The Qadhadhfa (also al-Qaddafa, Gaddadfa, Qaddadfa, Gaddafa; Arabic: القذاذفـة) is one of the Arab Ashraf[1] tribes in Libya, living in the Sirte District in present-day northwestern Libya. They are traditionally counted amongst the country's Ashraf tribes, and during the Gaddafi regime were regarded as one of the greatest and most powerful tribes in the whole country. They are now mostly centered at Qasr Abu Hadi, Sirte.
| Qadhadhfa القذاذفة | |
|---|---|
| Husaynid Arab tribe | |
| Ethnicity | Arab[1] |
| Nisba | Al-Qadhafi (al-Gaddafi) |
| Descended from | Shaykh Al-Wali Omar Amr Qadhadhf al-Dam ibn Saeed ibn Omar ibn Khalifa ibn Musa ibn Hilal |
| Branches |
|
| Language | Arabic |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
History
editThe progenitor of the Banu Qadhadhfa was Amr Qadhadhf al-Dam (عمرو قذاف الدم), who claimed to be a descendant of Musa al-Kadhim.[1]
The tribe has supported the idea of Arab unity as an Arab tribe in Libya itself. They are notable for their role in the 1969 coup d'état that deposed King Idris of Libya and as the tribe of his successor Muammar Gaddafi. The tribe has proven to be an influential player in Libya's ongoing civil war. It is known for its active presence in Sirte. Their dominance of the region caused Sirte to grow and become comparable to Tripoli and Benghazi in terms of national power. Qadhadhfa influence caused Sirte and Sabha to become completely loyal to Gaddafi during his rule of the country.[citation needed]
The Qadhadhfa fought for and supported the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the Green Resistance throughout the Second Libyan Civil War and the Libyan Crisis.[2] After Gaddafi's death in October 2011, leading members of the Qadhadhfa demanded the return of his body by Misratan fighters for burial by relatives in Sirte.[3]
Notable Qadhadhfa
edit- Muammar Gaddafi – Leader of Libya 1969-2011
- Saif al-Islam Gaddafi – Libyan politician, son of Muammar Gaddafi
- Moussa Ibrahim – Libyan Information Minister
- Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam – Libyan diplomat, cousin of Muammar Gaddafi
- Mansour Dhao – Libyan general, cousin of Muammar Gaddafi
- Wanis al-Qaddafi – Prime Minister of Libya from 1968 to 1969 under King Idris, married the daughter of Omar Faiek Shennib of the House of Shennib, no relation to Muammar Gaddafi[4]
- Sayyid Gaddaf al-Dam – Libyan general, cousin of Muammar Gaddafi
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "معجم الأسماء العائلية | القذاذفة". معجم الأسماء العائلية: القذاذفة (in Arabic). Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ Michael Rubin, Syrian Pilots Shot Down in Libya?, 6 March 2011.
- ^ "Gaddafi tribe demands body". New Zimbabwe. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
- ^ "For Amal, life (re)begins at 75". Arab News. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- Current biography yearbook, Volume 53, H.W. Wilson Company, 1992, p. 457.
- Jean-François Bayart, Global subjects: a political critique of globalization, Polity, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7456-3668-9, p. 56.
- Dirk J. Vandewalle, Libya since 1969: Qadhafi's revolution revisited, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, ISBN 978-0-230-60765-1, p. 73.
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