By all accounts, it’s the only U.S. city named after a Muslim hero. And it’s right here in Iowa.
More than 100 years before the Geneva Convention codified in international law the rights of prisoners of war and civilians to humane treatment, 19th century Algerian freedom fighter Abd al-Qadir ibn Muhyi al-Din, the leader of a revolt against French imperial rule in North Africa, observed those rights more thoroughly than some modern combatants do. A devout practitioner of Sufism, a mystical tradition within Islam, the man better known as Emir Abd el-Kader was so mindful of the safety of French soldiers and settlers captured by the army of Arabs and Berbers united under his command that colonial officials tried to suppress news of their enemy’s high moral standards.
But the scholarly rebel leader quickly earned admirers around the world, even in some devotedly imperialist nations. A British diplomat praised “the generous concern, the tender sympathy” with which el-Kader treated POWs. El-Kader’s heroic rescue of Christians during an 1860 anti-Christian riot in Damascus brought commendations from Queen Victoria, the pope and Abraham Lincoln; the latter sent el-Kader a pair of Colt revolvers as an expression of America’s gratitude.
In 1846, while his star was still rising, “the George Washington of Algeria” inspired three founders of a settlement near the Turkey River in the Iowa territory. They chose an anglicized version of Emir Abd el-Kader for their new home, Elkader.
“Such is the history of the man for whom our town is named… scholar, philosopher, lover of liberty; champion of his religion, born leader of men, great soldier; capable administrator, persuasive orator; chivalrous opponent,” reads a plaque in Elkader High School, mounted by the class of 1915. “[T]he selection was well made, and with those pioneers of 70 years ago, we do honor The Sheik.”
The city of Elkader has roughly 1,200 residents. Very few, if any, identify as Muslim, and while Cedar Rapids is home to the Mother Mosque of America, the oldest surviving mosque in the U.S., Elkader has no mosque. But there have always been locals eager to explain how the town got its name.
In 2007, Elkader Education Project founder Kathy Garms revived a sister city program with Mascara, el-Kader’s birthplace. The Algerian government quickly honored this friendship during the flood of 2008, sending $150,000 in aid to Elkader, which faced $8 million in damages.
Representatives from one city regularly welcome the other for visits, and Elkader has hosted an annual international forum of the Abdelkader Education Project — an international network of organizations focused on cultural literacy and promoting respect between the U.S. and the Islamic world — since 2009.
Abd el-Kader didn’t live to see Algeria free from French rule. That didn’t happen until 1962, following seven-and-a-half years of brutal fighting during the Algerian War of Independence. On July 8, 2008, Elkader and Mascara celebrated their nations’ respective independence days — July 4 and July 5 — together. In 2021, Elkader celebrated its 175th birthday.
This article was originally published in Little Village’s December 2023 issue as a part of Peak Iowa, a collection of fascinating state stories, sites and people.
