Sanusi, al-

Sanusi, al-

 in full Sidi Muhammad ibn 'Ali al-Sanusi al-Mujahiri al-Hasani al-Idrisi

(born c. 1787, Tursh, near Mostaganem, North Africa—died Sept. 7, 1859, Jaghbub, Cyrenaica) North African Muslim theologian. He received his religious training in Fès, 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.