Algerian freedom-fighters led by Sufi scholar Amir Abdul-Qader

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On May 27, 1837 AD, the Treaty of Tafna was signed by Algerian freedom-fighters led by Sufi scholar Amir Abdul-Qader and France, which invaded Algeria in 1830 to supplant the declining power of the Ottomans – who were preoccupied with the western-supported rebellion in the Province of Yunanistan that led to the emergence of Greece as an independent country.
As per the treaty, France had control of Oran and Algiers while the remaining two-third of the country was free. In 1839, the French renewed attacks, but met with stiff resistance and by 1842 Abdul-Qader had the upper hand, until the arrival of fresh troops from France and mass massacres of the Muslim people. Following Morocco's refusal to support him, Abdul-Qader surrendered to the French in 1847 and was sent to France as a prisoner. Years later, he was released, but not allowed to return to Algeria.
He went to Syria where he died at the age of 75 years in Damascus, after writing a treatise on philosophy. Algeria finally became independent in 1961 after a post-World War 2 struggle during which the French killed more than one million Muslims.