Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi

Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi ''' was an Algerian Muslim theologian and leader who founded the Sanusi order in 1837. His militant mystical movement proved very significant and helped Libya to win its freedom from Italy on 10 February 1947. Al-Sanusi's grandson Idrīs I ruled as king of Libya from 1951 to 1969.

Life

Al-Sanusi was born in al-Wasita near Mostaganem, Algeria in 1787, and was named al-Sanusi after Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Sanusi, a venerated Muslim teacher active in Tlemcen in the 13th century. He was an Algerian Walad Sidi Abdallah tribesman who claimed descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad.