Magarha
{{Short description|Ethnic group}}
__NOTOC__
The Magarha (also al-Magarha, Meqariha) ({{Langx|ar|المقارحة}}) is one of the major Arab tribes of Libya. They originate from Fezzan province of Libya and have been an influential supporters and beneficiaries of Muammar Gaddafi during his long rule and then Libya's 2011 civil war.{{cite book|author=M. Cherif Bassiouni|title=Libya: From Repression to Revolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_DyOAgAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff|isbn=978-90-04-25735-1|page=xxxiv, xlv, 811–812}}{{cite book|author=Saskia van Genugten|title=Libya in Western Foreign Policies, 1911–2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VOw0DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA83 |year=2016|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-137-48950-0|page=83}} Some Magarha have relocated to Sirte and elsewhere along the coast.{{cite web |url=http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE7294TD20110310?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews |title=Factbox: Libya's key cultural, tribal divisions |publisher=Reuters |accessdate=7 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120716035205/http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE7294TD20110310?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews |archivedate=16 July 2012 }}
After the Warfalla tribe which is Libya's largest, the Magarha are Libya's second largest tribe with an estimated 1 million members.{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110401/ap_on_re_af/af_libya_gadhafi_s_support_2 |title=Gadhafi's rule relying on wavering tribal support |publisher=Associated Press |accessdate=7 May 2011}}
The Magarha, along with the Warfalla, have long formed an important alliance with Muammar Gaddafi, with many Magarha located in the upper ranks of Libya's government and security forces. Abdullah Senussi, Muammar Gaddafi's brother-in-law and the chief of military intelligence, is a Magarha.{{cite press release|url=http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/analysis-support-opposition-gaddafi-tribal-nature?page=0,1 |title=Analysis: Support for, opposition to, Gaddafi is tribal in nature |publisher=Homeland Security Newswire |accessdate=7 May 2011}}
History
The Magarha tribe has been semi-nomadic, and their alliances are mentioned in historical texts. The 14th century Islamic texts suggest that the Magarha were one of the tribes that controlled the oases and palm groves in the region that is contemporary west Libya.{{cite book|author=Ali Abdullatif Ahmida|title=Making of Modern Libya, The: State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance, Second Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gSg0lQkyJoIC |year=2011|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1-4384-2893-2|pages=69–70}} Their rights were acknowledged in the 16th to 18th century Barbary Corsairs era.{{cite journal | last=McLachlan | first=K. S. | title=Tripoli and Tripolitania: Conflict and Cohesion during the Period of the Barbary Corsairs (1551-1850) | journal=Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers | publisher=The Royal Geographical Society | volume=3 | issue=3 | year=1978 | pages=285–294 | doi=10.2307/622157 | jstor=622157 | bibcode=1978TrIBG...3..285M }}
The historical records of the Ottoman Empire suggest that along with Riyyah tribe, the Magarha were Arab tribes of Wadi al-Shatti region, and that they supported the Ottoman's authority in Fezzan region.{{cite book|author=Ali Abdullatif Ahmida|title=Making of Modern Libya, The: State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance, Second Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gSg0lQkyJoIC |year=2011|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-1-4384-2893-2|pages=54–56, 59}} In exchange for this support, the Ottoman Empire had exempted them from taxes, allowed them to collect a tribute from passing caravans and represented the Ottoman interests as its police force.
Notable Margarha
- Abdullah al-Senussi – former Libyan intelligence chief, brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-17414121 Profile: Abdullah al-Senussi] BBC News (16 October 2015)
- Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (1952-2012) – Libyan officer convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-12174643 Obituary: Abdelbaset al-Megrahi], BBC News (May 20, 2012)
- Abdessalam Jalloud – Libyan politician, Prime Minister 1972-1977{{Cite news |date=2011-08-25 |title=Factbox: Libya's tribal, cultural divisions |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-tribes-idUSTRE77O43R20110825 |access-date=2023-02-01}}
- Mohammed Abdullah al-Senussi – Libyan military commander, son of Abdullah Senussi
See also
References
{{reflist}}
= Bibliography =
- Obeidi, Amal S M. Political Culture in Libya, Routledge, 2001.
- Ahmida, Ali Abdullatif. The Making of Modern Libya:State Formation, Colonization, and Resistance, 1830-1932, State University of New York Press, 2000.
{{Tribes of Libya}}