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{{Short description|Imam and French resistant member (1902–1961)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox person | name = Abdelkader Mesli | image = | caption = | birth_date = 1902 | birth_place = Khemis, French Algeria | death_date = 21 June 1961 | death_place = Paris, France | occupation = Islamic imam, resistance member | nationality = French | known_for = Resistance activities during World War II, helping rescue Jews | notable_works = {{Infobox person | name = Abdelkader Mesli | image = Abdelkader Mesli (photo d'identité de sa carte de déporté résistant).jpg | caption = Identity photograph of Mesli, taken from his Resistance deportee card | birth_date = 1902 | birth_place = Khemis, French Algeria | death_date = 21 June 1961 | death_place = Paris, France | occupation = Islamic imam, resistance member | known_for = Resistance activities during World War II, helping rescue Jews | notable_works =
}}
⚫ }}'''Abdelkader Mesli''' (1902{{snd}}21 June 1961) (in {{Lang-ar|عَبْد ٱلْقَادِر مَسْلِي}}, ''ʿabd ʾal-Qādir Maslī'') was an Islamic ] and ] during the ]. Through his actions at the ], at the ], and within the ] (ORA), he contributed to the rescue of several hundred Jewish individuals from the ]. He also extended assistance to escaped ]. Having survived ], he returned to France after the war but passed away in relative obscurity.


⚫ '''Abdelkader Mesli''' ({{Langx|ar|عَبْد ٱلْقَادِر مَسْلِي}}, ''ʿabd ʾal-Qādir Maslī''; 1902{{snd}}21 June 1961) was an Algerian ] ] and ] during the ]. Through his actions at the ], at the ], and within the ] (ORA), he contributed to the rescue of several hundred Jews from the ]. He also extended assistance to escaped ]. Having survived ], he returned to France after the war but passed away in relative obscurity.
⚫ His actions were rediscovered long after his death, in the early 21st century. Historians' estimates of the number of people saved vary, but they range between 500 and 1600 individuals only for those of ] faith.

⚫ His actions were rediscovered long after his death, in the early 21st century. Historians' estimates of the number of Jews he saved vary, but they range between 500 and 1600.


== Biography == == Biography ==


=== Birth and rise to the imamate === === Birth and rise to the imamate ===
Abdelkader Mesli was born in 1902 in ], ].<ref name=":02">{{cite web|access-date=2021-05-20|date=18 February 2015|first=Raphaël|language=fr-FR|last=de Bengy|title=Mohamed Mesli : « Mon père, l’imam sauveur de juifs »|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/week-end/mohamed-mesli-mon-pere-l-imam-sauveur-de-juifs-18-02-2015-4543709.php|website=leparisien.fr}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> At the age of 17, he left his native country for ] and arrived in ].<ref name=":12">{{cite web|access-date=2021-05-20|first=Glenn|language=fr-FR|last=Cloarec|title=Abdelkader Mesli, l’imam parisien qui a sauvé des Juifs pendant la Shoah|url=https://fr.timesofisrael.com/abdelkader-mesli-limam-parisien-qui-a-sauve-des-juifs-pendant-la-shoah/|website=fr.timesofisrael.com}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> He worked as a docker, carpenter, mine worker and salesman.<ref name=":02" /> In the early 1930s, he was appointed ] of the ], a position he held on a voluntary basis.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":0" /> At the same time, he was listed in the records of the North African Affairs Service of the Paris Prefecture, which was responsible for spying and monitoring the activities of North Africans in mainland France.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Aïssaoui |first=Mohammed |title=L'étoile jaune et le croissant |date=2012 |publisher=Gallimard |isbn=978-2-07-013891-3 |location=Paris}}</ref> Abdelkader Mesli was born in 1902 in ], ].<ref name=":02">{{cite web|access-date=2021-05-20|date=18 February 2015|first=Raphaël|language=fr-FR|last=de Bengy|title=Mohamed Mesli : « Mon père, l’imam sauveur de juifs »|url=https://www.leparisien.fr/week-end/mohamed-mesli-mon-pere-l-imam-sauveur-de-juifs-18-02-2015-4543709.php|website=leparisien.fr|archive-date=7 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207232428/https://www.leparisien.fr/week-end/mohamed-mesli-mon-pere-l-imam-sauveur-de-juifs-18-02-2015-4543709.php|url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> At the age of 17, he left his native country for ] and arrived in ].<ref name=":12">{{cite web|access-date=2021-05-20|first=Glenn|language=fr-FR|last=Cloarec|title=Abdelkader Mesli, l’imam parisien qui a sauvé des Juifs pendant la Shoah|url=https://fr.timesofisrael.com/abdelkader-mesli-limam-parisien-qui-a-sauve-des-juifs-pendant-la-shoah/|website=fr.timesofisrael.com|archive-date=24 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924103504/https://fr.timesofisrael.com/abdelkader-mesli-limam-parisien-qui-a-sauve-des-juifs-pendant-la-shoah/|url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> He worked as a docker, carpenter, mine worker and salesman.<ref name=":02" /> In the early 1930s, he was appointed ] of the ], a position he held on a voluntary basis.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":0" /> At the same time, he was listed in the records of the North African Affairs Service of the Paris Prefecture, which was responsible for spying and monitoring the activities of North Africans in mainland France.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Aïssaoui |first=Mohammed |title=L'étoile jaune et le croissant |date=2012 |publisher=Gallimard |isbn=978-2-07-013891-3 |location=Paris}}</ref>


