95 years after his execution, Libyan activist Omar Al-Mukhtar still maintains his position as one of the most prominent historical symbols that unite Libyans, in a country exhausted by political and geographical division.
In a country where there have been multiple centers of influence since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, and the political and military conflict between the East and the West is rooted, the biography of the “Sheikh of the Mujahideen” remains a rare space in which the memory of Libyans converges on resistance to Italian colonialism, regardless of their orientations and regions.
Al-Mukhtar Ahmed Al-Mukhtar, one of the descendants of the family of the Sheikh of the Mujahideen, expressed to Asharq Al-Awsat his regret about the political division that “still casts a shadow” on the anniversary of his grandfather’s martyrdom, which falls on Wednesday, highlighting the paradox that the Libyans are currently united only by the history of their struggle against Italian colonialism.
Al-Mukhtar, who is the grandson of the Sheikh of the Mujahideen, believes that focusing on national history and giving greater attention to important figures, such as Omar Al-Mukhtar, Bashir Al-Saadawi, and other symbols of the country, “would have changed the shape of Libya” and helped it turn the page on division.
* Commemoration of “Martyr’s Day”
Omar Al-Mukhtar comes from the Menfa tribe in eastern Libya, and grew up in a religious environment before becoming one of the most prominent leaders of the Libyan resistance against the Italian occupation. Since the fall of the Gaddafi regime, Libyans have commemorated “Martyr’s Day” every year on September 16, which was established as an official holiday under a law issued by the former National Transitional Council in 2012.
His memory comes this year in a Libyan scene burdened by a long transitional phase, in which external initiatives are racing to reach a political settlement that leads to long-awaited presidential and legislative elections, while the country faces challenges related to the presence of foreign forces, mercenaries, and foreign military bases and installations.
His chosen grandson says that this represents a painful irony, as his grandfather “laid” his blood for the country, while Libya, despite several decades of independence, still faces challenges affecting its sovereignty and unity.
In Benghazi, the attempt to restore this memory seemed more present to Asharq Al-Awsat. In a complex that includes a memorial and a museum for Omar Al-Mukhtar, collectibles related to the resistance are juxtaposed with pictures and pieces that recall the period of the conflict with Italian colonialism.
Faraj Njeim, director of the Office of “Management and Protection of the Shrine of Omar Al-Mukhtar” and head of the “Al-Salam Center for Studies and Research” in Benghazi, notes that there is much that divides Libyans, from political, regional, and tribal divisions, to their different visions of the post-2011 stages, but Omar Al-Mukhtar remains, in his estimation, “a subject of consensus” among them.
Njeim confirms that the museum itself reflects the expansion of Al-Mukhtar’s presence outside the region in which he lived and fought, which was apparent during the “Middle East” tour among his possessions, including a picture drawn by a girl from Misrata (west) inspired by the cinematic image of his character portrayed by the artist Anthony Quinn.
Although it is not a historical picture identical to his features, its presence inside the museum reflects, according to Njeim, the man’s symbolism exceeding the boundaries of the place in which he lived and fought.
Njeim recalls a spontaneous scene of young men from the Tripoli Scouts giving a collective salute in front of a picture of Omar Al-Mukhtar during their visit to the museum. He had no choice but to rush to document the moment with his lens, in a scene that bore an indication of the presence of the legacy of the Sheikh of the Mujahideen in the memory of Libyan generations, both east and west.
The museum's holdings include iron chains and barbed wire used by the Italian occupation in concentration camps, as well as rifles and ammunition used by mujahideen from different regions of Libya, along with pictures linked to Omar Al-Mukhtar's comrades in the resistance.
From Benghazi, the journey of Al-Mukhtar’s remains extends to restore another aspect of his presence in Libyan memory. After his execution in Suluq, south of Benghazi, he was secretly buried by the occupation authorities in the Sidi Abid cemetery in Benghazi, in an attempt to prevent his grave from turning into a symbol of resistance, according to what those responsible for his shrine reported.
Nine years after Libya's independence, his remains were re-buried in Benghazi during a ceremony attended by a group of Libyans, on August 7, 1960, but the former regime transferred them to Suluq on September 16, 1981, where they have remained since then.
As for the shrine associated with the name of Omar Al-Mukhtar in Benghazi, it was rebuilt through civil efforts in 2021 in its previous location, after it was demolished in 2000, and initiatives were initiated to restore it following the revolution of February 17, 2011. The new shrine remained empty of the man’s remains that remained in Suluq.
*National symbol
In Suluq, where the remains of Mukhtar rested for decades in a grave in the middle of a wide square, the place has a strong connection to the history of the “Lion of the Desert,” where he was executed 95 years ago. The people of the town are proud to embrace his remains, hoping that his final resting place will remain there, so that Saluq will remain the conclusion of the journey of the body of one of the most prominent symbols of the Libyan resistance.
While development work continues in the vicinity of the tomb, at a time when the country is still experiencing a political division between competing institutions and centers of influence. Jamal Hashem, one of the townspeople, believes that keeping the remains in Suluq preserves the national symbol’s connection to the place to which its end was linked. He pointed out to Asharq Al-Awsat that visitors to the remains come from eastern, western, and southern Libya, and that the presence of Al-Mukhtar calls for a memory that goes beyond the factors of division.
In the south, Touka, the Libyan activist, believes that Omar Al-Mukhtar embodies a Libya that transcends its divisions, recalling his visit to his shrine in Suluq, which he said brought to mind for him and the people of the south a history of common struggle that brought the Libyans together.
This presence is not limited to the East and South; In the capital, Tripoli, the Libyan National Museum in the Red Serail, which opened at the end of last year, contains a number of collectibles related to Omar Al-Mukhtar, in addition to documents and correspondence related to the stage of resistance against the Italian occupation.
Throughout the country, the “Lion of the Desert” is present in the public memory of political, military, and social, cultural, and tribal forces, regardless of their positions and varying interests.
These parties may diverge and clash over present issues, but, according to tribal leader Salem Karwad, they meet when recalling the biography of “Sidi Omar,” which appears to be one of the rare spaces in which Libya regains the image of its unity.
