Sulaiman Al-Barouni
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Sulayman al-Baruni (; – 1 May 1940) was a Libyan
Ibadi Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...
scholar, poet, statesman and a prominent figure in the
history of Libya Libya's history involves its rich mix of ethnic groups, including the indigenous Berbers/Amazigh people. Amazigh have been present throughout the entire history of the country. For most of its history, Libya has been subjected to varying degrees ...
.


Early life and studies

Al-Baruni was born in the
Jabal Nafusa The Nafusa Mountains () () is a mountain range in the western Tripolitania region of northwestern Libya. It also includes the regions around the escarpment formed where the northern end of the Tripolitanian Plateau meets the Mediterranean coasta ...
in what was then the ''vilayet'' of Tripolitania, part of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, around 1870. He was born to an influential Berber family that belonged to the
Ibadi Ibadism (, ) is a school of Islam concentrated in Oman established from within the Kharijites. The followers of the Ibadi sect are known as the Ibadis or, as they call themselves, The People of Truth and Integrity (). Ibadism emerged around 6 ...
sect of Islam. His father, Abd Allah al-Baruni, was a jurist, poet and theologian. In 1887, he started his studies at the
University of Ez-Zitouna Ez-Zitouna University (, ) is an Ancient higher-learning institutions, ancient public university in Tunis, Tunisia. The university originated in the Al-Zaytuna Mosque, founded at the end of the 7th or in the early 8th century, which developed into ...
in Tunisia, where among his teachers were the reformists, and Uthman al-Makki. Al-Nakhli, a critic of colonialism and Sufism, had the great influence on the young Sulayman. In 1893, after six years of studies, he entered the
Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...
, where he studied for three years. He was getting exposed to more anti-colonial movements while in his stay in Egypt. He also became familiar with
Mustafa Kamil Mustafa Kamil Pasha (, ) (August 14, 1874 ⁠– February 10, 1908) was an Egyptian lawyer, journalist, and nationalist activist. Early life and education Kamil was born in Cairo in 1874. His father was an engineer who first worked for the Egy ...
's ideas and held him in high regard. After ending his studies in the al-Azhar, he went to the
M'zab The M'zab, or Mzab (Mozabite language, Mozabite: ''Aghlan'', ), is a natural region of the northern Sahara Desert in Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. It is located south of Algiers and has approximately 360,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate). Geolog ...
valley to study under the prominent Mozabite Ibadi scholar Muhammad ibn Yusuf Atfayyash, who taught him Arabic studies, theology, and traditional Ibadi literature.