=== Second World War, Resistance and deportation === === Second World War, Resistance and deportation ===
When the ] started, he got involved with ], rector of the mosque, in rescuing Jews by issuing false certificates of ].<ref name=":02" /> This technique saved between 500 and 1600 people according to historians.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2021-05-20|language=fr|title=Une « résistance oubliée » : quand la Grande Mosquée de Paris venait en aide aux juifs|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/reportages/une-resistance-oubliee-quand-la-grande-mosquee-de-paris-venait-en-aide-aux-juifs|website=Middle East Eye édition française}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> When the ] started, Mesli got involved with ], rector of the mosque, in rescuing Jews by issuing false certificates of ].<ref name=":02" /> This technique saved between 500 and 1600 people according to historians.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2021-05-20|language=fr|title=Une « résistance oubliée » : quand la Grande Mosquée de Paris venait en aide aux juifs|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/reportages/une-resistance-oubliee-quand-la-grande-mosquee-de-paris-venait-en-aide-aux-juifs|website=Middle East Eye édition française|archive-date=7 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207232427/https://www.middleeasteye.net/fr/reportages/une-resistance-oubliee-quand-la-grande-mosquee-de-paris-venait-en-aide-aux-juifs|url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>


In 1942, Abdelkader Mesli was sent to ] as Muslim chaplain at the ] by Kaddour Benghabrit after Abdelkader Mesli was suspected by the German authorities.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Bouju |first=Marie-Cécile |title=MESLI Abdelkader |date=2021-10-02 |url=https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article240643 |work=Le Maitron |access-date=2023-10-25 |place=Paris |publisher=Maitron/Editions de l'Atelier |language=fr}}</ref> He organized escapes there and continued to issue false certificates, despite the suspicions of the '']''.<ref name=":02" /> From February 1943 onwards, he became involved in a ]<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":0" /> organization by joining the ] (ORA).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Ouvrage|prénom1=Jean-Paul|nom1=Lefebvre-Filleau|titre=Les résistants de Dieu: chrétiens, juifs et musulmans unis contre le nazisme en France occupée|éditeur=Éditions du Rocher|date=2022|isbn=978-2-268-10737-0}}</ref> In this capacity, he handled forged documents and provided shelter for escaped African soldiers.<ref name=":1" /> He had connections with Paul and Roger Valroff, who were his friends and provided assistance.<ref name=":2" /> Paul Valroff wrote numerous letters to him, invited him to take care of his son Roger, and expressed his gratitude. For example, on September 6, 1943, Paul Valroff wrote to Abdelkader Mesli:<ref name=":2" /> <blockquote>"I apologize for imposing on you, and I thank you in advance for whatever you will do for a son. I hope to come to Bordeaux very soon and will be delighted to see you again. My dear friend, I send you all my friendship. The staff of the mosque asked me to send their regards to you."</blockquote>On 5 July 1944, he was denounced and arrested in a restaurant in Bordeaux by the Gestapo and his home was raided by the French collaborationist police.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":2" /> He was deported to ], then transferred to ].<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":0" /> At Dachau, he was assigned the prisoner number 94020, while at Mauthausen, his number was 98671.<ref name=":2" /> In 1942, Mesli was sent to ] as Muslim chaplain at the ] by Kaddour Benghabrit after Mesli was suspected by the German authorities.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Bouju |first=Marie-Cécile |title=MESLI Abdelkader |date=2021-10-02 |url=https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article240643 |work=Le Maitron |access-date=2023-10-25 |place=Paris |publisher=Maitron/Editions de l'Atelier |language=fr |archive-date=26 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026104850/https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article240643 |url-status=live }}</ref> He organized escapes there and continued to issue false certificates, despite the suspicions of the '']''.<ref name=":02" /> From February 1943 onwards, he became involved in a ]<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":0" /> organization by joining the ] (ORA).