The Lion of the Desert Omar Almukhtar (1858-1931) was born in eastern Cyrenaica, Al Butnan District, in the village of Zawiyat Janzur (Janzour) east of Tobruk, in the Tripolitanian Province of the Ottoman Empire (Libya). He was orphaned early and was adopted by Sharif El Gariani, nephew of Hussein Ghariani, a political-religious leader in Cyrenaica. He received his early education at the local mosque and then studied for eight years at the Senussi university at Jaghbub, which was also the headquarters of the Senussi Movement. In 1899 he was sent with other Senussi to assist Rabih az-Zubayr in the resistance in Chad against the French. In October 1911, during the Italo-Turkish War, an Italian naval contingent under the command of Admiral Luigi Faravelli reached the shores of Libya, then a territory subject to Ottoman Turkish control. The admiral demanded that the Turkish administration and garrison surrender their territory to the Italians or incur the immediate destruction of the city of Tripoli and Benghazi. The Turks and their Libyan allies withdrew to the countryside instead of surrendering, and the Italians bombarded the cities for three days, then proclaimed the Tripolitanians to be committed and strongly bound to Italy. This marked the beginning of a series of battles between the Italian colonial forces and the Libyan armed opposition in the East of Libya (Cyrenaica) under Omar Mukhtar for 22 years A teacher of the Qur’an by profession, Mukhtar was also skilled in the strategies and tactics of desert warfare. He knew local geography well and used that knowledge to advantage in battles against the Italians, who were unaccustomed to desert warfare. Mukhtar repeatedly led his small, highly alert groups in successful attacks against the Italians, after which they would fade back into the desert terrain. Mukhtar’s men skillfully attacked outposts, ambushed troops, and cut lines of supply and communication. The Italian army was left astonished and embarrassed by his guerrilla tactics. Omar Mukhtar led the rebellion against Italian occupation of Libya for 22 years until his capture and execution at the old age of 73. Mukhtar’s struggle of nearly twenty years came to an end in September 1931, when he was wounded in battle near Slonta, then captured by the Italian army. Mukhtar was tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed by hanging in a public place. The Italians treated the native leader hero as a prize catch. His resilience had an impact on his jailers, who later remarked upon his steadfastness. His interrogators stated that Mukhtar recited verses of peace from the Quran. The fairness of his trial has been disputed by historians and scholars. When asked if he wished to say any last words, he replied with the Quranic clause: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un.” From Allah we have come, and to Allah we will return.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 00:16:16 +0000
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