Career

In
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
he founded a newspaper and later a printing press. During the reign of
Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
, he was arrested several times by the Ottoman authorities on the accusation that he was planning to re-establish an Ibadi imamate or emirate in the Jabal Nefusa. In the general election of 1908, following the
Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
, al-Baruni was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
as the member for the Jabal Gharbi.Anna Baldinetti, "Italian Colonial Rule and the Muslim Elites in Libya: A Relationship of Antagonism and Collaboration", in Meir Hatina (ed.), ''Guardians of Faith in Modern Times: ʻUlamaʼ in the Middle East'' (Leiden: Brill, 2009), pp. 91–108, at 96–102. Following the outbreak of the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
in 1911, al-Baruni immediately began recruiting Berbers to resist the invasion. He played a leading role at the Congress of Aziziyya, a meeting of important Tripolitanian leaders, in late October 1912, following the Ottoman capitulation. He eventually sought an understanding with the Italians in the hopes of creating an autonomous Ibadi principality centred on the Jabal Nefusa and Marsa Zuaga. At minimum he hoped the Berbers would receive special privileges in the new
Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...
. What remained of Berber resistance in Tripolitania was crushed at the
battle of al-Asabʿa A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...
on 23 March 1913. Al-Baruni and several other leaders who had been connected with the Ottomans, went into voluntary exile in
French Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. Th ...
. Italy sent Count
Carlo Sforza Count Carlo Sforza (24 January 1872 – 4 September 1952) was an Italian nobility, Italian nobleman, diplomat and Anti-fascism, anti-fascist politician. Life and career Sforza was born in Lucca, the second son of Count Giovanni Sforza (184 ...
to Tunisia to persuade the exiles to return. Al-Baruni was the first to be convinced, suggesting to the other that they should return to Tripolitania in exchange for an agreement from Italy that they could retain the position in Tripolitanian society and that their past resistance would not be held against them. Al-Baruni seems even to have been promised Berber autonomy. The Italians also asked him to write a monograph on the Jabal Gharbi. Al-Baruni did not return until October 1916, when he was appointed
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
(Arabic ''wāli'', Turkish ''vali'') of Tripolitania, Tunisia and
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
by the Ottoman sultan in the midst of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. None of these territories were under actual Ottoman control at the time, but the Ottomans were actively working to organise the war against Italy in Tripolitania. In November 1918, al-Baruni was one of four local notables elected to represent the
Tripolitanian Republic The Tripolitanian Republic (Arabic: , ''al-Jumhuriyat at-Trabulsiya''), was a short-lived Arab republic that declared the independence from Italian Tripolitania after World War I. It failed to set up a republic, and Italian rule was restored in ...
that was proclaimed in the aftermath of the Ottoman surrender. With the promulgation of the ''
Legge Fondamentale Legge () is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alexander Legge (1866–1933), US businessman, president of International Harvester * Anthony Legge (1939–2013), British archaeologist specialized in zooarchaeology *Arthur Kaye Leg ...
'' (Fundamental Law) in June 1919, al-Baruni made his peace with Italy. Ronald Bruce St. John (ed.), "Baruni, Suleiman", ''Historical Dictionary of Libya'', 5th edn. (Rowman and Littlefield, 2014), pp. 56–57. By September 1921, as a result of the Italian policy of divide and conquer, there was a civil war in Libya between the Berbers, who increasingly looked to Italy for protection, and the Arabs. Among the Berbers, al-Baruni was widely blamed for this state of affairs. He went into his final exile in November 1921. He traveled to France, Egypt, Turkey and
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
before settling in
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
. There he was appointed
finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
.


Death and burial

He died on 1 May 1940 while visiting
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
in the company of the Sultan of Oman,
Said bin Taimur Said bin Taimur (; 13 August 1910 – 19 October 1972) was the 13th Sultan of Muscat and Oman from 10 February 1932 until he was deposed on 23 July 1970 by his son Qaboos bin Said. He was a member of the Al Bu Said dynasty who in 1932 became ...
. After his death, his daughter, Za'ima bint Sulayman, gathered some of his papers and published them at Tripoli in 1964 under the title ''Safahat khalida min al-jihad li'l-mujahid al-Libi Sulayman al-Baruni''. In the 1970s, the new nationalist regime demanded that the bodies of the anti-colonial leaders who died in exile be brought to their homeland. For this reason, in 1970 the body of Sulayman al-Baruni was returned to Libya where he received a national ceremony with great coverage the newspapers and television. The remains of al-Baruni rest in Sidy Moniader Cemetery in
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
.


In popular culture

* The Libyan television series, El Zaiman, starring the Moroccan actor Rabie Kati as Sulayman al-Baruni and the Libyan actor Saleh El Qarad as
Bashir Saadawi Bashir Saadawi (, ; 1884 – 17 January 1957) was a Libyan politician and the founder and leader of the unitarist National Congress Party.الدكتور المفتي: السعداوى والمؤتمر بين التمجيد والنسيان طبع ...
, aired on Salam TV in
Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
2020.


References


Further reading

* * * * *


External links

* ''(in Arabic)''
A biography of al-Baruni
''(in Arabic)''

''(in Arabic)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Baruni, Sulaiman al- History of Tripolitania 1870s births 1940 deaths Libyan resistance leaders Libyan revolutionaries Libyan journalists Libyan novelists Arabic-language novelists Libyan poets Maghrebi Ibadi Muslims Libyan Muslims Italo-Turkish War Ottoman people of World War I Berber poets Berber Muslims 20th-century Libyan poets