Before Qaddafi, the closest thing to a national icon that Libya had was
Omar Mukhtar, the Lion of the Desert. Mussolini thought of Libya as the
Fourth Shore of Italy; the natives were not pleased with this idea, and under the leadership of Mukhtar, a school teacher, successfully resisted the Italians for twenty years with almost no resources. Italian rule in Libya was harsh: Libyans were rounded up into
concentration camps, tanks and
aerial bombardment were used against civilians, and half of the population of Cyrenaica - the eastern part of Libya - died. To stop Mukhtar from receiving supplies from Egypt, the Italians built a
168-mile long barbed-wire fence essentially dividing the country in two. Mukhtar was finally captured and hung on September of 1931; he remains a
symbol of Libyan independence.
In 1981, a
filmed version of his life, the English-language
Lion of the Desert was released starring Anthony Quinn as Mukhtar. Financed by the Qaddafi regime at the expense of $35 million, it failed to make much of a dent in the English-speaking world, though the film was banned in Italy because of its portrayal of Italian cruelty, a ban not lifted until 2009, when Berlusconi found it advantageous to deal with Qaddafi. It appears to be available on
YouTube in full (as well as on DVD); it's a bit overwrought, but a good introduction to a mostly forgotten chapter of history.
Mukhtar's legacy is still being fought over. Qaddafi has repeatedly drawn parallels between himself and Mukhtar,
pointedly wearing a portrait of
Mukhtar in chains on a visit to Italy. The rebels see themselves as
carrying on Mukhtar's legacy. His son Mohammed
has encouraged the rebels.
(A
previous post about Libya mentions Omar Mukhtar.)
posted by kuujjuarapik at 1:47 PM on May 1, 2011