Senusiyya

The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi are a <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Muslim</a> political-religious <a href="/facts/Tariqa/YgesnhbA">Sufi order</a> and clan in <a href="/facts/Libya/HMPH8PWR">Libya</a> and surrounding regions founded in <a href="/facts/Mecca/udqyuk0k">Mecca</a> in 1837 by the Grand Sanussi (<a href="/facts/Arabic_language/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a>: السنوسي الكبير as-Sanūssiyy al-Kabīr), the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Algeria/7NTmU9u8">Algerian</a> <a href="/facts/Muhammad_ibn_Ali_al-Sanusi/e3yCEXQw">Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi</a>.
During <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a> the Senussis fought against both <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Italy/X5hxYBvF">Italy</a> and <a href="/facts/British_Empire/hrsz0j7A">Britain</a>. During <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, the Senussis provided support to the <a href="/facts/Eighth_Army_(United_Kingdom)/uXhB6VRG">British Eighth Army</a> in <a href="/facts/North_Africa/ItxQAfs7">North Africa</a> against <a href="/facts/Nazi_Germany/8kRbqRpo">Nazi</a> and <a href="/facts/Fascist_Italy/6LEsbKQM">Fascist Italian</a> forces. The Grand Senussi's grandson became <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Libya/uGsNeUn2">King</a> <a href="/facts/Idris_of_Libya/F3XRIxIa">Idris I of Libya</a> in 1951. The <a href="/facts/1969_Libyan_revolution/vnwEQLxj">1969 Libyan revolution</a> led by <a href="/facts/Muammar_Gaddafi/JFp2s57J">Muammar Gaddafi</a> overthrew him, ending the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Libya/uGsNeUn2">Libyan monarchy</a>. The movement remained active despite sustained persecution by Gaddafi's government. The Senussi spirit and legacy continue to be prominent in today's Libya, mostly in <a href="/facts/Cyrenaica/w624AyBA">Cyrenaica</a>.

Senusiyya open-in-new

Senusiyya