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Omar al-Mukhtar: the formation of cultural memory and the case of the militant group that bears his name

2008; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13629380801996539

1743-9345

Hala Khamis Nassar, Marco Boggero,

Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies

Abstract This paper investigates how the martyr figure of Omar al-Mukhtar (1858–1931) became a popular transnational icon in Africa, Asia and the Arab world. Originally part of the history of Cyrenaica, Omar al-Mukhtar became part of Arab culture during the struggle against colonialism and is now part of a suggested Arab ‘imagined community’. The paper explores how his memory has been shaped in new and multiple ways in contemporary culture and politics of Middle East and North Africa. Al-Mukhtar's historic character has crossed the Libyan boundaries and the Cyrenaican leader became instrumental not only in the history of modern Libya, but contributed to the formation of different forms of Arab nationalism during their struggle against colonialism. The authors investigate how the construction of martyrdom developed and show that the pattern of collective memory did not proceed unambiguously. Further, they demonstrate how the martyr's legacy has been and is still utilised for political mobilisation and make the case by studying the activities of transnational insurrection groups – the ‘brigades’ or ‘forces of Omar al-Mukhtar’ from its original inceptions to recent occurrences. Keywords: terrorismsuicide terrorismLibyaPalestinemartyrdomnationalismcollective memorycolonialismcultural studies Acknowledgments All translations from Arabic to English are by Hala Khamis Nassar. Marco Boggero presented parts of this paper at the Africa Conference at the University of Texas at Austin 2007 and he specially thanks the participants for their comments. He also expresses gratitude to Ellen Lust-Okar, William J. Foltz, Angelo Del Boca and Lisa Anderson, Nicola Labanca, Giorgio Rochat, Lamin Sanneh, Sihem Ghédira. Peter Bergen, Reuven Paz, and Gabriel Weimann. Notes 1. Cf. Israel Gershoni, ‘Old and new narratives’, in Gershoni and Jankowski (1997) Gershoni, I. and Jankowski, J. 1997. Rethinking nationalism in the Arab Middle East, Edited by: Gershoni, I. and Jankowski, J. New York: Columbia University Press. [Google Scholar]. Gershoni considers that the model of imagined communities proposed by Benedict Anderson can be applied to some Arab countries. 2. Benedict Anderson's Imagined communities (1993) is chiefly about how nations are imagined rather than what they imagined themselves as. Yet, a thematic interest can be found in earlier works and it seems to be a complementary development to the study of nationalism. Thematic essays have been written before the publications of Imagined communities in 1983. Cf. ‘The interesting cartoons and monuments: the evolution of political communication under the new order’, in Language and power: exploring political cultures in Indonesia (Cornell University Press, 1990). For the latest discussion on Imagined communities, cf. Cheah and Culler (2003) Cheah, P. and Culler, J. 2003. Grounds for comparison: around the work of Benedict Anderson, New York: Routledge. [Google Scholar]. 3. For a study of the Sanusiyah, cf. Evans-Pritchard and Edward Evan (1954) Evans-Pritchard and Edward, E. 1954. Sanusi of Cyrenaica, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], or Ziadeh's Sanusiyah: a study of a revivalist movement in Islam (1958), or Triaud's Légende noire de la Sanûsiyya: une confrérie musulmane saharienne sous le regard français (1840–1930) (1995). 4. He is referred to as either Mohammed Sahle (according to the trial papers reproduced in Santarelli et al., 1981 Santarelli, E., Rochat, R. and Goglia. 1981. Omar Al-Mukhtar e la riconquista fascista della Libia, Milano: Marzorati. [Google Scholar], p. 259) or as al-Haj Muhammed Omar al-Mukhtar (Hala Khamis Nassar; cf. Omar Mukhtar in the culture and literature, forthcoming). 5. Kufra. Cf. Del Boca (1994 Del Boca, A. 1994. Gli italiani in Libia: dal fascismo a Gheddafi, Milano: Mondadori. [Google Scholar], p. 198). 6. Cf. Chapter 8, ‘Soluch like Auschwith’, in Del Boca (1991 Del Boca, A. 1991. Italiani in Libia, Roma: Laterza. [Google Scholar], pp. 165–182). 7. The history of the concept of martyrdom is of relevance. Both Islam and Christianity assimilate the concept of martyr to that of the ‘witness’. Yet, the term shahīd, often translated as martyr, had originally a different meaning, it simply indicated the individual who followed a suitable and devout manner of living. It is originally referred to Jihad, but in terms of defensive and non-violent resistance. 