This paper focuses on the symbol of Omar al-Mukhtar, the Libyan anticolonial national hero, as used during the 2011 Libyan uprising against dictator Al-Qadhafi. It traces back the history of the use of Al-Mukhtar’s symbol in three turning points in Libyan history: independence, Al-Qadhafi’s 1969 coup, and the 2011 uprising. The figure of Al-Mukhtar, central to Al-Qadhafi propaganda, was reclaimed by rebels and protestors in 2011. Using literature on modernity, post-colonialism, and memory, in addition to historic Libyan sources, this paper contends that the circulation of Al-Mukhtar’s image reveals the fixation of Libyan discourse on an originary national moment of anticolonial confrontation. It argues that the use of Al-Mukhtar by the rebels seeks to discursively erase Al-Qadhafi from Libyan national consciousness. The attempt to break from the postcolonial past is an act of temporal re-structuring that enables Libyans to revisit the question, articulated during the anticolonial struggle, about a homegrown modernity and national identity. Part of a larger project about the Arab uprisings, the paper is a case-study of the ways meta-historical narratives are constructed and circulated in Arab media.