French colonization of Algeria began on June 14, 1830 when French soldiers arrived in a coastal town, Sidi Ferruch. The troops did not encounter significant resistance, and within 3 weeks, the occupation was officially declared on July 5, 1830. After a year of occupation over 3,000 Europeans (mostly French) had arrived ready to start businesses and claim land. In reaction to the French occupation, Amir Abd Al-Qadir was elected leader of the resistance movement. On November 27, 1832, Abd Al-Qadir declared that he reluctantly accepted the position, but saw serving in the position as a necessity in order to protect the country from the enemy (the French). Abd Al-Qadir declared the war against the French as jihad, opposed to liberation. Abd Al-Qadir's movement was unique from other independence movements because the main call to action was for Islam rather than nationalism. Abd Al-Qadir fought the French for nearly two decades, but was defeated when the Tijaniyya Brotherhood agreed to submit to French rule as long as “they were allowed to exercise freely the rites of their religion, and the honor of their wives and daughters was respected”. In 1847 Abd Al-Qadir was defeated and there were other resistance movements but none of them were as large nor as effective in comparison. Due to the lack of effective large-scale organizing, Algerian Muslims “resorted to passive resistance or resignation, waiting for new opportunities,” which came about from international political changes due to World War I. As World War I became a reality, officials discussed drafting young Algerians into the army to fight for the French, but there was some opposition. European settlers were worried that if Algerians served in the army, then those same Algerians would want rewards for their service and claim political rights (Alghailani). Despite the opposition, the French government drafted young Algerians into the French army for World War I.