Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi

Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi's father, Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi, founded the Senussi order in Mecca. After his father's death in 1859, al-Mahdi became the order's leader and expanded it significantly.

Al-Mahdi moved the Senussi headquarters to the Kufra oasis in southeastern Libya in 1895. This location became the spiritual and administrative center of the order, facilitating expansion into central Africa.

Al-Mahdi led Senussi resistance against French colonial forces advancing from Chad into the Sahara. The conflict resulted in Senussi military defeats and loss of territory, but solidified the order's anti-colonial stance.

Al-Mahdi died in 1902 at Kufra. His son, Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi, succeeded him as leader of the order, continuing the anti-colonial struggle and later supporting the Ottoman Empire in World War I.