Si Kaddour Benghabrit
Si Kaddour Benghabrit | |
---|---|
عبد القادر بن غبريط Abdelkader Ben Ghabrit | |
Born | Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria | 1 November 1868
Died | 24 June 1954 Paris, France | (aged 85)
Relatives | Nouria Benghabrit (great-niece) |
Abdelkader Ben Ghabrit (
He participated in the
During the Occupation of France, he hid and saved Jews in the basements of the Grand Mosque of Paris. Alongside Abdelkader Mesli, he joined the resistance and protected numerous victims, sometimes estimated to be more than a thousand.[2][3][4]
He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (1939) and was a recipient of the French Resistance Medal with rosette (1947).
Biography
Si Kaddour Benghabrit came from a prominent
In 1892, he became assistant interpreter at the
In 1901, he served on the Franco-Moroccan commission to delineate the
Treaty of Fes
In 1912, he interpreted the negotiations between Sultan
World War I
In November 1914, the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War on the side of Germany. The Ottoman Sultan-Caliph Mehmed V, regarded as the spiritual leader of the entire Sunni Muslim world, issued a declaration of jihad (holy war) on 4 November 1914 urging all Muslims throughout the world to fight against Russia, Britain and France. France had millions of Muslims in its colonial empire, and there were serious worries in Paris about the loyalty of Muslims under French rule after the declaration of jihad. Benghabrit used all of his influence to argue that French Muslims should remain loyal to France, which endeared him to the French government.[13] For the most part, French Muslims remained loyal to the republic during World War One and disregarded the Ottoman declaration of jihad, which improved his standing in Paris. During the war, Benghabrit urged Muslim men to enlist in the French Army and gave speeches before Muslim soldiers to tell them that they were fighting for the right side by fighting for France.[13]
In 1916, France sent him to
In 1917, Si Kaddour founded in the
Intelligence
Throughout his career, Ben Ghabrit supplied France with valuable information about Muslim populations.[10] The Quai d'Orsay's Africa-Levant division described him as one of its "most trusted Arab informants."[10] In April 1920, he supplied the French premier and foreign minister Alexandre Millerand with a 23-page report on Muslim attitudes in North Africa and the Levant toward France, arguing for more autonomy in French colonies and support for the Paris Muslim Institute as a vital source of intelligence.[10]
Grand Mosque of Paris
In 1920, the Society of Habous and Holy Places of Islam established the Algiers prefecture. It intended to apply for authorization to construct an Institute and a Mosque in Paris, to have a structure to symbolize the eternal friendship of France and Islam, and memorialize the sacrifice of the tens of thousands of Muslim soldiers who died fighting in support of France during World War I, including at the Battle of Verdun. The Great Mosque of Paris was built in the 5th arrondissement, completed in 1926. At the opening of the Great Mosque, Benghabrit in his speeches in both French and Arabic praised the "eternal union" of France and Islam.[13]
The Muslim Institute of the
World War II and Jews
A sophisticated man and frequenter of Parisian salons, Ben Ghabrit was dubbed "the most Parisian Muslim".[20] During World War II and after the fall of France, Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit worked to protect his people, both Muslims and Jews, arranging for forged papers for an estimated 100 Jews to certify them as Muslim.[21] He also arranged to have Jewish refugees hidden in the mosque at times of German roundups, and transported by the Resistance out of the country.[21] Also he saved the lives of at least five hundred Jews, including that of the Algerian singer Salim Halali, making the administrative staff grant them certificates of Muslim identity, which allowed them to avoid arrest and deportation.[22][23][24] In addition, during the war in France, many Muslims joined the French Resistance movement.
In a documentary entitled Mosque of Paris, the forgotten, produced for the show Racines de France 3 in 1991,
The figures for the number of Jews saved by staying in the Mosque of Paris during this period differ according to the authors. Annie-Paule Derczansky, president of the Association des Bâtisseuses de paix, states that according to Albert Assouline, as stated in the Berkani film, 1600 people were saved. On the other hand, Alain Boyer, former head of religious affairs in the French Ministry of Interior, has stated that the number was closer to 500 people.