8. On Ramadan al-Suwayhli, head of the Republic Tripolitania, cf. Lisa Anderson's Ramadan al-Suwayhli: hero of the Libyan resistance (1993); or on the short-lived story of the Republic itself, the first example in the Arab world, of the same author: The Tripoli Republic, 1918–1922 (1982). 9. Accounts of the club or association can found in Khadduri (1963 Khadduri, M. 1963. Modern Libya: a study in political development, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. [Google Scholar], pp. 62–66). An early sketch of the members and publications is provided, as well as the relevant distinction between the Tripolitanian and the Cyrenaican branch. The writings of the Jam'iyyat ‘Umar al-Mukhtar were collected by one of its members, Muhammad Bashir al-Mughayribi; cf. Watha'q Jam'iyyat ‘Umar al-Mukhtar, safhat min ta'rikh Libya (Cairo: Mu'assasat Dar al-Hilal, 1993). An interesting account is found in Baldinetti (2001) Baldinetti, A. 2001. Note sul Nazionalismo libico: l'attivita dell'associazione ‘Umar al-Mukhtar’. Journal of Libyan studies, 2: 61–68. [Google Scholar]. 10. Dr A'ishah Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi, a member of Saddam's defence team and daughter of Colonel Qadhafi, said: ‘What is happening today reminds us of the sheikh of Moudjahidine, Omar al-Mukhtar, standing before the fascist court. History repeats itself with new faces and new heroes. If, God forbid, Saddam was to be executed, his life will still be longer than that of his executors.’ Text Transcripts from Tripoli Great Jamahiriyah TV, 5 November 2006, available on Word News Connect. 11. No recently updated publication appears to be available but for a survey-based analysis of rural and urban Libya's political development cf. El Fathaly and Palmer (1980) El Fathaly, O. I. and Palmer, M. 1980. Political development and social change in Libya, Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. [Google Scholar], or for thematic studies cf. Deeb and Deeb (1982) Deeb, M. and Deeb, M. J. 1982. Libya since the revolution: aspects of social and political development, New York: Praeger. [Google Scholar]. 12. Mena, Cairo, 1 June 2006. Transcribed text, available on World News Connect. 13. A wall of 270 km of barbed wire was built against Omar al-Mukhtar between Cyrenaica and Egypt (with a phone line, three forts, six small forts and three air bases). 14. Cf. Santarelli et al. (1981 Santarelli, E., Rochat, R. and Goglia. 1981. Omar Al-Mukhtar e la riconquista fascista della Libia, Milano: Marzorati. [Google Scholar], pp. 287–295). Of interest the following comment: ‘the death of Omar did not raise much interest among anti-fascists or at least not enough to be used as an argument of anti-colonial propaganda’ (p. 300). On the other hand, the press in the Arab world strongly reacted: from Cairo's Al-Ahram, to Baghdad's Al-Akla Ul-Watani, from Morocco to Java. In Jerusalem and Aleppo, the Druze prince Shekib Arslan became its defender. 15. Labanca speaks of ‘blocco o silenzio’, in Labanca and Venuta (2000 Labanca, N. and Venuta, P. 2000. “Seminario di studi storici italo-libici (Italy), Colonialismo: due sponde del Mediterraneo: atti del Seminario di studi storici italo-libici, Siena-Pistoia, Siena”. Editrice CRT, 13–14 gennaio [Google Scholar], p. 21). Rochat and Romano, quoted in Santarelli et al. (1981 Santarelli, E., Rochat, R. and Goglia. 1981. Omar Al-Mukhtar e la riconquista fascista della Libia, Milano: Marzorati. [Google Scholar], p. 13), Del Boca (1992) Del Boca, A. 1992. Africa nella coscienza degli Italiani: miti, memorie, errori, sconfitte, Roma: Laterza. [Google Scholar]. 16. Labanca and Venuta (2000 Labanca, N. and Venuta, P. 2000. “Seminario di studi storici italo-libici (Italy), Colonialismo: due sponde del Mediterraneo: atti del Seminario di studi storici italo-libici, Siena-Pistoia, Siena”. Editrice CRT, 13–14 gennaio [Google Scholar], p. 27). Other important authors are mentioned like Sergio Romano, Francesco Malgeri, Paolo Maltese, Eric Salerno. 17. Some argue that cinemas refused to show it fearing the same riots that occurred in France with the movie The Battle for Algiers. Cf. Del Boca (1991 Del Boca, A. 1991. Italiani in Libia, Roma: Laterza. [Google Scholar], footnote 36, p. 184; and footnote 73, p. 392). 