Heroes of #Libya

The straggle against #Italian Fascism,

the use of religion as tool,

the Heroes that defy human pain to give their fellow humans

F R E E D O M

a thread

ʿOmar al-Mukhṭār Muḥammad bin Farḥāṭ al-Manifī

(Arabic: عُمَر الْمُخْتَار مُحَمَّد بِن فَرْحَات الْمَنِفِي;

20 August 1858– 16 September 1931),

called The Lion of the Desert,

known among the colonial Italians as Matari of the Mnifa,

was the leader of native resistance in Cyrenaica,

currently Eastern #Libya Libya under the Senussids,

against the #Italian colonization of #Libya .

Color: Cynical, first ever.

A teacher-turned-general, Omar was also a prominent figure of the Senussi movement, and he is considered the national hero of #Libya and a symbol of resistance in the Arab and Islamic worlds. Beginning in 1911, he organised and, for nearly twenty years,

Color: Cynical

led the #Libyan resistance movement against the colonial #Italians during the Pacification of Libya.

After many attempts, the Italian Armed Forces managed to capture Al-Mukhtar near Solonta and hanged him in at September 16, 1931

A dialogue in between an Italian judge and Omar Mukhtar in 1931:

Judge: Did you fight against the Italian state?
Omar: Yes

Judge: Did you encourage people to fight against Italy?
Omar: Yes

Judge: Are you aware of penalty for what you did?
Omar: Yes

Judge: For how many years did you fight against Italy?
Omar: For 20 years already

Judge: Do you regret of what you have done?
Omar: No

Judge: Do you realize that you will be executed?
Omar: Yes

Then Omar Mukhtar - The Lion of the Desert said:
==============================
"we do not Surrender, we win or die.
As for me, I will live longer than my hangman."
===============================

Just like Hellenic revolutionaries at 1821 said:

"Freedom or Death"

The Lion of the Desert said:

"We do not Surrender, we win or die"

In 1934, after the creation of Italian Libya, #Mussolini adopted a policy for encouraging comparisons with Islam, calling the local population

"Italian Muslims of the fourth shore of Italy",

building or restoring mosques and Koranic schools,

preparing service facilities for the pilgrims going to Mecca and even making a High School of Islamic Culture in Tripoli.

Behind the apparent humanitarian intent, fascists and some sectors of the Islamic world were recognizing #France and the #UK as common enemies

and #Mussolini wanted to exploit this to his advantage
These common interests were generated from the aversion to the agreements of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, dominated by the USA France and UK which had not met the requests of Italy and this part of the Islamic world

In order to earn the favor of the Arabs and to seal himself the alliance, Mussolini, decided to have bestowed on him the title of Protector of Islam

With the Italian government taking over the place of the Ottomans in Libya he was heir of the authority of the caliph

On March 20, 1937, in the outskirts of Tripoli, Mussolini received the Sword of Islam from Iusuf Kerisc,

a leading Berber supporter of the Italian occupation against the Libyan resistance, during a lavish ceremony.

After entering #Tripoli among salutes of cannons and at the head of a rank of 2,600 cavalrymen, #Mussolini reaffirmed his closeness to the Muslim population, guaranteeing
"peace, justice, wellness and respect for the laws of the Prophet"

Today the memory of #Mussolini brings horror
and the memory of

Omar Mukhtar - The Lion of the Desert

is Alive in #Libya

/end thread

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