The Leadership Spirit of Algerian Sufi Women in the Resistance to French Colonialism between (1830- 1870AD) Lalla Fatma N’soumer - A Model

RESEARCH ARTICLE The Leadership Spirit of Algerian Sufi Women in the Resistance to French Colonialism between (1830- 1870AD) Lalla Fatma N’soumer - A Model / Bensehih Horiya \ \ \ PhD student Researcher of social and historical studies, Université Mustapha Stambouli Mascara Algeria Kebaili Houari / / / Doctor (PhD) Université Mustapha Stambouli Mascara Algeria Doi Serial                  Keywords Lalla N’soumer, Algerian women, French colonialism, resistance, Zaouia Rahmania. \ Abstract

Bensehih H., Kebaili H. (2025). The Leadership Spirit of Algerian Sufi Women in the Resistance to French Colonialism between (1830- 1870AD) Lalla Fatma N’soumer - A Model. Science, Education and Innovations in the Context ofModern Problems, 8(5), 152-159; doi:10.56352/sei/8.5.17.

The subjugation of the Kabylie region to French rule was delayed by almost thirty years due to the preoccupation of the French armies with the resistance of Prince Abdul Qadir until 1847AD, which ended with his surrender on the one hand and on the other hand the valor and courage of the people of the region led by a Sufi woman as she was nicknamed by Abu al-Qasim Saadallah, one of the heroes of Algeria during the fifties of the nineteenth century, whose biography was contained in many foreign sources that dated her, such as the writings of Karay Garay, a detailed testimony from a writer who accompanied the French campaign led by Marshal Randon, a novel full of exciting and accurate details that include direct testimonies. In addition to other writings from the French personalities, Randon Marshal and the Governor General of Algeria himself, where he called her when captured Gandarc Jarra because of the similarity of the two characters in heroism and desperation, although he spoke a little, his book gives a great picture of the campaign and intellectual strategy, in addition to descriptions given by a French military doctor who participated in the campaign and the testimony of a French judge who was present in the tribes during the events, Aucapitaine. The heroics of Lala Nsumer were praised by the enemy before the friend and were impressed by the strength, courage and stubbornness they saw in confronting the French armies. Great roles in mobilizing the people, grooming allies and provoking fever, so the tribes condemned their allegiance and support.

Assets:

The roots of Lala Nsumer go back to the tribal area with rugged terrain fraught with winding valleys that form corners and curves concealed by dense vegetation. It is also an area covered with varying heights, which gives it a majestic and multidimensional appearance that invites contemplation and dreaming. The area is covered with dense vegetation consisting of scarlet shrubs and climbing and creeping plants. Its soil is rocky in some places. Villages that are abundant on the hilltops have been built to defend themselves1 better in the face of any danger or potential enemy. The population has been gathering for generations according to clans to provide mutual support in all circumstances and in all fields. Nsomer was a medium-sized population and similar to the rest of the communities. To reach it, the regional road, which is from Ain Hammam, must be followed along countless paths in the direction of the "Tizi-l 'Djamaa" corridor. When reaching about 800 meters from Tizi-l 'Djamaa, and before entering the rocky massif of the Jarjara Mountains, a crossable deviation must be followed that descends on the left side of the main road to-wards"Efarhouna" and the valley four kilometers from the latter2, this overlapping environment and diverse complex geographical manifestations have had a great impact on Build the character of a Nesomar machine that derived stubbornness and rigidity from this rugged terrain.

