Cheikh Ma El Aïnin

Son of Cheikh Mohamed El Fadel, Cheikh Ma El Aïnin was trained in Islamic sciences and Sufi metaphysics in the Mauritanian Hodh before making the Hajj. In 1898, with the diplomatic and financial support of Moroccan Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz, he constructed the fortified oasis city and stone grand mosque of Smara in the Saguia el-Hamra.

For two decades, Smara was the armed capital of anti-colonial resistance across Mauritania and the Sahara, supplying arms and rallying thousands of camel fighters against French forces under Xavier Coppolani. He authored over 100 books on jurisprudence and medicine before passing away in Tiznit in 1910.