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Constitutional Court revisits Emir Abdelkader as founder of a modern Algerian state

4 November 2026 · Algeria Now

Constitutional Court revisits Emir Abdelkader as founder of a modern Algerian state — Photo : Etienne Carjat (Life time: 1828–1906) / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

ALGIERS — Emir Abdelkader, the nineteenth-century leader who resisted the French conquest, was presented as the builder of a national project and not only a resistance fighter at a conference organized by Algeria's Constitutional Court to mark the 72nd anniversary of the start of the War of Independence on 1 November 1954.

Presided over by Leïla Aslaoui, the Court's president, the event brought together academics, historians and students from several Algerian institutions. Tadj Mohamed, dean of the faculty of humanities and social sciences at the University of Tiaret, and the historian Boughefala Oudane were among the speakers, while Abdelhafid Assoukine, a member of the Court, moderated the debate.

The speakers argued that the Emir's experience went beyond armed resistance to occupation. In their reading, he understood early that fighting the invader and building institutions were inseparable tasks. He defended the territory, organized a state and structured society, putting in place a system for security, justice and the protection of rights. He also asserted sovereignty through correspondence, negotiation and political decisions, not only on the battlefield.

For the speakers, the Emir's vision treated the homeland as a shared belonging, power as a responsibility and law as the shield of society. The discussion also turned to institutional memory and its role in civic culture and the rule of law, themes that suit a constitutional body.

Emir Abdelkader, who led resistance to French forces from the 1830s and later lived in exile in Damascus, is regarded in Algeria as a founding figure of the modern state, and his name is invoked each year around the anniversary of the revolution that ended colonial rule in 1962.

Holding the conference at the Court connects Algeria's history of decolonization to its present constitutional order.

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