During his lecture commemorating the Second Allegiance to Emir Abdelkader, held last Thursday at the Oran Cinematheque and organized by the Wahrani Academy for Scientific Studies and Cultural Interaction, Professor Abdelkader Fidouh revisited several personal memories that remain deeply rooted in his mind as a native of the city of Mascara
He recounted that during an academic conference hosted in one of the Gulf countries, a well-known international lecturer claimed that the concept of a “regular army” in the Arab world was exclusive to a specific Arab state, deliberately overlooking Algeria
Professor Fidouh explained that he felt a strong sense of indignation toward this historical distortion. Spontaneously taking the floor, he questioned the speaker on how he could ignore a country called Algeria — a nation where the revolutionary leader Emir Abdelkader, despite extremely complex circumstances, succeeded in establishing a modern state in the true sense of the word. At a time when most of the states that exist today were merely tribal groupings, and when security structures elsewhere were governed by tribal loyalties, Algeria under the wise leadership of Emir Abdelkader possessed a fully organized regular army
The Algerian army of Emir Abdelkader inflicted significant defeats on the French Empire. Throughout his resistance, the Emir managed to overcome approximately one hundred and twenty French generals, many of whom were among Napoleon Bonaparte’s elite officers. Moreover, Emir Abdelkader achieved military self-sufficiency by manufacturing weapons in Miliana, while the Algerian state of that period operated under various civil laws comparable to those of the great powers of the time
Professor Fidouh added that the moment he mentioned the name of Emir Abdelkader, the entire audience — Arabs and foreigners alike — stood up and applauded spontaneously, out of recognition for the immense historical value of this exceptional Algerian figure. History books continue to preserve the Emir’s legacy, particularly his commitment to the protection of prisoners’ rights and religious minorities, in addition to laying the foundations of the Algerian state