This article investigates how the martyr figure of Omar El Mukhtar (1858-1931) became a popular transnational icon in Africa and Asia. Originally part of the history of Cyrenaica, Omar El Mukhtar became part of Arab culture during the struggle against colonialism and is now part of what is called an Arab ‘imaginary community'. This article investigates how the image of his martyrdom developed, and shows that this construction of collective memory did not take place without ambiguities. Further, we examine how the martyr has been and is still used for political mobilization, and we demonstrate this by studying the activities of transnational insurrection groups–the "brigades" or "forces" of Omar al-Mukhtar–from their inceptions to their more recent manifestations.