el-Kader found out about the plot, put together a group of several hundred men, veterans of his battles with the French and, well read for yourself:
All afternoon on July 10, Abd el-Kader plunged into the chaos of the Christian quarter with his two sons shouting: "Christians, come with me! I am Abd el-Kader, son of Muhi al-Din, the Algerian [....] Trust me. I will protect you." For several hours his Algerians led hesitant Christians to his fortress like home in the Nekib Allée, whose two-story interior and large courtyards would become a refuge for the desperate victims.
"As night advanced fresh hordes of marauders–Kurds, Arabs, Druzes–entered the quarter and swelled the furious mob, who, glutted with spoil, began to cry for blood. Men and boys of all ages were forced to apostatize and were then circumcised on the spot [....] Women were raped or hurried away to distant parts of the country where they were put in harems or married instantly to Mohammedans," wrote Churchill of the events. "To say that the Turks took no means to stay this huge deluge of massacre and fire would be superfluous. They connived at it, they instigated it, they shared in it. Abd el-Kader alone stood between the living and the dead."
Of course it was soon known what he was doing, but as mobs approached his house he refused to hand a single person over. He fought them off not with a sword or gun, but by quoting scripture:
My brothers, your behavior violates the law of God. What makes you think you have a right to go around killing innocent people? Have you sunk so low that you are slaughtering women and children? Didn’t God say in our holy book, Whoever kills a man who has never committed murder or created disorder in the land will be regarded as a murderer of all humanity?
The mob left. For a few days he offered a large cash reward for any Christian brought to his house unharmed. By the end so many Christians were in his house it was said there was no room to sit, much less lay down. And so it came to be:
The worst of the rioting ended on July 13th, 1860–one hundred and fifty years ago today. At least 3,000 Christians were killed before it was all over. Abd el-Kader was credited with saving upwards of 10,000 Christians, including the entire European diplomatic corps.
Abd el-Kader died (here is the actual New York Times obituary) in Damascus on May 26, 1883 and was buried near the great sufi Ibn Arabi. World leaders from the Pope to the President of the United States were said to have mourned his death.
I don't know where I found this story today. It was on some blog talking about the Islamic center being proposed near "Ground Zero." Just saw the link and opened it up in another tab and came back to it a few hours later and I was blown away.
I am no history expert but I do read and I get the History Channel on my "TV machine" so I know Islam isn't a radical religion. And in fact throughout history many times they have showed Christians a lot more respect then we showed them, but this is by far the best example I've seem.
I'd say forward it off to your wingnut friends and co-workers, but the article is almost 6,000 words long so I doubt they'd get through it. If you have time I hope you do cause I didn't do it justice, but I tried.