See Also: Sanusi, al-(encyclopedia)
Sanusi (as used in expressions)(encyclopedia)

Sanusi, al- (sh)




in full Sidi Mu?ammad ibn ?Ali al-Sanusi al-Mujahiri al-?asani al-Idrisi

born งใ 1787, Tursh, near Mostaganem, North Africa
died Sept. 7, 1859, Jaghbub, Cyrenaica

North African Muslim theologian.

He received his religious training in Fes, Mor., which was under strong French influence at the time. He became convinced that the Islamic community needed to revitalize itself in order to shake off foreign domination. Using tactics he had developed preaching among Bedouin in the Hejaz, he organized tribes in Cyrenaica to resist Italian domination, founding a militant mystical movement, the Sanusiyyah (1837), which helped Libya win its independence in the 20th century. Libya's first king, Idris I, was his grandson.