The reform and renewal movements, and Muhammad Ali's reforms, were a turning point for the Islamic world.

In the two capitals, Istanbul and Cairo, they had the character of cities and authority. The Wahhabi movement was concentrated in two of its cities, so its character bore the character of the cities of the desert. As for the Sanusi movement, it was concentrated in the deserts of Cyrenaica, the deserts of Libya, and the Hijaz, so its character was Bedouin, and its institutions were Bedouin, meaning that they were established to meet the needs of the desert dwellers and were compatible with Bedouin society.

Each of these movements was influenced by specific circumstances that made them acquire special characteristics. The isolation of the Sanusi movement in the deserts was mainly due to its avoidance of contact with the Ottoman authority, which feared popular movements, and its desire to stay away from the influence of European powers in addition to the Ottoman authority. Although this movement was characterized by its Bedouin nature, its goals were not only aimed at reforming the Bedouins, but also extended to the hope of reforming the entire Islamic world. The reform of the Bedouins is merely a first step intended to unite the nucleus of a struggling Muslim society. Once it becomes strong and prepared, it will go out to liberate the land of Islam from the control of the infidels. Ibn al-Sanusi

expected the European West to dominate the lands of Islam, and his expectation proved true. The reform of

the Islamic world was the goal of all Islamic movements, and it was a comprehensive goal that stemmed from the Islamic sense of the brotherhood of Muslims and their formation as one nation.

Among the reasons that drove the movement to the deserts was the need of the desert dwellers for reform and the availability of special qualities in them that made them suitable for carrying the calls. We will study all these aspects in detail in the following chapters.

The Sanusi movement was founded by a member of the elite, Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi, who lived and witnessed the painful suffering of Muslims and the looming danger of Europeans, so he was driven to work for reform. It began in

the second quarter of

the nineteenth century, although the activity of Ibn al-Sanusi