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ALGERIA FROM WITHIN

CHAPTER XVII ABD-EL-KADER IT WOULD take too long to cast even a cursory glance over the many holy men venerated in Algeria, and it will suffice merely to touch on the two most important. Some confusion appears to exist in the minds of many as to who Abd-el-Kader really is. The name is spoken of all over North Africa, and is often discussed at cross-purposes. The fact is that there are two Abd-el-Kaders, both of great importance to the Arabs, but as different one from the other as possible. The first, whose kouba, or shrine, can be seen in practically every town all over North Africa, and whose full name is Abd-el-Kader-el-Djelali, was born in the twelfth century A. D. at Djel near Bagdad. God said of him: "If I had not sent Mohammed before thee to earth, I should have chosen thee as my prophet."He is, therefore, venerated as only second to the founder of the Faith. He was apparently a man of proverbial goodness, who spent his life in protecting the poor and the oppressed, whose broadness of mind extended to listening to the prayers of Jews, as well as to Christians, and who was the most merciful of all saints. The miracles attributed to him are innumerable, and the legends would fill volumes, but to the practical mind the greatest miracle seems to have been the range of his travels. Quite apart from the places

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