Another Road to Damascus : An Integrative Approach to 'Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jaza'iri (1808-1883)

Winner of the BRAIS-prize 2016 This text challenges existing writing on ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā'irī which divides his life into two juxtaposed phases separated by narratives of conversion: from Francophobia to Francophilia, from militarism to pacifism, from activism to quietism, from Islamism to pluralism, from politics to religion. This work's interdisciplinary approach demonstrates that these narratives cannot be sustained in light of the evidence. Rather, they can be shown to originate in specific historical, cultural, and methodological tendencies within western societies and academies. Drawing on primary materials including archival documents and selections from his own writing, it constructively critiques his reception in the literature while advancing a continuous and contextualised account of his life and ideas. These include the relating of his ethico-religious and jurisprudential concerns to his political decision-making, and a resituating of his mystical writings within a definite moral, epistemological, and political context. By problematising these interpretive issues, this thesis aims at opening new avenues for understanding even as it offers its own solutions. In so doing, this study contributes to discussions on Sufism, political Islam, and east-west relations. This monograph has been awarded the annual (https://www.brais.ac.uk/membership/member-benefits/brais-de-gruyter-prize) BRAIS – De Gruyter Priz e in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World. Contents Foreword Introduction The Many Lives of ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazā’irī Aims and Methods An Overview of Sources Chapter Outline 1.0 Chapter One – Sirah Sayfiyyah: ʿAbd al-Qadir in North Africa, 1833– 1848 1.1 First Steps and Interpretive Framework 1.2 Origins 1.3 ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Internal Policy 1.4 ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Relations with France 1.5 ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Relations with Morocco 1.6 Conclusion 2.0 Chapter Two – ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Risālah on Hijrah 2.1 Style and Presentation 2.2 Sources 2.3 Forms of Inference and Argumentation 2.4 Further Themes: Sincerity and Hypocrisy 2.5 Faith, Nation, and Legitimation – The secondary literature in light of the Risalah on Hijrah 3.0 Chapter Three – Exile and Imprisonment on the Road to Damascus; 1848–1852 3.1 Imprisonment 3.2 Trial and Tribulation 3.3 Release 3.4 A ‘Road to Damascus’ Moment? 3.5 Continuity 4.0 Chapter Four – From Istanbul to Damascus, 1853–1864 4.1 An Algerian Island off the Sea of Marmara 4.2 A Reminder to the Reasonable and an Admonishment to the Negligent 4.3 The Dhikrā and a European Conversion 4.4 Arrival in Damascus, 1855 4.5 Riot, Rescue, and Representation 5.0 Chapter Five – Sīrah Ṣūfiyyah: Sufism, Suspicion, and the Kitāb al-Mawāqif; 1864–1883 5.1 Major Themes in the Kitāb al-Mawāqif 5.2 ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Later Life and Politics: Reading Conversion into the Kitāb al-Mawāqif 5.3 ‘ Abd al-Qadir’s Conversion to Pluralism: Investigating the Evidence 5.4 The Western Roots of ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Spiritual ‘Conversion’ 6.0 Conclusion 6.1 Another Road to Damascus 6.2 Reflections on the Road Onward Afterword Bibliography – Archival Sources Texts by ?Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri Additional Primary Sources Secondary Sources Appendix A – ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Risālah on Hijrah Appendix B – ʿAbd al-Qādir’s Mawqif #254 (‘He Is [Like] That’) Index Author Index

This text challenges existing writing on ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā'irī which divides his life into two juxtaposed phases separated by narratives of conversion: from Francophobia to Francophilia, from militarism to pacifism, from activism to quietism, from Islamism to pluralism, from politics to religion. This work's interdisciplinary approach demonstrates that these narratives cannot be sustained in light of the evidence. Rather, they can be shown to originate in specific historical, cultural, and methodological tendencies within western societies and academies. Drawing on primary materials including archival documents and selections from his own writing, it constructively critiques his reception in the literature while advancing a continuous and contextualised account of his life and ideas. These include the relating of his ethico-religious and jurisprudential concerns to his political decision-making, and a resituating of his mystical writings within a definite moral, epistemological, and political context. By problematising these interpretive issues, this thesis aims at opening new avenues for understanding even as it offers its own solutions. In so doing, this study contributes to discussions on Sufism, political Islam, and east-west relations.

This monograph has been awarded the annual BRAIS – De Gruyter Prize in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World.

Winner of the BRAIS-prize 2016 This text challenges existing writing on ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā'irī which divides his life into two juxtaposed phases separated by narratives of conversion: from Francophobia to Francophilia, from militarism to pacifism, from activism to quietism, from Islamism to pluralism, from politics to religion. This work's interdisciplinary approach demonstrates that these narratives cannot be sustained in light of the evidence. Rather, they can be shown to originate in specific historical, cultural, and methodological tendencies within western societies and academies. Drawing on primary materials including archival documents and selections from his own writing, it constructively critiques his reception in the literature while advancing a continuous and contextualised account of his life and ideas. These include the relating of his ethico-religious and jurisprudential concerns to his political decision-making, and a resituating of his mystical writings within a definite moral, epistemological, and political context. By problematising these interpretive issues, this thesis aims at opening new avenues for understanding even as it offers its own solutions. In so doing, this study contributes to discussions on Sufism, political Islam, and east-west relations. This monograph has been awarded the annual [BRAIS – De Gruyter Priz](https://www.brais.ac.uk/membership/member-benefits/brais-de-gruyter-prize)e in the Study of Islam and the Muslim World. Introduction -- Sirah Sayfiyyah: ʻabd Al-qadir In North Africa, 1833- 1848 -- ʻabd Al-qādir's Risālah On Hijrah -- Exile And Imprisonment On The Road To Damascus 1848-1852 -- Istanbul To Damascus, 1853-1864 -- Sīrah Ṣūfiyyah: Sufism, Suspicion, And The Kitāb Al-mawāqif; 1864-1883 -- Conclusion. Tom Woerner-powell. Dissertation. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 227-238) And Indexes. This text challenges Orientalist portrayals of Sufi and jihad-leader `Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri hinging on conversion from opposition to embrace of European values. Applying an inter-disciplinary approach to Arabic and European sources, this study advances a coherent, contextual, and continuous reading of his thought and actions. This text challenges Orientalist portrayals of Sufi and jihad-leader `Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā’irī hinging on conversion from opposition to embrace of European values. Applying an inter-disciplinary approach to Arabic and European sources, this study advances a coherent, contextual, and continuous reading of his thought and actions.