We go back in history to 1862 where a young boy of a poor household was born in a town under the Ottoman Caliphate. This boy was brought up under the care and tutelage of one of the scholars in his hometown. His father died when he was 16. He developed a lifestyle of not sleeping more than three hours every night in order to get up to pray to Allah in the last third of the night and recite Qur'an until Fajr. He memorized the Qur'an (as all knowledgeable people begin their lives with) eventually, and was known to have finished his revisions in its entirety every seven days, regardless of the sufferings he encountered in his life. His courage and wisdom was pronounced. He was an example for people to follow. This was evident during one of his caravan trails to Sudan as a young man. A lion had deterred the people from entering a particular path. Caravans veered elsewhere for fear of this lion. To distract this lion, people would give it one of their camels, a prized possession, so they could pass safely. He learned of this lion during the journey, whereupon he consequently took it upon himself to face this crisis head on. Unlike other men in the caravan who were dumbfounded by the situation, he carried his shot gun, rode his horse and went after the lion. He came back with the lion's head much to everyone's surprise and due gratitude. This earned him the title “Lion of Cyrenaica.” An upbringing of courage and righteousness had a massive effect on him. His character would not only change the course of his tribe, country and people, but also the world of Muslims in the Post Colonial Era. In his 20's. he was known for his maturity beyond his years, as well as his wisdom, for he continued to solve tribal disputes. His people listened to him and took his counsel regardless of village or region he found himself in. His manners were known to be great, for he was eloquent, balanced in his speech, and appealing to those who listened. This uniqueness helped him unite the tribes, and later on gather armies to fend off the colonial powers. His 30's were marked by the dawn of the colonial era as it began to spread its cancer to the rest of the world. At the time when the world was being ravaged by European nations, this man stood firm for Islam and faced colonizers with his valor. He fought fiercely against the French with a group called Banu Sanus, who would later be known as the Sanusies. For a brief moment, they also fought the British, who attempted to conquer their land. As part of a global feast on the so-called less civilized nations, Italy joined the European nations in wrecking havoc in the southern part of the hemisphere by colonizing North Africa. It was during this time, this man in his 50's gathered his forces in the face of an invasion against his homeland, Libya. The man is none other than Omar Al-Mukhtar. To pacify his resistance army, the Italians offered him high-ranking positions and wealth. In return, they demanded that he surrender and follow their colonial decree. Omar's response became a famous quote, “I'm not a sweet bite of a meal anyone can swallow. No matter how long they try to change my belief and opinion, Allah is going to let them down.” They then offered him to leave his town to live closer to the ruling party complete with a monthly salary, but he again refused by saying, “No, I will not leave my country until I meet my Lord. Death is closer to me than anything, I'm waiting for it by the minute.” Omar Al-Mukhtar was undeterred from fighting even at 70 years of age. He was the symbol of his people's resistance against hopeless odds. He gave his people hope against an army thousands times more than his own, equipped with more modern weapons, airplanes and armoury, while he and his men starved in the mountains with nothing on their backs but their rifles and horses. People gathered around his firmness, as the Ummah is always in need of such legendary leaders to lead. He successfully began to strike the Italians where it hurt. He hit firmly, swiftly, and those who thought occupying Muslim lands, oppressing, imprisoning, and torturing Muslims was going be effortless. Another man in his 90's named Abu Karayyim, from the Jalu oasis, had fought with him in the deep south. Hunger and disease eventually decimated his people. The Italians soon stepped up operations by burning and pillaging villages. Women, children and the elderly were not spared. During their weakest phase, people were gathered and placed in concentration camps.
