Omar Derdour
Abou El Kacem Omar Derdour | |
---|---|
أبو القاسم عمر دردور | |
Born | Hidous, Teniet El Abed, Algeria | 13 October 1913
Died | 19 March 2009 | (aged 95)
Nationality | Algerian |
Occupation | Religious leader |
Known for | Nationalism |
Omar Derdour (
A disciple of
In 1954, Omar Derdour became a political worker within the National Liberation Front (FLN) and undertook a great deal of propaganda and mobilization in France in 1955 and 1956 and then in Cairo, Egypt and throughout the Arab world. After independence, Omar Derdour devoted himself to teaching, became a founding member of the Islamic Institute, and founded numerous other Muslim institutions and schools.
Early years
Derdour was born on 13 October 1913 in
In 1932 Sheikh Abdul Hafiz al-Hashemi took Omar Derdour to
Return to Hidoussa
In 1936 Omar Derdour and a group of fellow students founded a division of the Algerian Muslim Scholars Association and became active in education in the fields of religious and national awareness.
Struggle for independence
Omar Derdour directed the AML Party's Federation in Constantine, and was a member of the Central Committee and Deputy of the Constantine region from 1947 until 1951.[7] The purpose of the AML party was to publicize and defend the Manifest du Peuple Algerien; anti-French, it demanded equal rights for the Muslim population and an autonomous Algeria federated with France, the colonial power.[8] Between July 1955 and January 1956 he lived in Vichy, France, working with the National Liberation Front (FLN) on defining the objectives and approach of the revolution.[3] Derdour moved to Cairo, meeting Sheikh Mohammed Bashir Brahimi and other members of the Revolutionary Command. He was given the task of travelling to the Arab countries to raise support for the Algerian revolution.[3] Derdour was based in Cairo until he moved to Tunisia in 1960. He taught soldiers on the Algerian border until independence was achieved in 1962.[3]
Independent Algeria
After Algeria gained independence, Omar Derdour devoted himself to teaching Islam and Arabic. He founded the first Islamic institute in Batna in May 1963, followed by the creation of similar institutions in several cities across the country, reaching 10,000 students.[2] In 1981, Derdour was appointed director of the institute in Sidi Okba for training imams and regional inspectors of religious affairs in Batna, Khenchela and Oum El Bouaghi, holding this position until his retirement.[9] In 1986, Derdour was appointed regional inspector of Religious Affairs in Batna and Khenchela provinces.[3] In the 2000s he built a mosque and a zawiya in the locality of El Hamza in the municipality of Oued Taga and a school in the village of his birth.[9]
On 19 March 2009 Abou El Kacem Omar Derdour died after a long battle against the effects of a stroke.[9] He was buried in Tazoult.
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Bouseloua et al. 2011, p. 64.
- ^ a b c d Le parcours de Cheikh Omar Derdour étudié.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Obituary - Sheikh Omar.
- ^ Barrak & Muller 1996, p. 102.
- ^ Ghrib 2009.
- ^ Sheikh Sidi Abu al-Qasim Omar.
- ^ Derradji 2002, p. 577.
- ^ Bennett 2005, p. 242.
- ^ a b c Bouseloua et al. 2011, p. 65.
Bibliography
- Barrak, Anissa; Muller, Benedicte (1996). Femmes et Guerres (in French). Editions L'Harmattan. ISBN 978-2-7384-4181-2. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- Bennett, Clinton (15 May 2005). Muslims and Modernity: Current Debates. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-5482-9. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
- Bouseloua, Nadia; Guerfi, Azeddine; Mokhtari, Rachid; Thiriez, Philippe (2011). Aurès, Vivre La Terre Chaouie (in French). Alger: Chihab Éditions. ISBN 978-9961-63-839-2.
- Derradji, Abder-Rahmane (2002). A Concise History of Political Violence in Algeria, 1954–2000: brothers in faith, enemies in arms. E. Mellen Press. p. 577. ISBN 978-0-7734-7049-1. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- Ghrib, Habiba (16 June 2009). "Hommage au cheikh Omar Derdour". Le Jour d'Algérie (in French). Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- "Le parcours de Cheikh Omar Derdour étudié". Le Maghreb (in French). Le Maghreb. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2013.[dead link]
- "Obituary - Sheikh Omar" (in Arabic). Association of Algerian Muslim Scholars. April 23, 2009. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- "Sheikh Sidi Abu al-Qasim Omar". Aurès forum (in Arabic). 9 October 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
Further reading
- (in Arabic) Ahmad Tawfiq Madani, Ḥayāt kifāḥ: mudhakkirāt, Volume 1, al-Sharikah al-Waṭanīyah lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʻ, 1976.