noun
also se·nus·si səˈnüsē
( plural sanusi or sanusis also senussi or senussis )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: after Muhammad ibn Ali as- Sanūsī died 1859 Algerian religious leader, founder of the Sanusi brotherhood
: a member of a Muslim brotherhood of No. Africa founded in 1837 who observes a strict and ascetic type of Islamic orthodoxy combined with a militant aggressiveness in pursuance of political goals