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite book|date=2022|first1=Jean-Paul|isbn=978-2-268-10737-0|last1=Lefebvre-Filleau|publisher=Éditions du Rocher|title=Les résistants de Dieu: chrétiens, juifs et musulmans unis contre le nazisme en France occupée}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> In this capacity, he handled forged documents and provided shelter for escaped African soldiers.<ref name=":1" /> He had connections with Paul and Roger Valroff, who were his friends and provided assistance.<ref name=":2" /> Paul Valroff wrote numerous letters to him, invited him to take care of his son Roger, and expressed his gratitude. For example, on 6 September 1943, Paul Valroff wrote to Mesli:<ref name=":2" />
<blockquote>"I apologize for imposing on you, and I thank you in advance for whatever you will do for a son. I hope to come to Bordeaux very soon and will be delighted to see you again. My dear friend, I send you all my friendship. The staff of the mosque asked me to send their regards to you."</blockquote>
On 5 July 1944, Mesli was denounced and arrested alongside Roger Valroff in a restaurant in Bordeaux by the ] and his home was raided by the French collaborationist police.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":2" /> They confiscated from his home "three suits, an overcoat, two pairs of shoes, six shirts, three pairs of underwear, a dozen handkerchiefs, a gold watch, a gold ring with a stone, and a batch of goods reserved for Muslims."<ref name=":2" /> He was deported to ], then transferred to ].<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":0" /> At Dachau, he was assigned the prisoner number 94020, while at Mauthausen, his number was 98671.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=98671 - Monument Mauthausen III |url=https://monument-mauthausen.org/98671.html |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=monument-mauthausen.org |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228030515/https://monument-mauthausen.org/98671.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


Despite extensive interrogations and ], he did not denounce any resistant comrades.<ref name=":02" /> Despite extensive interrogations and ], he did not denounce any resistant comrades.<ref name=":02" />


=== Return to France and last years === === Return to France and last years ===
He was released on 24 May 1945, greatly weakened physically; he then weighed only 30 kg.<ref name=":12" /> He then resumed his activity as an imam at the mosque of ] (near Paris) and took care of the Muslim cemetery of Bobigny.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":0" /> Mesli was released on 24 May 1945, greatly weakened physically; he then weighed only 30 kg.<ref name=":12" /> A resistant deportee card was issued to him, with the identification number 1.001.00526.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lefebvre-Filleau |first=Jean-Paul |title=Les résistants de Dieu: chrétiens, juifs et musulmans unis contre le nazisme en France occupée |date=2022 |publisher=Éditions du Rocher |isbn=978-2-268-10737-0 |location=Monaco}}</ref> He then resumed his activity as an imam at the mosque of ] (near Paris) and took care of the Muslim cemetery of Bobigny.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":0" />


He married Aïcha Mesli on July 24, 1951, at the ]. They had two children together: Yamina Mesli (born in 1950) and Mohamed Mesli (born in 1951).<ref name=":2" /> He became an officer of the ].<ref name=":1" /> He died on 21 June 1961.<ref name=":02" /> He married Aïcha Mesli on 24 July 1951 at the ]. They had two children together: Yamina Mesli (born in 1950) and Mohamed Mesli (born in 1951).<ref name=":2" /> Mesli was appointed as an officer of the ] by ], the ].<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1" /> He also received the ], the ], and the Medal for Deportation and Internment for his role in the Resistance.<ref name=":2" /> However, he never mentioned these honors during his lifetime, and it was only after his death that his family rediscovered his decorations.<ref name=":2" /> On 22 June 1952, he visited the ], near ], and took part in a ceremony organized there by Marshal ] as a representative of ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1952-06-22 |title=La Dépêche de Constantine : journal politique quotidien |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bd6t511645216 |access-date=2023-10-26 |website=Gallica |language=EN |archive-date=26 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026110014/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bd6t511645216 |url-status=live }}</ref>

