Reflection Paper

Lion of the desert

By: Dana Eskandarani

Student #: 300097395

Due Date: April 6, 2021

Course Instructor:
Mehmet Ali BASAK

Department of Classics and Religious Studies

University of Ottawa
This paper aims to reflect on specific scenes of the movie “Lion of the desert” and provide a

critical analysis of the different stereotypes and interpretations of Islam and Muslims in the

movie.

Omar Mukhtar and his companions were portrayed as brave and skilled fighters. This portrayal

was observed when the Italian soldiers tried to attack them a number of times in the desert, but

they failed to do so. This scene links to the battle of Badr where the Prophet (PBUH) and the

Muslim fighters were few in number compared to the pagans of Quryash, but Allah gave the

Muslims victory over their enemy. Allah (SWT) says “How many times has a small force

vanquished a mighty army by the Will of Allah! And Allah is always with the steadfast.”

(2:249). Similarly, Omar Mukhtar and his companions were few in number compared to the

Italian soldiers, but they were still able to successfully fight their enemy for almost 20 years.

The following were also other important factors that helped Mukhtar continuously succeed in his

battles: his knowledge of the local geography of the Libyan desert and his knowledge of the

strategies and tactics of desert warfare (Islam Hashtag et al., 2019). Even during his skirmishes,

Mukhtar was abiding by the Islamic teachings of battle. This was depicted in the scene when

Mukhtar and his companions successfully fought the Italian soldiers where many of the soldiers

were killed except for two that stayed alive. Mukhtar could have easily killed the two soldiers

that were left but he refused to do so. He said, “ Do not kill the prisoner”, and one his

companions asked him to kill him to which Mukhtar replied, “ They are not our teachers”. This

shows the integrity and justice of Mukhtar even when fighting against his enemies. Furthermore,

this also shows the justice of Islam even when dealing the enemies. The hadith of the Prophet

(PBUH) "Set out for Jihad in the name of Allah and for the sake of Allah. Do not lay hands on

the old verging on death, on women, children and babies. Do not steal anything from the booty
and collect together all that falls to your lot in the battlefield and do good, for Allah loves the

virtuous and the pious." (KITAB AL-JIHAD WA'L-SIYAR (THE BOOK OF JIHAD AND

EXPEDITION, n.d.)

The Italian army on the other hand killed innocent civilians, bombed their houses, destroyed their

lands and their possessions. Moreover, the Italian government sent the Libyan Bedouins to a

concentration camp in the desert where they left them to die slowly. In the concentration camp,

the Bedouins were tortured, some of the men were even executed publicly when they went

against orders, and some of the women were even raped by the soldiers. The aforementioned

scene is quite similar to what is happening to the Uyghur Muslims in East Turkistan in today’s

time. The Uyghur Muslims are driven to concentration camps by the Chinese Communist Party

(CCP). In these concentration camps, the Uyghur are being brutally tortured, and the women are

forcibly being sterilized as an attempt to supress the Uyghur population (BBC, 2021). The

difference between the Italian government back then and the CCP now is that the Italian

government was mainly focused on the expanding their lands, and gaining more international

prestige (because it was previously a strong Roman empire), and more geopolitical power in the

North African region (Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, 2021). Whereas the CCP particularly

aims at destroying a national, ethnical, racial, or religious groups (BBC, 2021).

In this movie, the Italian government viewed the Libyan Bedouins as backwards, barbaric and

uncivilized and this portrayal escalated especially during Mussolini’s fascist regime. This was

clearly depicted in the scene when Italy began to colonize Libya in 1911. One of the reasons for

invading Libya could be due to its orientalist view of Libya. According to Edward Said (1995),

he explains that “Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having

authority over the Orient.” In this case Italy was viewed as a fascist and power hunger occident
whereas Libya was the weak and uncivilized. This was clearly observed in the way the Italian

army treated the Libyan Bedouins, as mentioned before they were not treated as human beings.

In fact in one of the scenes, the generals used the people in the concentration camp to put long

barbed wires to stop Omar Mukhtar from receiving aid from the neighbouring countries.

In the final scenes of the movie, when Omar Mukhtar was arrested, the Italian general Graziani

tried to offer him money, a large house, prestigious status, etc. But he refused that because he

considered it a bribe to stop him from defending his country. Omar Mukhtar understood that he

was doing what Allah commanded him to do. This is depicted in the scene when general

Graziani tried to negotiate with Mukhtar before he was he publicly executed, Mukhtar bravely

replied “I will not leave this place until of the two highest levels: Shadah or victory.”

(ILMFILMTV, 2016). He deeply knew that the Italy had not come for the betterment of Libya

and its people. He had a pivotal role in protecting the land, the inhabitants, and the Islamic faith.

In order to protect the land, Mukhtar united and organized small detachments of volunteer

fighters from the indigenous tribes (ILMFILMTV, 2016).

In the end, after 20 years of battles and skirmishes with the Italian army, he was consistently able

to defeat an army that significantly outnumbered the faithful indigenous fighters. Despite his

impoverished background, he managed to gain the respect of his people through his faith,

nobility, and intelligence. Omar Mukhtar is still remembered as a hero and an example of a true

Muslim Mujahid.
References

1. BBC. (2021, March 26). Who are the Uighurs and why is China being accused of

genocide? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037.

2. Encyclopedia.com. (2021, April 6). ." Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. .

Encyclopedia.com. 29 Mar. 2021 .Encyclopedia.com.

https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-

maps/africa-italian-colonies.

3. Islam Hashtag, Welsh, J., Monica, & Logo, C. B. (2019, October 05). Remembering Lion

of the Desert: Omar Mukhtar – 88 years of Martyrdom. Retrieved from

https://islamhashtag.com/remembering-lion-of-the-desert-omar-mukhtar-88-years-of-

martyrdom/

4. KITAB AL-JIHAD WA'L-SIYAR (THE BOOK OF JIHAD AND EXPEDITION). SAHIH

MUSLIM, BOOK 19: The Book of Jihad And Expedition (Kitab Al-Jihad Wal-Siyar).

(n.d.). https://www.iium.edu.my/deed/hadith/muslim/019_smt.html.

5. Said, E. W. (1995). Orientalism: Western conceptions of the Orient. Penguin Books.

6. YouTube. (2016). Biography of Omar Mukhtar - Lion of the Desert. YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_hvSGxWygo.