Sharif El Gariani
Sharif El Gariani was a Libyan religious sheikh 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 was friends with a 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 a 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 that would lead to Mukhtar's capture.
