Omar Mukhtar
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Omar Mukhtar (Arabic عمر المختار ‘Umar Al-Mukhtār) (1862 - September 16, 1931) was from the tribe of Mnifa, born in a small town called Zawia Janzour. 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.
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[edit] Italian Invasion
In October of 1911, Italian battleships reached the shores of Tripoli, Libya. The Italian’s fleet leader, Farafelli, made a demand to the Turks to surrender Tripoli to the Italians or the city would be destroyed at once. The Ottoman Turks 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 Mujahedeen (the Arabic word for "Strugglers",generally used for those who fight for the sake of Allah, but now widely in use for Freedom Fighters.)
[edit] Guerrilla Warfare
A teacher of the Koran by profession, Mukhtar was also skilled in desert guerrilla 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 mobile 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 outmaneuvered by a mere "bedouin."
[edit] Concentration Camps
In an effort to weaken the resistance movement led by Mukhtar, the Italian fascists 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 off economic and moral support for the resistance, and two, they were preventing more men from joining the resistance. About 125,000 Libyans were forced into these camps, about two-thirds of whom perished.
Despite the imprisonment of his people, Mukhtar was determined to continue the struggle. Though he was fighting for the liberation of his country and people, the continuation of his resistance meant a continuation of Italian-run concentration camps.
[edit] Capture and Execution
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.
Though in his sixties, 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.
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.
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