Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi

For other people named Muhammad Ali, see Muhammad Ali (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Sanusi.

Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi (Arabic: محمد بن علي السنوسي; in full Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Sanūsī al-Mujāhirī al-Ḥasanī al-Idrīsī) (1787–1859) was an Algerian Muslim theologian and leader who founded the Sanusi order in 1837. His militant mystical movement proved very significant and helped Libya to win its freedom from Italy on 10 February 1947. Al-Sanusi's grandson Idrīs I ruled as king of Libya from 1951 to 1969.^[1]

Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi
Founder of the Sanusi order
Born	(1787-12-22)22 December 1787 Mostaganem, Regency of Algiers
Died	2 September 1859(1859-09-02) (aged 71) Jaghbub, Libya, Ottoman Tripolitania
Issue	Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi
Father	Ali al-Sanusi
Religion	Islam

Life

Al-Sanusi was born in al-Wasita near Mostaganem, Algeria in 1787,^[2] and was named al-Sanusi after Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Sanusi, a venerated Muslim teacher active in Tlemcen in the 13th century. He was an Algerian Walad Sidi Abdallah tribesman who claimed descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[3][4][5]