18. For a complete account, see Del Boca (1996) Del Boca, A. 1996. I gas di Mussolini: il fascismo e la Guerra d'Etiopia, Edited by: Del Boca, A. Rome: Editori Riuniti. [Google Scholar], where the author describes how its first revisionist attempt of 1965 brought him scorn and insults. 19. The monument in Benghazi was erected and subsequently torn down; it is claimed it will be rebuilt on a par with one for Saddam Hussein. The mapping of monuments on Omar Mukhtar is ongoing and part of a work in process on this research. 20. On how the idea of martyrdom lends itself to topical analysis, cf. Weiner and Weiner (1990) Weiner, E. and Weiner, A. 1990. The martyr's conviction: a sociological analysis, Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press. [Google Scholar]. 21. Al-Zawi (1970 al-Zawi, a-T. A. 1970. Omar al-Mukhtar: the last episode from the Libyan national struggle [Google Scholar], p. 190). 22. Al-Zawi (1970 al-Zawi, a-T. A. 1970. Omar al-Mukhtar: the last episode from the Libyan national struggle [Google Scholar], pp. 192–193). In one of the memorial services held in Tunisia the young Tunisian poet Mahmoud Abi Ruqaibah wrote an elegy for al-Mukhtar (Hala Kh. Nassar, Omar Mukhtar in culture and literature, forthcoming). 23. Muhammad Bashir al-Mughayribi; cf. Watha'q Jam'iyyat ‘Umar al-Mukhtar, safhat min ta'rikh Libya (1993). 24. The Congress was called at the behest of Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, whose intentions and actions were closely monitored by the British authorities. In this occasion, the Mufti had guaranteed that nothing provocative would have been said about the ‘alleged Jewish encroachment on Holy Places (…) and nothing on the subject of Italian action in Tripoli’, telegram from the High Commissioner to Palestine to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, 21st November 1931. Reprinted in Burdett (1988) Burdett, A. L.P. 1988. Islamic movements in the Arab world, 1913–1966, Edited by: Burdett, A. L.P. Vol. 2, 1925–1933. London: Archive Editions. [Google Scholar]. 25. La Nation Arabe, November–December 1931, p. 8. He adds that ‘the Italian government could not prevent an outburst of anger for the wide repercussions in the Muslim world and requested the expulsion of Azam Bey from Palestine’. 26. Al-Zawi (1970 al-Zawi, a-T. A. 1970. Omar al-Mukhtar: the last episode from the Libyan national struggle [Google Scholar], pp.193–206). 27. London Times, 17 September 1931, p. 13. 28. La Nation Arabe, September–October 1931, p. 4. 29. Weiner and Weiner (1990 Weiner, E. and Weiner, A. 1990. The martyr's conviction: a sociological analysis, Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press. [Google Scholar], p. 21). The authors credit Methvin for having studied ‘martyrisers’ and documented the process of manufacturing martyrs (Methvin, 1970 Methvin, E. H. 1970. The riot makers; the technology of social demolition, New Rochelle, NY: Artington House. [Google Scholar]). 30. ‘A formidable anti-Italian movement has spread across all the Muslim world within the last three weeks, following the occupation of Kouffra by Italian troops. The occupation was carried out with barbarity and brought about the exodus of 80000 Arabs (…). The official denial by Italian representatives in Cairo, Jerusalem, Baghdad, in the Indies have convinced none.’ La Nation Arabe, Juillet–Aout 1931, p. 23. The quoted 80,000 is the population displaced from Cyrenaica but he writes of a quarter of a million as the total population displaced by the Fascists. Cf. also ‘Les Quatre-vingt mille Arabes de Cyrenaique seraient-ils rapatriés dans leurs foyers?’ La Nation Arabe, September–October 1931, pp. 48–50. 31. ‘Il fut pris par la ruse et la corruption.’ La Nation Arabe, September–October 1931, p. 4. This is partly verified although air reconnaissance also played a part (cf. Rochat, in Santarelli et al. 1981 Santarelli, E., Rochat, R. and Goglia. 1981. Omar Al-Mukhtar e la riconquista fascista della Libia, Milano: Marzorati. [Google Scholar]). 32. La Nation Arabe, September–October 1931, p. 3. This is obviously propaganda. Though less cruel than their enemy, the soldiers of Omar al-Mukhtar did kill some prisoners, even officers. The case of Lt. Beati is documented. 33. ‘Omar Mukhtar had never written to me. However, two or three months ago he thanked me for an article that I had published on the Italian atrocities and assured me that it was only part of the whole truth. (…) He ended his letter by declaring he would fight until the end.’ La Nation Arabe, September–October 1931, p. 6. 34. Cleveland (p. 100). 