Sharif El Gariani

Who was Sharif El Gariani?

Sharif El Gariani was a Libyan religious sheik and statesman.

Born in Janzour, near Tobruk, Libya, he was the nephew of Hussein El Gariani, co-founder of the first senussi Zawia at Bayda in 1844, and the man who took care of an orphan boy named Omar Mukhtar,.

After the Italian invasion of Libya, in 1911, Sharif had believed that the Italians were invincible, and this led to a long-term disagreement with his old friend Omar Mukhtar. His role in the next twenty years was to be mediator between the resistance leaders and the Italian government in Libya.

Sharif El Gariani was demeaned in the film Lion of the Desert. Sharif was portrayed as a traitor offering his services to the occupying Italians, and who was ready to give any information would lead to Mukhtar's capture.