He died on 21 June 1961.<ref name=":02" />


== Acknowledgement == == Acknowledgement ==
His actions were forgotten after the ]. It was not until 2010 that his son, Mohamed, rediscovered his father's past and undertook to safeguard this family heritage.<ref name=":02" /> Despite Abdelkader Mesli having remained relatively discreet about his involvement in the Resistance, he left behind a substantial body of written work and archives. Dozens of archival documents and testimonies are documented in the files he bequeaths to his children.<ref name=":2" /> Mesli's actions were forgotten after the ]. It was not until 2010 that his son, Mohamed, rediscovered his father's past and undertook to safeguard this family heritage.<ref name=":02" /> Despite Abdelkader Mesli having remained relatively discreet about his involvement in the Resistance, he left behind a substantial body of written work and archives. Dozens of archival documents and testimonies are documented in the files he bequeaths to his children.<ref name=":2" />


Mesli has not been awarded the title of ] because precise research has yet to be done by the ].<ref name=":12" /> On 12 March 2020, the ] voted unanimously for a street in the French capital to bear the name of Abdelkader Mesli.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2021-05-20|date=22 March 2021|language=fr|title=Interview Crif – Une rue de Paris au nom d'Abdelkader Mesli, Imam et résistant : le mot de Karen Taïeb, adjointe à la mairie de Paris|url=http://www.crif.org/fr/content/interview-crif-une-rue-de-paris-au-nom-dabdelkader-mesli-imam-et-r%C3%A9sistant-le-mot-de-karen|website=Crif – Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> On 15 October 2021, the forecourt in front of the Grand Mosque of Paris bears his name.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|access-date=25 October 2021|date=18 October 2021|title=2021 DU 95 Dénomination parvis Abdelkader Mesli (5e).|url=https://a06-v7.apps.paris.fr/a06/jsp/site/plugins/odjcp/DoDownload.jsp?id_entite=54688&id_type_entite=6|website=paris.fr}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> A street has been named Abdelkader Mesli in ] in his honor.<ref>Délibération du Conseil municipal de Bobigny, 6 July 2023, https://www.bobigny.fr/fileadmin/images/PDF/Conseils_municipaux_et_Actes_Administratifs/CM_2023/CM_du_06.07.2023/11_060723_C%C5%93ur_de_Ville_-_Convention_de_garantie_d_emprunts_accord%C3%A9e_%C3%A0_la_SA_HLM_Batig%C3%A8re.pdf</ref> Mesli has not been awarded the title of ] because precise research has yet to be done by the ].<ref name=":12" /> On 12 March 2020, the ] voted unanimously for a street in the French capital to bear the name of Abdelkader Mesli.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2021-05-20|date=22 March 2021|language=fr|title=Interview Crif – Une rue de Paris au nom d'Abdelkader Mesli, Imam et résistant : le mot de Karen Taïeb, adjointe à la mairie de Paris|url=http://www.crif.org/fr/content/interview-crif-une-rue-de-paris-au-nom-dabdelkader-mesli-imam-et-r%C3%A9sistant-le-mot-de-karen|website=Crif – Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France|archive-date=28 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128033930/http://www.crif.org/fr/content/interview-crif-une-rue-de-paris-au-nom-dabdelkader-mesli-imam-et-r%C3%A9sistant-le-mot-de-karen|url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> On 15 October 2021, the forecourt in front of the Grand Mosque of Paris bears his name.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|access-date=25 October 2021|date=18 October 2021|title=2021 DU 95 Dénomination parvis Abdelkader Mesli (5e).|url=https://a06-v7.apps.paris.fr/a06/jsp/site/plugins/odjcp/DoDownload.jsp?id_entite=54688&id_type_entite=6|website=paris.fr|archive-date=28 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128035505/https://a06-v7.apps.paris.fr/a06/jsp/site/plugins/odjcp/DoDownload.jsp?id_entite=54688&id_type_entite=6|url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> A street has been named Abdelkader Mesli in ] in his honor.<ref>Délibération du Conseil municipal de Bobigny, 6 July 2023, https://www.bobigny.fr/fileadmin/images/PDF/Conseils_municipaux_et_Actes_Administratifs/CM_2023/CM_du_06.07.2023/11_060723_C%C5%93ur_de_Ville_-_Convention_de_garantie_d_emprunts_accord%C3%A9e_%C3%A0_la_SA_HLM_Batig%C3%A8re.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115151500/https://www.bobigny.fr/fileadmin/images/PDF/Conseils_municipaux_et_Actes_Administratifs/CM_2023/CM_du_06.07.2023/11_060723_C%C5%93ur_de_Ville_-_Convention_de_garantie_d_emprunts_accord%C3%A9e_%C3%A0_la_SA_HLM_Batig%C3%A8re.pdf |date=15 November 2023 }}</ref>