35. ‘He was the “Arab Lawrence”, spreading the contagion of pan-Arabism, shaping the opinions of Moroccan and Tunisian students in Paris and issuing directives from Geneva that were followed in Rabat and Constantine; he was the prophet and tribune of pan-Arabism, his statement were taken as the bellwether of Arab-Islamic opinion.’ Desparmet and Jalabert, quoted in Cleveland (footnotes 77 and 78, p. 111). 36. Al-Zawi (1970 al-Zawi, a-T. A. 1970. Omar al-Mukhtar: the last episode from the Libyan national struggle [Google Scholar], p. 191). When Fahmi al-Hussieni declared his intentions to name one of largest streets in Gaza after al-Mukhtar, the Italian Consulate in Jerusalem prompted a meeting between the British Governor of Gaza and al-Hussieni. The Mayor of Gaza wrote a letter to the British Governor saying ‘Every city has a feeling, and every municipality of a city has the right to reflect this feeling. Just as the Municipality of Tel Aviv has the right to commemorate Hertzl and Belford (…), the Municipality of Gaza has the right to commemorate a figure who is widely loved and respected among the people of Gaza. If the memory of al-Mukhtar is insulting Italy that is because of what Italy has committed and not the Municipality of Gaza. Therefore, I believe that the Italian objection is not appropriate. 20th of Ramadan 1350, Fahmi al-Hussieni, the Mayor of Gaza City.’ 37. Nassar. 38. Cleveland (p. 11). Shakib Arlsan had with Shawqi ‘one of the deepest friendships among the cultural elite’. (There are many quotations that support this thesis in Cleveland.) 39. From the translation of Evans-Pritchard, cf. ‘translation of an Elegy by Ahmad Shauqi Bey on the occasion of the execution of Sidi ‘Umar al-Mukhtar al-Minifi’, Arab World, February 1949. 40. Cf. the forthcoming work of Hala Khamis Nassar. For more poetry dedicated to al-Mukhtar's memory, also refer to Omar al-Mukhtar fi al-Tarikh wa al-Adab wa – fi-Uyun al-Shurara (Omar al-Mukhtar in history, literature and in the eyes of poets, 1999). Al-Huda Press, Cairo. 41. For the relevance of the movie to the public, cf. The Boston Globe, 15 April 2005, where it is argued that the movie can be found on every market in the Arab world. According to the paper, it is enjoying a second life because it recreates an imperialist campaign carried out in the grand manner. Other sources indicate that Omar al-Mukhtar has become the ‘TV face of the Iraqi insurgency’. ‘The face of actor Anthony Quinn, bearded and in Bedouin dress, looms into view. Cut from a hugely popular 1980s film, the clip is instantly recognisable to an Arab audience. He is playing Omar al-Mukhtar, a desert folk hero who fought against the Italian occupation of Libya. “We will not give up”, he says. “We will win or die.” A jingle starts up and the picture fades, leaving a slogan: “Al-Zawraa – Victory or Death!” This is the TV face of the Iraqi insurgency, a 24-hour satellite channel that beams grisly footage glorifying car bombings, mortar strikes and sniper attacks to millions of homes in Iraq and throughout the Middle East.’ The Irish Times, 17 February 2007. 42. Boullata (2001) Boullata, A. A.S. 2001. The artist's eye and the cactus tree source. Journal of Palestine studies, 30: 68[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]. 43. Hudayri (2000a) Hudayri, M. H. 2000a. al-Nadwa al-Tarikiyah al-Hammah an Umar al-Mukhtar wa-al-Intifada al-Filastiniyah al-Basilah, Madi and Cairo: Gazlan Press. [The important historical meeting on Omar Al-Mukhtar and the Palestinian intrepid intifada] [Google Scholar]. 44. Hudayri (2000a Hudayri, M. H. 2000a. al-Nadwa al-Tarikiyah al-Hammah an Umar al-Mukhtar wa-al-Intifada al-Filastiniyah al-Basilah, Madi and Cairo: Gazlan Press. [The important historical meeting on Omar Al-Mukhtar and the Palestinian intrepid intifada] [Google Scholar], pp. 15, 34). 45. Department of State (2006). 46. Reference to Moghadam in Pedahzur (2006 Pedahzur, A. 2006. Root causes of suicide terrorism, New York: Routledge. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], pp. 13–23). This a presuppose the narrow definition for expediency. A broader definition, which assumes a time lag between the act of killing and dying, could possibly allow for false negatives. 47. MIPT website, accessed 11 April 2006. Also, although they did not penetrate the base's perimeter, the attackers wounded two women before withdrawing. Available information strongly links Libya to the attack, which was undoubtedly undertaken in retaliation for UK support of the US April air strikes. It was claimed the base at Akrotiri had been used by US aircraft involved in the raid. 48. The Washington Post, 3 November 1986. In a later article, acknowledging lasting disagreements among intelligence analysts, it is mentioned among the 10 main terrorist groups operating in Lebanon and it is claimed that the Arab Revolutionary Cells or Omar Mukhtar Brigades or Revolutionary Commando Cells are one and the same. The Washington Post, 8 August 1989. 