A. Z. EGORIN, G. V. MIRONOVA. SENUSSIS IN THE HISTORY OF LIBYA (1843-1969). Moscow: Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2006. 432 p.

In the history of the Afro-Arab countries, there are few examples of how a religious and political order was able to establish itself within the territorial framework of one of them, unite around itself the most diverse social strata and lead the struggle for a single goal that unites them-achieving political independence and state independence. This association and driving force of the society was the religious and political order of the Senussi in Libya, which was active in this country from the middle of the XIX to the middle of the XX century. Its fundamental research is presented for the first time in Russia in a peer-reviewed work.

The book consists of an introduction, 12 chronological chapters, a conclusion, and a bibliography.

In the introduction, the co-authors recall that the Senussi Order was established in 1837 at Mount Abu Qube near Mecca. Its founder, Muhammad Ali al-Senusi (1787-1859), a native of the prominent Algerian Sharif family, announced the rejection of Sunnism, proclaimed the Koran as the only holy book of Muslims and called for the struggle for a return to the purity of Islam and the rejection of luxury and excesses. The nomadic Arabs welcomed this, but the major Meccan clergy and the Turkish administration met with hostility. Al-Senusi and his associates were forced to move to North Africa, where, after long wanderings in the city of Al-Beida, on the territory of Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya), in 1843, he established the foundation of the City of Al-Beida. zawiya (parish) Orders of the Senussi. A few years later, his supporters found fertile ground for their sermons among the local population. During this period, there were two authorities in Libya: one was the Turkish occupation system, which collected taxes, and the other was the Zawiyah system, which became a religious and political force of the Bedouins. Gradually, the Senussi sheikhs turned into spiritual rulers of the broad masses, who led the struggle of Libyans for national liberation. The authors emphasize that the experience of the Libyan Senussi struggle for national statehood is of considerable interest, is unique in its own way, and has not previously been sufficiently deeply analyzed in the domestic scientific literature.

In the first three chapters of the book, the history of the inhabitants of the Libyan desert, the social structure of the Bedouin community, the formation of the Senussi Order, and relations between Turkish administrative units are presented as the initial prerequisites for research (mutasarifs) and Senussi Zawiyahs. The rapid spread of the teachings of the Senussi brotherhood in Libya, especially in Cyrenaica, was primarily due to the fact that it was based on the idea of returning to the "purity" of the original Islam, censuring wealth and luxury, which was perceived by the broad masses of the nomadic and semi-nomadic population as a call to fight against the Turkish enslavers who abused numerous feudal levies. The objective socio-economic basis and prerequisite for the establishment of Senusism in Libya is emphasized: "The tribal elite needed such a religious and political force that would protect its interests and, contributing to the establishment of peace and stability in the country, would allow for the successful development of caravan trade with the aim of further economic development. This force was the Senusian brotherhood, which managed to adapt its activities to the conditions of existence of the tribal organization. Between the zaviy system... and the tribal organization of Bedouin society was in complete harmony" (pp. 37-38).

By the end of the 19th century, the number of Zawiyahs in Libya was growing continuously and amounted to 94 (in Cyrenaica-45, in Tripolitania-28, in Fezzan and Kufra-21). Having emerged as religious and administrative centers, they gradually turned into civil administration bodies and, in addition to their administrative functions, also performed religious and educational functions. The inhabitants of Zawiyah and the Bedouins in whose territory Zawiyah was located became increasingly involved in socio-economic relations that had the character of feudal-theocratic, and became increasingly wealthy.

The growing influence of the Senussi could not go unnoticed by the Turks, who sought to counteract it in various ways. Over time, the Senussi brotherhood came under pressure not only from the Ottoman Empire, but also from France and Italy, which were making colonial conquests in Africa. The authors note that "the Senussi brotherhood, pursuing its religious and political goals of anti-Turkish and anti-Western orientation, tried to avoid aggravation of relations with both Western powers and the Ottoman Empire. This policy was manifested, for example, in the negative response of the head of the Senussi to the request of Sultan Abdul-Hamid II to send his militia to help the Turkish army during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878. The Senussi refused to move against France, which occupied Tunisia in 1881" (p. 78).

Nine chapters of the book (IV-XII) are devoted to describing and analyzing the role of the Senussi in the struggle of the entire Libyan people against Italian expansion, for national independence and the formation of an independent and integral state. A special place is given to the Senussi leader Mohammed Idris al-Senusi, whose political activity began at the beginning of the First World War. The co-authors, in particular, note that the far-sighted and astute Idris Senusi " opposed the involvement of the Senussi in the war of the Turks against the British, with whom he sought to maintain friendly relations. Aware of the Arab revolt in the Hejaz, he understood that the Turkish empire was on the verge of collapse, and it would be better to link the interests of his people to cooperation with the British than to provide support to the Turks" (p.139).

The end of the First World War did not bring peace to the Libyan people. The allies in the military coalition, Britain and Italy, fearing his actions, sought to establish peace in North Africa in their own interests. England established its full rule in Egypt, and Italy was given the opportunity to rule in Libya, from which the Turks and Germans defeated by the Entente were expelled. Initially, the Italians tried to combine peace talks with the use of military force in their policy in Libya. Emir Idris ' entourage, as the authors note, split into two groups, one of which advocated the beginning of military operations against the Italians, and the other insisted on continuing cooperation with them.

During 1923, Italian troops occupied all the main settlements of Tripolitania. The units that continued to resist were forced to withdraw to the interior of the Sahara, where they no longer posed a danger to the Italian invaders. In the face of the current threat, the Libyans are taking practical steps to unite the two provinces of the country - Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. Governments were formed in both provinces and measures were taken to coordinate military operations against the Italians.