On 16 October 2022, French President ] gave an hommage to Abdelkader Mesli.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grande Mosquée de Paris : "un havre de paix" selon Emmanuel Macron |url=https://www.linfo.re/france/societe/grande-mosquee-de-paris-un-havre-de-paix-selon-emmanuel-macron |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=Linfo.re}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=La-Croix.com |title=“On peut être français et musulman, harmonieusement, indissolublement” déclare Emmanuel Macron |url=https://doc-catho.la-croix.com/On-peut-etre-francais-musulman-harmonieusement-indissolublement-declare-Emmanuel-Macron-2022-10-26-1201239490 |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=Documentation catholique – La Croix |language=fr}}</ref> On 16 October 2022, French President ] gave an hommage to Abdelkader Mesli.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grande Mosquée de Paris : "un havre de paix" selon Emmanuel Macron |url=https://www.linfo.re/france/societe/grande-mosquee-de-paris-un-havre-de-paix-selon-emmanuel-macron |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=Linfo.re |archive-date=30 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221230100525/https://www.linfo.re/france/societe/grande-mosquee-de-paris-un-havre-de-paix-selon-emmanuel-macron |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=La-Croix.com |title=“On peut être français et musulman, harmonieusement, indissolublement” déclare Emmanuel Macron |url=https://doc-catho.la-croix.com/On-peut-etre-francais-musulman-harmonieusement-indissolublement-declare-Emmanuel-Macron-2022-10-26-1201239490 |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=Documentation catholique – La Croix |language=fr |archive-date=28 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428111014/https://doc-catho.la-croix.com/On-peut-etre-francais-musulman-harmonieusement-indissolublement-declare-Emmanuel-Macron-2022-10-26-1201239490 |url-status=live }}</ref> Regarding his actions, the rector of the ], ], declared:<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-11-11 |title=Chems-Eddine Hafiz, recteur de la Grande Mosquée de Paris : « C’est l’heure du choix : pas entre les musulmans et les juifs, pas entre Israël et la Palestine, mais entre l’humanisme et l’horreur » |language=fr |work=Le Monde.fr |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2023/11/11/chems-eddine-hafiz-recteur-de-la-grande-mosquee-de-paris-c-est-l-heure-du-choix-pas-entre-les-musulmans-et-les-juifs-pas-entre-israel-et-la-palestine-mais-entre-l-humanisme-et-l-horreur_6199497_3232.html |access-date=2023-11-25 |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227095444/https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2023/11/11/chems-eddine-hafiz-recteur-de-la-grande-mosquee-de-paris-c-est-l-heure-du-choix-pas-entre-les-musulmans-et-les-juifs-pas-entre-israel-et-la-palestine-mais-entre-l-humanisme-et-l-horreur_6199497_3232.html |url-status=live }}</ref><blockquote>My illustrious predecessors have engraved in the national memory a certain idea of humanism. The first rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Kaddour Ben Ghabrit, along with Imam Abdelkader Mesli, helped save Jewish people from Nazi barbarism.</blockquote>


== Decorations == == Decorations ==

* ] Officer of the ] (Morocco) * ] Officer of the ] (Morocco)
* ] Medal for Deportation and Internment for his role in the Resistance (France)
* ] ] (France)