Generator:

Lalla Fatima was born in the village of Warga in 1246AH /1830AD, coinciding with the fall of Algeria to the hands of the French amid a family of religious figures in the village of Orji, whose roots are in the great world, the founder of the Rahmanite corner, Sidi Ahmed Omzian, who hails from the east of Algeria. He wrote many books on religion and wrote biographies fora variety of linguistic figures in Arabic. Lacoste Dujardin adds that this dynasty gave birth to great politicians and religious leaders, including the poet Muhammad al-Hussein, andone of the leaders of Hizb ut Tahrir in 1954, Hussein Ait. Ahmed, the father of Fatima Nisumer was at the head of the Rahmaniyyah corner founded by his righteous grandfather Sayyid Ahmed in Orji and was associated with the Sufi Rahmaniyyah method. It is worth mentioning that the founder of this method was Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman around (1715– 1798AD). He was one of the sons of tribes who studied in Al-Azhar before he returned to his homeland and presented his spiritual teachings.3 Her father is Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman, nicknamed"Bukhbarin", while there is no information about her mother, only her name is Turkiya Nayth Kholaf Tawaskar4, and the husband whom she will marry is from According to Hanoteau, her mother's relative and mother belonged to the Etzwarg tribe. The family of Lalla Fatima belonged to the "Elitin" tribe. After her father's death, her family moved to Nesumer.5 Her father was the owner of a Quranic school affiliated with Al-Zawiyah Al-Rahmaniyah, a very famous school in the Kabyle region. Students from all over the region attend it in order to seek knowledge and memorize the Holy Quran1.

Her education:

Nassumer grew up in a scientific environment that inherited science. Her father was the owner of a Quranic school and its personal director. Studies indicate that education at that time was limited to the elite and that it is unlikely that Lalla Fatima received a formal education. Therefore, the cultural environment of her father, in which she grew up, contributed to shaping her personality and leadership, and that Fatima Nassumer is surrounded by an atmosphere rich in knowledge and traditions that helped develop2 her leadership skills. She left her father on a corner 3and her family's house contained a lot of books, and the evidence of that is the request made by her immaculate brother to the colonial administration to return to them other confiscated properties, which are the books seized by the French after the defeat and estimated at about 160 books, as Freedg mentioned, and Freedg expresses his doubts that the level of education of the immaculate msix resulted in that he may be an educated man, as may be the word of those books about his grandfather Sayyid Ahmed or Mazyan while presenting or friending another point of view that the immaculate memorized the Holy Quran by heart From Zawiya sheikh Bensomer by his father there he began to learn other sciences including astronomy and soon became famous in the region4.

Al-Taher was probably an educated man who met with sufficient intellectual and spiritual qualifications to be able to offer simple religious teachings to the general public, so he demanded to reconnect with her, while Fatima Nsoumir mentions or a friend that she learned many verses of the Qur 'an at the age of five or six by listening to the children, and they recited it and the Qur 'an was memorized by heart. It is interesting that Al-Bu 'abdali confirms that Lalla Fatima was one of the disciples of Sheikh Mahdi Al-Saklawi without providing any additional references or details about this information. Al-Saklawi (1786-1862AD) was a prominent scientist who left Algeria after the defeat of Prince Abdul Qadir in 1847AD andwas the highest spiritual authority in the tribes before leaving for Syria as head of the Rahmaniyah Chamber, which Lalla Fatima Nsoumir and her family were associated with, Nsoumir was talented with rare eloom that made her impression on her dialogue with modern wisdom to the extent that she became the favorite religious reference of the people of her region5.

Her marriage and private life:

Lala Fatima grew up in the middle of her family, which consisted of her parents and seven brothers, four males: Si Muhannad al-Tayeb, Si al-Hadi, Si al-Taher, Si al-Sharif, and three daughters: Lala Fatima, Yamina, and Helped. Nesumar was distinguished by her sound mind, her good wisdom, and the ease with which she translated old customs and traditions, which strengthened her personality and expanded her horizons. She lived happily among a well-off and prestigious family among the residents of the region. Nesumar enjoyed great beauty that opened up as she grew older, and when she was six years old, she was of medium height and strong body, showing signs of health and wellness. Her eyes were large blue, with a touch of kindness and tenderness, and she had the ability to inspire respect for those who approached her6.