A whole section of the sixth chapter is devoted to the military activities of the national hero Omar al-Mukhtar in 1923-1931, who, as a supporter of the Senussi movement, "defended the principles of unity, opposed local tendencies, considering that the main task was to fight foreign intervention, and not the rivalry of one Senussi clan with another" (p.174). He created small mobile formations dispersed throughout the large forest area of Al-Jabal al-Akhdar (Green Mountains), which began to play a major role in the guerrilla war against the Italians. However, Omar al-Mukhtar was executed, and the guerrilla movement was suppressed. This was the end of the twenty - year (1911-1931) bloody war.

The process of turning Libya into the so-called "fourth coast" of Italy, which Rome hoped to turn into its powerful military and economic springboard, began. This process, which was thoroughly analyzed in the paper, was already proceeding without the participation of Senussians or their any opposition. Therefore, starting with the seventh chapter, the co-authors actually set out their vision of the history of Libya, and not the place of the Senussi in it.

Western countries did not recognize Libya as a single state and tried to manage it separately in each of its provinces, so that it would be easier to organize subordination to their interests. Traditional domestic trade and economic ties were disrupted in the country, and various banknotes were even introduced in each of the provinces. At the same time, Cyrenaica remained the citadel of the Senussi movement. Here, on April 4, 1943, immediately after the expulsion of the Italo-German troops in Benghazi, the opening of the Omar al-Mukhtar sports Club was announced. His activities were directed against the collaborationist Senussi leadership. However, the British believed that only Idris al-Senusi, who was the first to do so, was able to do so.-

Meni had already been in exile in Egypt for 22 years, was able to contain the growing intensity of the anti-colonial struggle, and they offered him to return from exile. In July 1944, he arrived in Cyrenaica. Upon arriving in Benghazi, he called on the people to unite with the British administration through the creation of various societies and parties, seeing this as a path to "happy prosperity". In fact, his speech called for the unification of all monarchical and pro-Cenusian elements around him against those who advocated the proclamation of a republic and for unification with Tripolitania.

Later, Idris al-Senusi supported the idea of creating the National Front ( NF), a political organization aimed at coordinating the activities of traditionalists and supporters of the British. On November 30, 1946, the NF, which consisted of 75 members, mainly tribal sheikhs who were supporters of Idris al-Senusi, issued a declaration calling on the British to recognize the creation of a government headed by the Emir as the first step towards self-government. In December 1947, at the Emir's insistence, the Omar al-Mukhtar Club was closed and all political parties were dissolved. Therefore, in January 1948, the leading tribal leaders and city officials created a National Congress. Its Executive Committee was headed by the Emir's brother Mohammed al-Rida, who prepared a program for the future development of the country based on the principles of independence of the emirate under the leadership of Idris al-Senusi.

The book examines the complex socio-political processes that took place in Tripolitania and Fezzan in the second half of the 1940s. These processes were very little studied before the publication of the reviewed book and are described in the historical domestic and foreign literature. In particular, the authors do not ignore the USSR's proposals to establish Soviet control over Tripolitania, on the territory of which the Soviet Union could deploy its merchant fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, which were often ignored and not accepted. Due to disagreements between the USSR and Western countries and the expiration of the deadline (September 1949) for providing recommendations stipulated in the peace treaty with Italy, the question of the fate of Libya was referred to the UN General Assembly (1948) for discussion and postponed to May 1949. The USSR declared that it refused its mentioned proposal and demanded independence for all of Libya after 5 years, which was positively received by the Libyan public.

The authors thoroughly examine the stages of Libya's independence during 1949-1951, the role of various political forces, leaders and public organizations at these stages, the plans they put forward, their weaknesses and strengths, as well as the positions of foreign powers and Arab countries on the Libyan problem. On December 24, 1951, Libya's independence was declared. "It took the Senussi a little over a century to march victoriously across the Sahara sands from the first Zawiya in Beida (1843) to gain power over all of Libya in 1951. This upward movement along the general political pyramid was not easy, thorny, bloody, and compromising" (p.297).

It is impossible not to agree with the authors ' opinion about the great personal contribution of King Idris to the country's independence. Libya became the first country in North Africa to achieve independence peacefully, without a civil war.

The final sections of the fundamental work are devoted to the socio-economic and socio-political development of Libya as an independent state and a full member of the world community. Since 1952, the power of the feudal-monarchist group was established in Libya, which excluded both the nascent Libyan bourgeoisie and the fundamentalists from active political life. King Idris al-Senusi, who assumed the functions of a political leader, declared Islam the official religion, and later created an extensive network of religious institutions and institutions, preserving the Zawiyah, but did not go to the restoration of the Senussi brotherhood in its former form, because he did not see the need for this. But even in independent Libya, the struggle for the influence of various clans and groups did not stop. In October 1954, an attempt was made to carry out a palace coup. As a result, the role and influence of Senusians was constantly decreasing. By 1967, the Senussi made up only 5% of the country's population. By this time, Senusism had become an obvious social anachronism, and it had become a brake on the country's development. September 1, 1969 the royal regime was overthrown as a result a coup d'etat carried out by the organization of "Free Officers-Unionist Socialists". In the history of Libya, a new stage began, in which the Senussi no longer had a place.

The publication of a peer - reviewed paper is an important event in Oriental and African studies. The work is based on numerous domestic and foreign, Arabic and Western sources that are little known to Russian scientists. While enthusiastically presenting the results of their research, the authors sometimes, as, for example, in the section on the First World War, significantly go beyond the topic. In some other cases, they describe events in Libyan history that the Senussi had nothing to do with. In general, however, the monograph represents a fundamentally new contribution to the study of North African, in particular Libyan, historical and socio-political problems.

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