== See also == == See also ==

* ] * ]
* ] * ]
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== Notes and references == == Notes and references ==
{{reflist}}
<references />


{{French Resistance}} {{French Resistance}}
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Latest revision as of 18:44, 9 November 2024

Imam and French resistant member (1902–1961)

Abdelkader Mesli
Identity photograph of Mesli, taken from his Resistance deportee card
Born1902
Khemis, French Algeria
Died21 June 1961
Paris, France
Occupation(s)Islamic imam, resistance member
Known forResistance activities during World War II, helping rescue Jews

Abdelkader Mesli (Arabic: عَبْد ٱلْقَادِر مَسْلِي, ʿabd ʾal-Qādir Maslī; 1902 – 21 June 1961) was an Algerian Sunni imam and resistance member during the Second World War. Through his actions at the Grand Mosque of Paris, at the Fort du Hâ, and within the Army Resistance Organization (ORA), he contributed to the rescue of several hundred Jews from the Holocaust. He also extended assistance to escaped African soldiers. Having survived Dachau, he returned to France after the war but passed away in relative obscurity.

His actions were rediscovered long after his death, in the early 21st century. Historians' estimates of the number of Jews he saved vary, but they range between 500 and 1600.

Biography

Birth and rise to the imamate

Abdelkader Mesli was born in 1902 in Khemis, French Algeria. At the age of 17, he left his native country for Metropolitan France and arrived in Marseille. He worked as a docker, carpenter, mine worker and salesman. In the early 1930s, he was appointed imam of the Grand Mosque of Paris, a position he held on a voluntary basis. At the same time, he was listed in the records of the North African Affairs Service of the Paris Prefecture, which was responsible for spying and monitoring the activities of North Africans in mainland France.

Second World War, Resistance and deportation

When the Second World War started, Mesli got involved with Kaddour Benghabrit, rector of the mosque, in rescuing Jews by issuing false certificates of Muslim faith. This technique saved between 500 and 1600 people according to historians.

In 1942, Mesli was sent to Bordeaux as Muslim chaplain at the Château du Hâ by Kaddour Benghabrit after Mesli was suspected by the German authorities. He organized escapes there and continued to issue false certificates, despite the suspicions of the Kommandatur. From February 1943 onwards, he became involved in a French Resistance organization by joining the Army Resistance Organization (ORA). In this capacity, he handled forged documents and provided shelter for escaped African soldiers. He had connections with Paul and Roger Valroff, who were his friends and provided assistance. Paul Valroff wrote numerous letters to him, invited him to take care of his son Roger, and expressed his gratitude. For example, on 6 September 1943, Paul Valroff wrote to Mesli:

"I apologize for imposing on you, and I thank you in advance for whatever you will do for a son. I hope to come to Bordeaux very soon and will be delighted to see you again. My dear friend, I send you all my friendship. The staff of the mosque asked me to send their regards to you."

On 5 July 1944, Mesli was denounced and arrested alongside Roger Valroff in a restaurant in Bordeaux by the Gestapo and his home was raided by the French collaborationist police. They confiscated from his home "three suits, an overcoat, two pairs of shoes, six shirts, three pairs of underwear, a dozen handkerchiefs, a gold watch, a gold ring with a stone, and a batch of goods reserved for Muslims." He was deported to Dachau concentration camp, then transferred to Mauthausen. At Dachau, he was assigned the prisoner number 94020, while at Mauthausen, his number was 98671.

Despite extensive interrogations and torture, he did not denounce any resistant comrades.

Return to France and last years

Mesli was released on 24 May 1945, greatly weakened physically; he then weighed only 30 kg. A resistant deportee card was issued to him, with the identification number 1.001.00526. He then resumed his activity as an imam at the mosque of Bobigny (near Paris) and took care of the Muslim cemetery of Bobigny.

He married Aïcha Mesli on 24 July 1951 at the Grand Mosque of Paris. They had two children together: Yamina Mesli (born in 1950) and Mohamed Mesli (born in 1951). Mesli was appointed as an officer of the Order of the Ouissam Alaouite by Mohammed V, the King of Morocco. He also received the Order of Liberation, the Combatant's Cross, and the Medal for Deportation and Internment for his role in the Resistance. However, he never mentioned these honors during his lifetime, and it was only after his death that his family rediscovered his decorations. On 22 June 1952, he visited the Douaumont ossuary, near Verdun, and took part in a ceremony organized there by Marshal Alphonse Juin as a representative of Kaddour Benghabrit.