Lala Nsumer was raised religiously, and after the death of her father, she found herself alone and isolated from the people. She left her hometown and went to the village of Sumer, where her older brother7, Si Al-Tahir, lived. To this village, Lala Nsumer refused everyone who proposed to her for marriage, which provoked her family's dissatisfaction with her. She plunged into depression and suffered from bouts of hysteria that8 terrified members of her clan. She also knew of her rebellion against family authority and was always thinking, meditating and wandering. She showed real signs of her mental imbalance as she permanently lost her fun spirit. She became another girl who tended to isolate and moved away from her neighbors and more loyal friends. She also suffered nervous convulsions1, even though she was young at the beginning of life.

After the death of her father, her older brother, Sey Muhannad al-Tayeb, took over the reins and wanted to impose his opinion on his sister, Lala Fatima, after her cousin, Sey Yahya Nath, requested to marry her. Her brother forced her into this marriage, thinking that after marriage, her nervous balance would return. Thus, she was married to her cousin without waiting for her approval. Once she arrived at her husband's house, Lala Fatima showed her rebellion against this marriage in all possible ways by destroying anything she could hold, screaming, crying, weeping, tearing her robes and distorting herself after a month of This marriage sent her family, her younger brother , Si al-Sharif 2, to return her to the house. However, the husband decided not to divorce her in retaliation, which made it impossible for her to remarry based on a document dating back to 1845AD that witnessed her marriage to her cousin. Rumors indicate that she received many marriage offers, especially from the sheriff Boubghla, but her husband never accepted divorce despite the huge amounts of money offered by the various applicants. This psychological tendency will play a major role, that is, the formation of her leadership was able to free herself and impose her opinion, she was not like her peers of women There can be no freedom of refusal in marriage3.

Her spiritual life:

Hanuto and Randon state that Fatima Nsumer's predictions, dignities and holies made her appreciated by all tribal residents and her sincere visions and dreams and hallucinations and communicated with the most famous saints andpredicted the future.4 These sourcesdo not explain holiness in the Islamic sense of it, but rather interpreted it as spiritual things and a miraculous ability that transcends the limits of reason and exaggerates a lot in describing these dignities. Each "saint" who was sometimes used by colonial authors to describe Fatima's deity was linked by a number of other terms that made her lose her true and original meaning within the Islamic context. While the common translation of the Arabic word "Wali" is "the saint" in general, the tribal residents were associated with Fatima Nsumer. They may have seen her as one of God's saints, and if they respected her at first because of her high descent, they certainly realized later, during her life, she lost most of her time in reading the sacracies and remembrance of God, in addition to performing the five prayers. She gave up married life herself dedicated to the service of God. She joined her brother in her corner, where she gave spiritual advice and guidance to those who asked her questions and supported the poor patients5.

Lalla Fatima became the focus of visits by people coming from different tribal areas who wanted to consult her and pray for them. Thus, one of the tribal songs recorded by Hanoteau speaks of Lalla Fatima with these phrases: "The lady Fatima we are visiting is the one who carries bracelets and pearls." In fact, a visit here carries her religion as the common people do to a good person. Even after her defeat, capture, and forced exile, she continued to receive countless queues from visitors, some from tribes and others from nearby Arab villages6.

Its armed resistance to French colonialism:

With regard to the political participation of the family of Lalla Fatima, Randon also mentioned that they joined the resistance movement in 1847AD during the first campaign of Pogo, as Sheikh Al Saklawi, the highest spiritual guide, called forresisting the French andbuilding awareness within the tribes. As for Lalla Fatima and her family, they were against the invasion of the French with all their hearts. Even when Prince Abdul Qadir's attempt to repel the French expansion stopped7, Sey Jodi Pasha Agha was the leader of some of the Jarjara tribes on the southern side, which was less dense than the southern side and sometimes persecuted them and kept them as a kind of submission. Sey Jodi considered those tribes as his property and their inhabitants satisfied with him as a leader for what he had achieved by bringing Zawwa's submission to the point that they did not negotiate with him about the privileges he requested1 .

In 1849, Fatima Nisumar joined the resistance and gathered with al-Sayy ī Mu ḥ ammad al- Ḥā shim ī , a Murabit who participated in the Maqamat of Boumâzah in Dhahrah in 1847, and in 1850, Fatima Nisumar supported the uprising of Boumâzah in the Baburiye tribal area².