Legacy and honors
For his contributions, Ben Ghabrit was awarded the
Si Kaddour Benghabrit's efforts to save Salim Halali and other Jews are depicted in the French drama film Les hommes libres (Free Men, 2011) film, directed by Ismaël Ferroukhi and released in 2011. He is played by French actor Michael Lonsdale. Si Kaddour Benghabrit also inspired Mohamed Fekrane in his short film Together, released in 2010. The role of the imam is played by actor Habib Kadi.
Descendants
Nouria Benghabrit-Remaoun, sociologist and researcher, granddaughter of Si Kaddour Benghabrit's brother, was the Minister of National Education of Algeria.
Decorations
- Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour (France)
Works
- La Fondation Lyautey. [Signed: Gabriel Hanotaux, Paul Tirard. A text in Arabic by Si Kaddour ben Gabrit.].[29]
- Abou-Nouas, ou, L'art de se tirer d'affaire. [30][31]
See also
References
- ^ / document.php ? id = 152 Dictionary of Orientalists in French
- ^ de Bengy, Raphaël (2015-02-18). "Mohamed Mesli : " Mon père, l'imam sauveur de juifs "". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ "Une " résistance oubliée " : quand la Grande Mosquée de Paris venait en aide aux juifs". Middle East Eye édition française (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ Cloarec, Glenn. "Abdelkader Mesli, l'imam parisien qui a sauvé des Juifs pendant la Shoah". fr.timesofisrael.com (in French). Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ^ mosquee-de-paris.org
- ^ a b c d e f Katz 2012, p. 270.
- ISBN 978-1-61069-879-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-9954-21-138-0.
- ^ a b Porch 2005, p. 152.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-25117-5.
- OCLC 855022840.
- ISBN 978-1-85065-273-1.
- ^ a b c Satloff 2006, p. 142.
- ^ IslamKotob. الشريف الحسين الرضي والخلافة لنضال داود المومني (in Arabic). IslamKotob.
- .
- ISBN 9780691147055. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
- )
- ISBN 978-2-262-07083-0.
- ^ Official site of the Great Mosque of Paris
- ^ Biography Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit Official site of the Great Mosque of Paris
- ^ a b Robert Satloff (October 8, 2006). "The Holocaust's Arab Heroes". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
- ^ "The Holocaust 's Arab Heroes", The Washington Post, October 8, 2006, Robert Satloff
- ^ "Among the Righteous : Lost Stories of Arabs Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust " By Allan C. Brownfeld
- ^ Ofer Aderet, The Great Mosque of Paris That saved Jews falling on the Holocaust, Haaretz, 24 March 2012.
- ^ "Des juifs ont été sauvés par la Mosquée de Paris, L'association 'Les Bâtisseuses de paix' veut rappeler les faits", Sunday, June 8, 2008, SaphirNews.com
- ISSN 1637-5823. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
- ^ "El Watan :: 16 mai 2005 :: Si Kaddour Benghabrit, un juste qui mérite reconnaissance". elwatan.com (in French). 2005-05-16. Archived from the original on 2010-04-06. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
- ^ Muslime retten Juden. Es gibt sie, die orientalischen Schindlers, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 7, 2014, by Emran Feroz
- OCLC 458414527.
- ^ Ben-Ghabrit (Si.), Kaddour (1930). Abou-Nouas, ou, L'art de se tirer d'affaire (in French). R. Couloumas.
- ^ Ader. "[TERZIAN] - BEN GHABRIT (Si Kaddour). Abou-Nouas..." Ader (in French). Retrieved 2020-04-27.
25. Hamza Ben Driss Ottmani. « Kaddour Benghabrit : Un Maghrébin hors du commun » (Ed. Marsam)
Sources
- Abdellali Merdaci, Algerian French-language authors from the colonial period : Biographical Dictionary , L'Harmattan, 2010
- Katz, Ethan (Spring 2012). "Did the Paris Mosque Save Jews? A Mystery and Its Memory". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 102 (2): 256–286. S2CID 162828322.
- Biography of Si Kaddour Ben Ghabrit Official site of the Great Mosque of Paris
- Porch, Douglas (2005). The Conquest of Morocco A History. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 9781429998857.
- Satloff, Robert (2006). Among the Righteous. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 9781586485344.