Additional information
by Afeefa Syeed (Author), Tamar Miller (Author), John Kiser (Other)
Children and their parents will be captivated by the inspiring life-story of one of the world's noblest and most exemplary leaders, internationally recognized. Emir Abd al-Qadir describes his own childhood and education, growing up in the Algerian Sahara. When, later, the French army invades his country, the people chose him to defend their lands and lives. His enormous restraint on the battlefield, his courage, integrity, selflessness and compassion- which even extended to the enemy- serves us as a beautiful reminder: even under dreadful circumstances, such as war, it is possible to live up to the highest standards of human dignity, respect for others and innate goodness. After signing a truce to relieve his people's suffering, the Emir was exiled by the French to Syria where his inner spiritual and saintly life was nourished. Later, in Damascus, when a terrible riot broke out, this revered Muslim figure took Christian and Jewish families, as well as the French, into his own home to protect them. This is a story which clearly illustrates the kind of a person we should all strive to become, strikingly enhanced by the exquisite illustrations of the renowned artist Demi.
Author Biography
Afeefa Syeed serves as a Senior Fellow for IGE's Center for Women, Faith & Leadership. As former Senior Advisor at the US Agency for International Development, Afeefa Syeed worked with USAID staff in Washington and the field developing policy, defining best practices, highlighting success stories, and otherwise building internal capacity and tools to frame country strategies that reflected greater expertise in engaging with the cultural contexts we serve. She designed and implemented initiatives and training to address engaging traditional and religious leaders and institutions, radicalization, socio-political identity, mainstreaming gender, social entrepreneurship, and other emerging programs. As a cultural anthropologist, Afeefa's work has included communities in Europe, South East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Middle East and North Africa. Afeefa has worked for the past 25 years with various international and grassroots NGOs and development agencies in areas of youth and women participation and leadership, civic education and engagement, good governance, education and curriculum reform, and advocacy. Afeefa founded a model school whose core curriculum is peace education and civic engagement and she is a member of various interfaith, social service and advocacy organizations in the U.S. Tamar Miller has been an innovator and ally working on social benefit campaigns for over four decades. Her work spans a wide spectrum-- from introducing contemplative practices to faculty at Harvard and MIT through the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, to managing a parliamentary campaign in Kuwait, to conducting strategic evaluations for the Fetzer Institute's science and spirituality initiatives. Tamar was Vice President of Education and a founding partner of American Higher Education, Inc. She also served as a Partner at Middle East Holdings, a business development firm operating in Boston and Dubai. At Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, she served as Director of Leadership Development and later as Executive Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Policy in the Middle East. Tamar serves on the boards of the Parents Circle - Families Forum and Combatants for Peace and was a founding board member of the Alliance for Middle East Peace. She is a Senior Advisor to both TRACK TWO: An Institute for Citizen Diplomacy and Making Peace Visible. With Afeefa Syeed, Tamar co-authored the forthcoming children's book The Exemplary Life of Emir Abd al-Qadir al-Jazairy, illustrated by renowned artist DEMI. Tamar holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Judaic Studies, a Master of Social Work from Yeshiva University, and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University. She raised three daughters in Cambridge, Massachusetts U.S.A. and is now grandmother to five little ones, whose futures inspire her pursuit of peace. John Kiser is the author of five books, including Communist Entrepreneurs: Unknown Innovators, The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith Love and Terror in Algeria, and most recently, Commander of the Faithful: A Story of True Jihad. Commander is an account of the life of Emir Abd el-Kader, a warrior, statesman, scholar who combined deep religious faith with chivalrous humanism and intellectual openness, which made him a hero in both the East and West. It is the third book of an Abrahamic trilogy that began unwittingly with Stefan Zweig: Death of a Modern Man. John Kiser is a former international technology broker. He has an M.A. from Columbia University in European History and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He lives in Virginia with his family. Demi is the award-winning author of over 300 bestselling children's books. Her titles have sold over five million copies. They include Jesus, al-Ghazali, Rumi, Muhammed, Cyrus the Great, the Psalms of David, and Saint Francis of Assisi. Gandhi and The Nightingale were named New York Times Best Illustrated Books. The Empty Pot was selected by the former Firs