Bourjade mentions that the village of Nsomer was burned by Colonel Canrobert in 1849, while Robin mentions that the neighboring tribal tribal tribe of Malikush succeeded in forcing this colonel to retreat in July 1849, which indicates that Nsomer and its surroundings were permanent sites of unrest in the same year. Robin notes that Our Lady of the Folk met one of the young leaders who followed the struggle for independence, Sharif Moulay Ibrahim. Feredj mentions that she, too, was another resistance figure who had fought with the leadership of Boumaâzah. Hashemi consulted her with other tribal leaders about the possibility of launching a new campaign, but he died shortly after this interview.3 Randon mentions in his memoirs that Nsomer's family and her family were far from the conflicts between Sufis, but starting with the campaign of Marshal Bogo in the Sahel Valley in 1847, her role changed and she joined the resistance side4

After the fall of "Azazqa", the way became open for General Randon to take control of "Wednesday Night". Lalla Fatima rushed to mobilize the population for jihad in order to defend the land and sanctities. Mujahideen from all tribes came to her in response to her call and attacked the French armies and gave them a lesson in valor and desperation in the battle of "Ishribin" and inflicted terrible defeats on the enemy, then withdrew with the mujahideen and mujahideen to fortify the villages. Sharif Boubagla, who led a resistance movement in the tribes since 1850 AD5, also met with Sharif Boubagla, who led a resistance movement in the tribes since 1850 6AD, where the sheikhs of the region and its flags gave allegiance to Boubagla and Lala Fatima. Who seemed to have fought at least one joint battle with him in 1854, according to Perret and Robin. Boubghla found in Lala Nsomar an important moral force7 , but he was not satisfied with moral support, but wanted a political marriage with her so that he would be linked to the people of the region according to Abu al-Qasim Saadallah, but that was not done. He was killed on December 268, 1854. Perret states that Lala Fatima and Boubghla were highly respected between them and that she gave him words of encouragement during a battle in which they fought together in 1854 when he was shot, saying: "Sharif Your beard will never turn into hay" 9 and the beard of the Arabs is a symbol of manhood, courage and magnanimity.

Nassumer joined the resistance and participated alongside Sharif Boubghla in the resistance and defense of the Jarja-ra area and in repelling the colonial attacks on Wednesday, Nath Erathen, cutting off the transportation road. Therefore, a number of the leaders of the tribes and village elders joined her and began to clash with the occupation armies and attack her. It is said that she was the one who killed the traitor C Al-Joudi. In one of the battles10, she showed strong courage in rescuing Sharif Boubghla, who was in the village of Sumer after the first confrontation that took place in the village of Tizrout between the forces of General Maysat and the population, but they retreated after violent resistance. In the absence of parity of forces, the general had to pass through two difficult points, namely: Thakkirt and Thiri Boeran. In this place, Lala Fatima Nsumer was leading a group of women standing on top of the battlefield while they were enthusiastic about the men with songs and various calls, which made the revolutionaries desperate in the fight. Lala11 Fatima Nsumer recruited girls of all ages to fight alongside the men and heal the wounded. She faced difficult positions from the enemy, especially with France's policy of burning villages and destroying them completely. She also tasked the elderly mujahidin to circumnavigate the battle and put them in their fingers. Rings are serrated and we painted their palms with flames. If a fighter flees, we pass the ring on his face and the flame enters the wounds, and he becomes a black mole called the fleeing mole, and it is considered a disgrace in the village to its owner.1

