Imam Nasr ad-Din was a Lamtuna Berber religious and military leader, who from 1644 to 1674 led an alliance of Sanhadja Berber tribes against the Maqil Arabs of the western Sahara desert (mainly today's Mauritania, southern Morocco and Western Sahara).
In the 1660s, the Lamtuna preacher named Ashfaga took the title 'Nasr ad-Din', meaning 'defender of the faith.'
When the rulers of the Futa Toro, Jolof, Waalo and Cayor rejected his appeal, his followers and fellow religious leaders rose up in revolt, installing Islamic rulers in the place of the traditional aristocracy.
The traditional ruling classes in the Wolof and Fula states south of the Senegal reasserted their power as well, relegating the local clerics to mere religious figures rather than political ones.
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