Why the new Emir Abdelkader Chair at Oxford University will do so much to unite the Arab World with the West

When teaching at Oxford University, the oldest in England, I was regularly served meals on High Table underneath a magnificent portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. The 16th Century work by court artist Nicholas Hilliard is in the dining Hall at Jesus College – where I lectured in French – alongside paintings of others linked with the great seat of learning, including former British Prime Minister and alumnus Harold Wilson.

A framed image of T.E.Lawrence, the fabled “Lawrence of Arabia”, was of particular interest to me. He was due to become an academic at Oxford, after reading History at Jesus but, thanks to a university scholarship, Lawrence was able to head to the Middle East, to learn Arabic, and take part in archeological digs. All of this laid the foundations for him to join the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire as a British Intelligence officer during the First World War. 

Lawrence’s derring-do was immortalised in David Lean’s 1962 Hollywood epic, Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole as the eponymous hero, and Omar Sharif as a fictional Arab leader called Sherif Ali ibn al Kharish.

Such vivid ties with the past are among the highlights of an Oxford education. It often feels like mythical figures are still living inside the ancient golden walls, inspiring new generations to lead adventurous, successful lives. 

These were certainly my thoughts this summer when, during a return to Jesus College, I was delighted to learn that a new Oxford Chair was being named after Emir Abdelkader, the real-life Arab leader, and indeed globally-loved legend. Better still, he is widely viewed as the founder of modern Algeria – the country where my family comes from. 

Abdelkader al Jazairi (The Algerian) not only initiated highly effective resistance against French occupiers in the 19th Century, but was known for his humanitarian approach to conflict. In 1860, he won international honours for stopping the massacre of thousands of Christians by Druze rioters in Damascus, where he had settled, using an extremely well organised force of fellow Algerians.

Awards ranged from a Vatican Medal from the Pope, along with the equally prestigious papal knighthood of the Order of Pope Pius IX, to the Order of the White Eagle from the Russian Tsar. American President Abraham Lincoln sent Abdelkader a pair of pistols, with decorative gold inlay. 

Beyond his heroics, Emir Abdelkader was first and foremost a renowned Muslim scholar, and this is why the new Chair was inaugurated at Oxford University’s Centre for Islamic Studies.

At the same time, a new “Algiers Room”, named after Algeria’s capital, was opened.

The creation of a new Chair at Oxford is hugely significant. Many professorships date back hundreds of years, and are a remarkable part of the historical continuity that makes the University so successful. Emir Abdelkader’s name will provide a focal point for generations of scholars over the coming centuries, linking western academia with the Arab and Muslim worlds in the most magnificent way possible.

READ: UN chief says Muslims face discrimination, urges action to combat Islamophobia

Those present at the inauguration recalled Britain’s love for Abdelkader, not least of all for the way he stood up to the French military – then one of the most sophisticated fighting forces in the world. Unlike his savage foe, Abdelkader was completely against “civilising” enemies by trying to snuff out their language and religious identity, and he did not want to massacre them either.

Abdelkader allowed French priests to visit Christian prisoners, and refused to let anybody sacrifice themselves unnecessarily. He instead encouraged soldiers to surrender if victory became impossible. Many described him as a rebel driven by love.

Queen Victoria, the personification of the British Empire – the largest ever seen – during the 19th Century also revered Abdelkader, as did plenty of ordinary Imperial citizens. The first horse to win the Grand National, still England’s most popular horse race, in consecutive years in the 1850s was named after Abdelkader. 

Algiers’s diplomatic connections with England in fact go back as far as 1580, when Queen Elizabeth I appointed John Tipton as her country’s first Consul in the port city. Within a hundred years, a Treaty of Peace and Commerce had been agreed. Measures included allowing British merchant ships privileged access to North African waters and eminently lucrative markets. 

The new Oxford Chair agreement follows in this tradition. It was formally signed by Kamel Baddari, Algeria’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Dr. Farhan Nizami, the Oxford Centre’s Director. Among other luminaries in attendance at the inauguration were Nourredine Yazid, Algeria’s Ambassador in London, and Sheikh Mohamed Maâmoun Al Kacimi Al Hoceini, Rector of Djamaâ El-Djazair, the Grand Mosque in Algiers. James Downer, the British Ambassador to Algiers was also there.

This was certainly a measure of how far Algeria has come since Emir Abdelkader laid the foundations of the modern state – one that finally won its official independence by defeating France militarily in 1962.

The Rector of Djamaâ El-Djazair noted during his inauguration speech that remembering Emir Abdelkader was “not merely a return to history”. On the contrary, his example was more relevant than ever in a world racked by the barbaric killing of civilians, especially children in places such as Palestine, and multiple other forms of grotesque injustice. He believed in protecting human life at all costs, and wanted disputes to be settled through diplomacy, whenever possible.

Just as importantly, Emir Abdelkader is now viewed as a universal figure, and indeed a unifying one. Common goals that will be pursued through the new Chair will include developments in Science, Technology and Higher Education. Building academic bridges between Algeria and the UK are all part of this, as is the more general aim of improving relations in all other sectors, from Energy to Security and Trade. Bilateral commerce between Algeria and the UK now exceeds £2.6 billion annually, for example. Algeria is also one of the UK’s top suppliers of crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum. 

The way things are going, it will not be long before a portrait of an Algerian luminary joins the British ones at Jesus College, and indeed other illustrious Colleges which make up Oxford University. 

OPINION: Fighting the Pope on his apostolic journey to Algeria further exposed Donald Trump as a warmongering fool

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.