The battle of "Tashkrit" took place on July 18, 1854AD, which lasted for two full days, in which Lalla Nsumer and her brother, Si Al-Tayeb, performed a great affliction and forced the enemy to withdraw, leaving behind more than 800 dead, including 25officers and 371wounded. Randon asked for a truce because he realized the difficulty of the situation agreed to by Lalla Nsumer, and the mujahideen returned to plow the land and serve it. Al-Sharif Bobghla2 participated in this battle until he was killed by their commander, Lakhdar bin Ahmed Al-Maqrani, 3in December 1854AD, as mentioned above. The people of Zawawa continued their revolution between 1855 and 1857 under a new leadership, a stationed woman who did not let the Jihad Brigade fall yet, but continued to resist the enemy around Jarjara after the enemy army was stationed in: Bejaia, Tizi Ouzou, Dallas and Sibao. According to Randon4, the tribes of Bani Haidar, Bani Thurag, Ilitan and Malo, especially the latter two are the most brutal and difficult in all Jarjara and their inhabitants were rebels hoping that the valleys and rocks that constitute natural barriers to their country can stop the enemy forces. The inhabitants of these tribes showed the greatest example of defiance5, sacrifice and desperation to defend their land. Lalla Nsomer achieved other victories against the enemy in the sub-districts of Eillette, Talgit Nath, Bourja and Torit Musa, Tizi Bouyber, which led the French authorities to recruit a significant army led by Marshal Randon and supported by Marshal McMahon, who came with equipment from Constantine to meet the army of Lalla Fatima, which does not exceed 7000 fighters6, where the Deligny Division headed towards Taurert and Godelus, while the Ligneir Division headed towards Tefilcot and fired missiles at all villages. General Deligneir was wounded by a bullet in his chest. Randon 7broke the truce in 1857AD after bringing in the latest weapons and soldiers and crawled towards Wednesday Nathan Erathen with a large army and committed atrocious crimes and genocide, despite the steadfastness of the mujahideen, who cost the enemy more than 400 dead and 800 wounded.8 When the war raged between the two parties, the French followed the method of extermination by killing all family members indiscriminately and without pity 9.

The Sumer Council also assigned the “Tajmat” political authority in the village to Lalla Nsoumir and her brother C Al-Tahir, who were stationed to lead the “volunteers of death” who came from many villages in the Jirgara region, such as Aït Etzorig, Elitén, Aït Erathen10, Eloussen and Malou. Lalla Nsoumir and her brother Al-Tahir played a major role in registering volunteer fighters in a special group of warriors known as “Al-Masbilin” in the summer of 1854. When the Governor General of Algeria, Marshal Randon, launched a military campaign against the tribes, according to Rubin, he urged about 12,000 men. Rubin wrote a book about these looted special forces derived from the Quranic expression “for God”, composed of young men who voluntarily appreciated joining this special group that sets certain rules. Al-Tahir was responsible for registering these fighters while the Nsoumir family knew how to promote religious intolerance and nationalism among the tribes and make them determined to resist desperate leadership.

Rubin states that Randon was able to subdue the Kabylie region only after three years when he returned and at the head of an army of 35,000 men and was able to achieve his goals and subdue the area strongly on the entire territory of Algeria, where the tribes were the last rebellious area and during which Lalla Fatima was captured. He participated in these campaigns to subdue the Jarjara area11, both General Youssef and General McMahon. Their forces fired missiles at the internal villages, which were fortified by mountains and valleys, where their herds were seen grazing quietly before the attack.1 Since the area was already fortified, the first battle took place near Ain Hammam, and the war lasted for two months in July and August of 1854AD. The French forces withdrew and Somer and the surrounding villages remained independent. Some sources state that Randon believed the hardness of the Mujahideen2, so he betrayed and betrayed them. He asked Nasr for a delegation to negotiate and sent him the finest of her men, led by her brother, Sey Mohand El-Tayeb, so they began talks while Randon sent Captain Farchou to arrest the place3.

