Ahmed Bouyerdene

Ahmed Bouyerdene is a French scholar, author, and researcher. He has specialized in the life and thought of the great Algerian leader Emir Abd el-Kader.

Ahmed Bouyerdene was born in Algeria in 1967, but emigrated with his family to France when he was five; he has both Algerian and French nationality. Bouyerdene has kept touch with his Algerian roots and is well familiar with the challenge posed to people ‘exiled’ from their ethnic and spiritual traditions. This gives him a special insight into the world of Emir Abd el-Kader, who, many believe, exemplified a sound way of balancing a vibrant contact with one’s spiritual tradition with life in a modern society.

Bouyerdene completed his PhD on the life of Abd el-Kader at the Université Marc Bloch, Strasbourg, France, and has since published several books and articles on the Emir in his native French, including Abd el-Kader, l’harmonie des contraires (le Seuil, 2008, 2012) and Abd el-Kader par ses contemporains (Ibis Press, 2008).

Dr. Bouyerdene also collaborated with Éric Geoffroy and Setty G. Simon-Khedis in producing Abd el-Kader, un spirituel dans la modernité (2012), a book that deals with how the Emir faced the issue of being a spiritually devout person in a time of religious narrowness and enormous societal shifts toward the material and psychological changes brought about by modern times.

Ahmed Bouyerdene is also an accomplished photographer and filmmaker. His outstanding photographs on scenes of rural people and holy places in Algeria have been shown in various venues. Bouyerdene has participated in the production of several films and video productions, some concerning the life and work of the Emir. He continues to work on multimedia projects as well as other scholarly efforts.

Dr. Bouyerdene has also attended conferences around the world to present papers on the intellectual and spiritual qualities of the Emir.

Dr. Ahmed Bouyerdene lives in southern France.

The World Wisdom book Emir Abd el-Kader: Hero and Saint of Islam is his first work to be translated into English.