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108 CHAPTER 2dullah Faysal who had been openly opposed to slave trade for a few years, andwho had manumitted the majority of his own slaves. In 1962, after the ratherembarrassing episode of publicity around the case of the slave trade with Mali,king Faysal formally abolished slavery in Saudi Arabia. 93Stories about these cases of slave trade are not unknown in Tamasheq society.Concerning Marouchett, it is told that he sold hundreds of slaves inMecca. One of my informants said that, contrary to what he said in his lettersfound in the local archive in Goundam, Mohamed Ali has never denied that hesold some of his slaves in Mecca, but that he acted for their benefit. They wouldhave a much better life in Mecca than he could give them in Soudan Français.Whatever might have been the intentions of the sellers, it goes without sayingthat these affairs did no good whatsoever to the reputation of the Kel Tamasheq.It is clear from the report presented by Abdelwahab Doucouré, and from hisFrench predecessors, that slaves were traded from Northern Mali to Saudi Arabia.But close inspection of detailed cases shows that whether or not particularindividuals were sold or not by particular others is harder to establish. Politicalmotives could lead to exaggeration. From the side of Christian clergy such asLa Gravière, to rekindle the image of the savage Muslim was part of the game.The claims in his report, endorsed by the British Anti Slavery Society, thatthousands of people were sold were clearly exaggerated and meant to stir theircause. The motives of the Malian Government to have Sidi Mohamed ag Zokkaarrested for slave trade without any proof, existing or further being given, oreven mentioned, in Abdelwahab’s report, were undoubtedly inspired by theimage created of the Kel Tamasheq as slave traders, enhanced by the caseagainst Mohamed Ali by Awad El Djouh. That Mohamed Ali was furthersimply treated as a slave dealer by the Malian Government and therefore remainedin exile in the Middle East, whatever truth there might have been in hisinvolvement in the trade, meant that a powerful possible opposition leaderagainst the US-RDA regime was effectively removed from the political field.Given the fate of his political comrades, Fily Dabo Sissoko and HamadounDicko, who ended up in prison in Kidal, Mohamed Ali got away lucky for a fewyears until he was finally extradited by Morocco as a leader of the rebellion inthe Adagh in 1964. Stereotypical images, their grounds, and political realitiesconverged here in ways almost too good to be possible.Les guerriers des sablesIf there is one mythical name attached to the Kel Tamasheq, it is that of ‘lesguerriers des sables’ – the warriors of the sand. The stereotype of the fierce93Miers, S. 2003: 350.