During the second campaign, the French army drew lessons from previous defeats and became more familiar with the tribal area. The tribal group was working under the Fatima woman and her sisters: Itsouragh, Illilten, Illoulen-Ou-Malou, Ait Ziki, where they were the last strongholds of resistance from the heart of the Jarjara Mountains when all the other ranks were surrendering to the French successively after fierce battles that forced them to do so because of the incompatibility of the two parties in weapons and numbers in such a situation in order to save women, headed by Nsomr's family. The fighters took women and children and collected valuables to a place called Takhlidjt n'Ait Atsom.4 Thus, the campaign to subdue the region and eliminate the resistance of Fatima Nsomr cost the colonial authorities, according to Robin, who wrote about the campaign in the African magazine about 286 dead and 1032 wounded. The number of patients who were transferred to the Algiers Hospital amounted to 2458 people. 5

Capture:

After the entire area fell into the hands of the French forces, the Lalla Nsoumir and the mujahideen who remained with her were holed up in a small village hidden at the bottom of a slope in a way that made it invisible from the top of the mountain to strangers who did not know the area. In the meantime, Fatima Nsoumir's brother contacted French General Youssef, according to Carrey, in order to surrender his village in exchange for not touching his family's property. The French agreed to the proposal. In fact, Fatima Nsoumir's brother was trying to take General Youssef to the village of Nsoumir after it was emptied of women and the most important property that He led him through rough roads to the village of Takhlidjat, and what drew the attention of the French soldiers to his presence was that some women were late in joining the others and were seen by some tribal soldiers who joined the French forces and followed them. When they arrived at the village, an exchange of fire occurred that brought the rest of the forces to the place after heavy fighting. The French finally managed to control Takhlidjat and took all the people present, including Lalla Fatima Nsumer, who was themost important among the prisoners6. On 19 Dhu al-Qa 'dah 1273 AH /11 July 1858AD She was arrested7, some sources mention that she was arrested by General Youssef and transferred to the camp of Marshal Randon8

The French captured the five negotiating men (05) in addition to 25 mujahideen who took their way to Wednesday, Nate Erthin. The prisoners then spent 49 days in the city of Yesser and remained in complete isolation. Then, Lalla Nsumer moved to Bani Suleiman(Tablat in the suburbs of Medea) and was placed in a corner under military guard, in which she remained for six years, during which she devoted herself to worship. On the day of her capture9 , Curry wrote and described her, showing how elegant, distinguished and dignified she was compared to women The others, but he mocked the exaggerated reverence shown to her by her people, as reported by the following dialogue between Marshal Randon and Lalla Fatima. The dialogue took place in the presence of an interpreter who asked her why men opened fire on the French forces contrary to the agreement, that is, the surrender concluded by her brother. She replied: "What God wanted, your fault and my fault, your soldiers came out of their ranks, not my village, but my men defended themselves. I have nothing to blame you. I am now your prisoner and you must not blame me for anything." Lalla Nsomer, like other leaders of the tribal resistance, was forced into exile. Berthrand states that her first destination was Tunisia, but he doubts that while other sources, including Randon, indicate that she was sent On the next day, she was taken to Zetaria from Bani Salim near the Tablat of Medea Governorate1, while Saadallah mentions that she was captured and carried to the prison in Tablat and remained there until her death in 1863. People kept2 visiting her to listen to her opinions and advice until the colonial authorities counted about 200 people daily as3 evidence of their loyalty and the intensity of their attachment to her.

Her death.

Lala Nsumer spent the last years in her place of captivity near Tablat and then was paralyzed for a short period. She did not live long after the death of her brother, who died in 1861. She died in 1863 at the age of 33 and4 was buried in one of the corners of Bani Suleiman5. After independence, she raised her remains to the cemetery of Alia, where her final resting place was as one of the symbols of eternal Algeria, which dedicated its heroics to the defense of honor, land and honor.

Conclusion:

Fatima Nisumer had a great role in uniting the people of the tribal area, reuniting them and sharpening the determination to stand in the face of the enemy and resisting it valiantly and desperately for the last drop of blood. As soon as the captivity occurred, the revolution stopped in Jarjara and dispersed the ranks, and the colonial forces were able to extend their control over the entire region. The strength, courage and solidity of Nisumer astonished the enemy before the friend, so he wrote about her heroism Perret Perret and Robin, Karay Garay, andMarshal RaNDon, who fought against her many battles, and she also assumed a prominent position among the people of her area and neighboring areas who maintained loyalty to her even after she was captured for her determination, courage, composure, wisdom, good management, high morals, strength of influence and rhetoric.