The Role of the Sanusiyah in the Integration of Bedouin Tribes and National Cohesion of Libya

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the role of the San]s\yah Order, one of the
most influential North African @]f\ orders, in the socio-political and
religious spheres from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century.
It also examines the impact of the Order’s reforms and how its thinkers
systematically invoked the national spirit among the Bedouins, rooted
in the tribal system. Significantly the movement’s z[wiyahs (@]f\
lodges) initiated a sense of unity and nationalism among the nomadic
tribes of Cyrenaica and the Sahara. This paper also endeavours to
explain how San]s\s defined the boundaries of their homeland and then
launched a successful campaign to defend and liberate their lands from
the foreign invaders. Integration of these conflicting tribes under the
umbrella of San]s\s generated national spirit which gave primarily an
impetus to the anti-colonial resistance movement against France and
Italy and ultimately laid the foundation of the national identity of
modern Libya. The present study helps to understand the socio-regional
and religious background of modern Libya.