49. In the Lebanon hostage crisis, the last release was that of journalist Terry Anderson, after seven years in captivity. Cf. his account in Den of lions (1993). 50. ‘Frank Herbert Reed, a director of a privately owned school here, and Joseph James Cicippio, comptroller of the American University and its hospital. A group calling itself the Arab Revolutionary Cells – Omar al-Mukhtar Forces said it had kidnapped the pair. The group is believed to be linked to the Palestinian figure known as Abu Nidal.’ The New York Times, 17 September 1986. 51. Authorities in Lebanon found the bodies of the three Britons in Druze-controlled mountains about 10 miles southeast of Beirut. A man called the Christian Voice of Lebanon radio station and said: ‘We are the June 23 Unit of the Omar al-Mukhtar Forces. We carried out the attack this morning in retaliation for (Britain's) support to the U.S. in the attack against Libya.’ 52. For an interesting discussion, cf. Davis (1990) Davis, B. L. 1990. Qaddafi, terrorism and the origins of the U.S. attack on Libya, Westport, New York and London: Praeger. [Google Scholar]. 53. Many of the attacks claimed by this group were actually carried out by members of the Tanzim, although Hamas has claimed that this group is in fact comprised of members of Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, operating under a different name in order to avoid investigation and prosecution. http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID = 277 (accessed 11 April 2006). 54. ‘(…) and not to Fatah-Intifadah. He explained how and why the movement's military wing started to use this name for its operations, rather than the more familiar name, “Al-Qassam Brigades” ’. 55. http://www.ict.org.il/articles/cooperative_terrorism.htm 56. Reuters News, ‘Radical Palestinian group claims Gaza attack’, 23 November 2000. 57. http://www.ict.org.il/articles/cooperative_terrorism.htm 58. Cf. Alexander (2003) Alexander, Y. 2003. Palestinian secular terrorism, New York: Transnational. [Google Scholar]. AFP (12 July 2001) mentions the Forces Omar al-Mukhtar as part of Fatah-Intifada's military branch of al-Asifa (a spin-off from the Fatah faction of Yasser Arafat). 59. http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2001 (accessed in April 2006). 60. See Table 1. ‘Salah al-Din al-Ayubi Brigades Issue Statement 77, claim attacks on US forces’, 20 October 2006, Jihadist Websites – OSC Report, available through World News Connection. 61. Communication with Peter Bergen, May–June 2006. 62. For a definition, refer to Habeck (2006) Habeck, R. M. 2006. Knowing the enemy: Jihadist ideology and the war on terror, New Haven: Yale University Press. [Google Scholar]. 63. Technological costs in Kalyvas and Sanchez-Cuenca (Kalyvas and Sanchez-Cuenca in Gambetta 2005 Gambetta, D. 2005. Making sense of suicide missions, Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], p. 225). Suicide attacks are a strategic choice, based on cost–benefit calculations by weak groups with limited resources seeking to wage war against formidable opponents (cf. Hafez 2006 Hafez, M. M. 2006. “Manufacturing”. In human bombs: the making of Palestinian suicide bombers, Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press. [Google Scholar], p. 25). The cost is furthermore human – the availability of individuals. In this sense, the smaller the organisation, the lower is the likelihood that suicide missions would be adopted, either because the pool of possible members is small or the cost of recruitment is high. 64. See the reference to Hussein on this point. 65. Cf. Hobsbawm and Ranger (1983) Hobsbawm, E. and Ranger, T. 1983. Invention of tradition, Edited by: Hobsbawm, E. and Ranger, T. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar], which shows how the repudiation of foreign cultures and legacies led Ngugi, in the Kenyan context, ‘to embrace the tradition of Kenyan popular resistance to colonialism’ (p. 262). The term ‘invented tradition’ is meant to include ‘both traditions actually invented, constructed and formally instituted and those emerging in a less easily traceable manner within a brief and dateable period – a matter of a few years perhaps – and establishing themselves with great rapidity’. Cf. Hobsbawm (1983).