Upon his father's death, who he was living with in Crete, he moved to Cairo with his grandfather, who was an Ottoman enthusiast, and grew up in a neighborhood with Turks.

While in Tripolitania, he met Kuşçubaşı Eşref, who came to Libya to galvanize the local people against the Italians, and became his amir.

[8][9][10][11] According to Kurdish–Turkish historian Cemal Kutay, during the occupation of Istanbul, a British Army general, Charles Harington, offered gold to lure Musa to the side of the British, but Musa did not accept it.

He died of tuberculosis in 1919 while living in Üsküdar Şeyh Ata Efendi's Özbekler Lodge.

[4] Famed poet, writer, academic, politician, and the author of the Turkish National Anthem, Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, met Black Musa, who was with Eşref Bey, in 1915 during his trip to Arabia.