He died on 21 June 1961.

Acknowledgement

Mesli's actions were forgotten after the Second World War. It was not until 2010 that his son, Mohamed, rediscovered his father's past and undertook to safeguard this family heritage. Despite Abdelkader Mesli having remained relatively discreet about his involvement in the Resistance, he left behind a substantial body of written work and archives. Dozens of archival documents and testimonies are documented in the files he bequeaths to his children.

Mesli has not been awarded the title of Righteous Among the Nations because precise research has yet to be done by the Yad Vashem memorial. On 12 March 2020, the council of Paris voted unanimously for a street in the French capital to bear the name of Abdelkader Mesli. On 15 October 2021, the forecourt in front of the Grand Mosque of Paris bears his name. A street has been named Abdelkader Mesli in Bobigny in his honor.

On 16 October 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron gave an hommage to Abdelkader Mesli. Regarding his actions, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Chems-Eddine Hafiz, declared:

My illustrious predecessors have engraved in the national memory a certain idea of humanism. The first rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, Kaddour Ben Ghabrit, along with Imam Abdelkader Mesli, helped save Jewish people from Nazi barbarism.

Decorations

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ de Bengy, Raphaël (18 February 2015). "Mohamed Mesli : « Mon père, l'imam sauveur de juifs »". leparisien.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. ^ Cloarec, Glenn. "Abdelkader Mesli, l'imam parisien qui a sauvé des Juifs pendant la Shoah". fr.timesofisrael.com (in French). Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  3. ^ "2021 DU 95 Dénomination parvis Abdelkader Mesli (5e)". paris.fr. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  4. ^ Aïssaoui, Mohammed (2012). L'étoile jaune et le croissant. Paris: Gallimard. ISBN 978-2-07-013891-3.
  5. "Une « résistance oubliée » : quand la Grande Mosquée de Paris venait en aide aux juifs". Middle East Eye édition française (in French). Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  6. ^ Bouju, Marie-Cécile (2 October 2021), "MESLI Abdelkader", Le Maitron (in French), Paris: Maitron/Editions de l'Atelier, archived from the original on 26 October 2023, retrieved 25 October 2023
  7. Lefebvre-Filleau, Jean-Paul (2022). Les résistants de Dieu: chrétiens, juifs et musulmans unis contre le nazisme en France occupée. Éditions du Rocher. ISBN 978-2-268-10737-0.
  8. "98671 - Monument Mauthausen III". monument-mauthausen.org. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  9. Lefebvre-Filleau, Jean-Paul (2022). Les résistants de Dieu: chrétiens, juifs et musulmans unis contre le nazisme en France occupée. Monaco: Éditions du Rocher. ISBN 978-2-268-10737-0.
  10. "La Dépêche de Constantine : journal politique quotidien". Gallica. 22 June 1952. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  11. "Interview Crif – Une rue de Paris au nom d'Abdelkader Mesli, Imam et résistant : le mot de Karen Taïeb, adjointe à la mairie de Paris". Crif – Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (in French). 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  12. Délibération du Conseil municipal de Bobigny, 6 July 2023, https://www.bobigny.fr/fileadmin/images/PDF/Conseils_municipaux_et_Actes_Administratifs/CM_2023/CM_du_06.07.2023/11_060723_C%C5%93ur_de_Ville_-_Convention_de_garantie_d_emprunts_accord%C3%A9e_%C3%A0_la_SA_HLM_Batig%C3%A8re.pdf Archived 15 November 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Grande Mosquée de Paris : "un havre de paix" selon Emmanuel Macron". Linfo.re. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  14. La-Croix.com. ""On peut être français et musulman, harmonieusement, indissolublement" déclare Emmanuel Macron". Documentation catholique – La Croix (in French). Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  15. "Chems-Eddine Hafiz, recteur de la Grande Mosquée de Paris : « C'est l'heure du choix : pas entre les musulmans et les juifs, pas entre Israël et la Palestine, mais entre l'humanisme et l'horreur »". Le Monde.fr (in French). 11 November 2023. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
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