At a glance
Era 11- Dates
- c. 1858-1931 CE
- Who
- Teacher of the Quran who led the Libyan resistance against Italy
- Era
- Colonialism & Renewal
ProfileOmar al-Mukhtar
Omar al-Mukhtar was born in eastern Libya around 1858 and educated in the lodges of the Sanusi order, where he became a teacher of the Quran. He was a trusted pupil of the Sanusi leader Ahmed Sharif.
When Italy invaded Libya in 1911, he joined the resistance, and after Ahmed Sharif went into exile he became its leader in the Green Mountain of Cyrenaica. In his sixties and seventies he led a few thousand horsemen against an army with tanks and aircraft, fighting hundreds of clashes a year for two decades.
In September 1931 he was wounded and captured. Offered his life if he would end the resistance, he refused, saying he would fight until freedom or victory. He was put to death days later. His name is honoured across the Muslim world.
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