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Algeria screens documentary on resistance icon Abdelkader El-Jazairi

June 12, 2017 at 12:18 pm

A painting of Algeria’s national hero, Abdelkader El-Jazairi [Wikipedia]

A special screening of a historical documentary on Algeria’s national hero Abdelkader El-Jazairi was shown yesterday on the 134th anniversary of his death.

The film Abdelkader was directed by Salem Ibrahimi and was shown yesterday at the Culture Palace in Algiers. Algerian Minister of Culture Ezzeddine Mihoubi attended as well as other artists, the media and the public.

The 96-minute film explores the life of Emir Abdelkader El-Jazairi, who died in 1883, his heroic career and his resistance efforts against French colonisation.

Abdelkader Ibn Mohieddine, commonly known as Abdelkader El-Jazairi, was a writer, poet, philosopher, politician and warrior.

Read: Why France’s colonial chapter in Algeria is anything but history

He was a political and military leader who founded the modern Algerian state and is revered as a symbol of Algerian resistance against colonialism and French oppression. He fought numerous battles to defend his homeland against French occupation.

His greatest challenge was the rupture associated with the various tribes and the division of national territory. Thanks to Jazairi a modern army, administration, diplomacy and economic organisation were all established during his time.

The film explores his exile from France and his arrival in Turkey and journey to Damascus in 1856 where he contributed to the establishment of a culture of tolerance, coexistence and interfaith. When he died he was buried next to the tomb of the great Sheikh Ibn Arabi in Damascus.

The director relied on the testimonies of specialists and historians to provide important details about El-Jazairi’s life.

The documentary was produced by the National Agency for Cultural Radiation with the support of the Algerian Ministry of Culture and represented by the Fund for the Promotion of Arts and Cinematic Techniques in the cultural capital of Tlemcen in north-west Algeria.