Omar Mukhtar

Omar Mukhtar (Arabic عمر المختار ‘Umar Al-Mukhtār) (1862 - September 16, 1931) was from the tribe of Mnifa, born in a small village called Janzour located in the the eastern part of Barqa- not to be confused with the city of western Libya called Janzour which is more well known. He was the leader of the resistance movement against the Italian military occupation of Libya for more than twenty years. In 1912, following the Italian capture of Libya from the occupying Turks the previous year, Omar Mukhtar organized and devised strategies for the Libyan resistance against the Italian colonization. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (510x777, 79 KB) Licensing http://en. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (510x777, 79 KB) Licensing http://en. ... Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... Barca (Barqa) was a Byzantine province and city in medieval North Africa, occupying the coastal area of what is modern Libya. ... A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to fighting an invader in an occupied country through either the use of physical force, or nonviolence. ... Belligerent military occupation occurs when one nations military occupies all or part of the territory of another nation or recognized belligerent. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Colonialism. ...

Italian Invasion

In October of 1911, Italian battleships reached the shores of Libya. The Italian’s fleet leader, Farafelli, made a demand to the Libyans to surrender Libya to the Italians or the city would be destroyed at once. The Libyans fled, but the Italians attacked Tripoli anyway, bombing the city for three days and thereafter proclaiming the Libyan population in Tripoli to be "committed and strongly bound to Italy." The event marked the beginning of a series of battles between the Italian occupiers and the Libyan Omar Mukhtar's forces.

Guerrilla Warfare

A teacher of the quran by profession, Mukhtar was also skilled in desert tactics. He knew his country’s geography well, and used that knowledge to his advantage in battles against the Italians, who were not accustomed to desert warfare. He 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 Italians were left astonished and embarrassed to have been outsmarted and tricked by mere "bedouin." A Bedouin man resting on a hillside at Mount Sinai Bedouin, derived from the Arabic (‎), a generic name for a desert-dweller, is a term generally applied to Arab nomadic pastoralist groups, who are found throughout most of the desert belt extending from the Atlantic coast of the Sahara via...

Concentration Camps

In an effort to weaken the resistance movement led by Mukhtar, the Italians imprisoned Libyan men, women and children in concentration camps. By holding these people in the camps, the Italians were attempting to weaken the Libyan resistance in two ways: one, they were cutting of all food supplies so they would starve , and two, they were preventing more men from joining Omar Mukhtar's forces. About 125,000 Libyans were forced into these camps, about two-thirds of whom died.

Despite the imprisonment of his people, Mukhtar was determined to continue the struggle, to continue fighting for the liberation of his country and people.

Capture and Execution

Omar Mokhtar's arrest

Mukhtar’s nearly twenty year struggle came to an end when he became wounded in battle and was subsequently captured by the Italian army. The Libyan hero was treated like a prize catch by the Italians. Image File history File links Omar_Mokhtar_arrested_by_Italian_Fascists. ... Image File history File links Omar_Mokhtar_arrested_by_Italian_Fascists. ...

Though in his seventies, Mukhtar was shackled with heavy chains from his waist and wrists because of the army’s fear that he just might escape. Mukhtar’s capture was a serious blow to his people. However, his resilience had an impact on his jailors, who later said they were overwhelmed by his steadfastness. His interrogators later confessed that Mukhtar looked them in the eye and read verses of peace from the Qur'an as he was tortured and interrogated.

Mukhtar was tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed by hanging in a public place. 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 Quran clause: "From God we have come, and to God we will return." On September 16, 1931, in the hope that the Libyan resistance movement would wither and die without him, Mukhtar was hanged in front of his followers on the orders of the Italian court. The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān, literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al Karīm or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ...

Today his face is shown on the Libyan 10 Dinar bill. His final years were immortalized in the movie The Lion of the Desert (1981), starring Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, and Irene Papas. The Lion of the Desert was an historically accurate story movie starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar against the Italian oppressors from 1911 to 1931. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Anthony Quinn Anthony Quinn (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001) was a two-time Academy Award-winning Mexican-American actor, as well as a painter and writer. ... Oliver Reed (February 13, 1938 – May 2, 1999) was an English actor known for his macho image on and off screen. ... Irene Papas (Greek Ειρήνη Παππά, born September 3, 1926 in Corinth) is a Greek-born actress who has starred in over seventy films in a career spanning more than fifty years. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Omar Mukhtar

• Italian occupation and resistance
• Secret proceedings in the Benghazi trial
• Lion of The Desert at the Internet Movie Database