The Islamic Awakening in Libya

Libya is situated in the north and east hemispheres in North Africa and next to the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Egypt to the east, by Tunisia and Algeria to the west, by Sudan to the southeast and by Niger and Chad to the south. (Libya Blogfa, 2010). Presently, Libya has a population of more than six million people whereby 97% of them are Sunni Muslims and mostly adhere to the Maliki school of jurisprudence. Likewise, there are almost twelve tribes in this country and in the last few years, clear orientations towards Islamism have been witnessed. The new transitions in the Arab countries within the Middle East have also been derived from these orientations.

The type of government established by Muammar al-Qadhafi in the last 42 years caused him to lose his legitimacy in different levels including politically and economically. As an idiosyncratic leader, who only thought about power, he pitched tents wherever his interests dictated (Hamshahri Online, 2008). Such matters will always drive the citizens of any country towards protests and uprisings and from the fact that the main body and social fabric of the Libyan people is Islam, there is no doubt that just like the other countries in the Middle East, these popular protests will attract the religious atmosphere towards them. Fundamentally, it was due to this reason that before the climaxing of the protests and popular uprisings, in a dramatic move, al-Qadhafi went to the mosque and offered his prayers and even started reciting the Noble Quran after the prayers. Even though he behaved insanely, he knew very well that if an uprising starts in Libya and the Islamists and the protesters pour into the streets, then it will no longer be possible to guarantee the perpetuity of the government. (Pouyandeh, 2011: 28)

Due to the closed and hypocritical policies of Muammar al-Qadhafi, Islamism in Libya developed at a very slow speed. After attaining power, al-Qadhafi knew that in order to maintain his power, he has to manifest Islam time after time in order not to lose his political legitimacy in the Muslim country. Owing to this reason, during the first years of his rule, he implemented the religious laws in matters regarding nutrition, executing the Islamic laws and even closed churches and clubs. Moreover, he appointed a Grand Mufti for Libya to show that she supports the religious establishment in the country. Nevertheless, his demonstration did not yield any fruit and the ideas of political Islam gradually showed themselves and prepared to fight the government.

This matter made al-Qadhafi began his fight against the clerical institution in 1977 after learning that Islamists were gaining socio-political power. It was during this time that Tahir al-Dhawi resigned from his post as the Grand Mufti. This was for him to side with the Islam that the people adhered to and not the perverted and imperfect Islam that al-Qadhafi was hypocritically promoting for seeking his own legitimacy. This measure was the first step to display the confrontation between the government and the clergy. After this, al-Qadhafi attacked the legitimacy and the jurisprudential interpretations of the Libyan clergy. In 1980, the Libyan Islamic Association joined the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL) and made their fight against the government more obvious. Following the move, the Libyan dictator arrested and imprisoned Islamists by spreading unrest in the country and even hanged most of the members of the multiple Islamic groups such as; Hizb at-Tahrir, al-Da’wah al-Islamiyyah, al-Jihad, al-Tabligh, the Muslim Brotherhood and so on. This approach led to the strengthening of militant Islam in this country. (Pouyandeh, 2011: 29)

How the Recent Movements Started in Libya

After the revolutionary sparks of Tunisia reached Egypt and just like Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, sent Hosni Mubarak into the museum of dictators in Saudi Arabia, this question was always lingering; after Tunisia and Egypt, which dictator will be the first candidate to fall and escape and the people of which country in the Middle East shall precede the other one in treating the cancer of dictatorship? (Pouyandeh, 2011: 28). For one of the few times, Libya experienced a full-blown protest after Colonel al-Qadhafi’s coup in 1969 in the full sense of the word. A fire of protest from Tunisia spread to Libya after Egypt and Yemen. Nonetheless, unlike in Egypt and Tunisia, these protests neither lead to a quick change of government in this country nor unlike in Yemen and Bahrain, remained at the level of serious internal disputes. The days of anger in Libya escalated into a full-blown war and then turned into an international conflict.

Due to several reasons, the crisis of Libya exited the form of a civil protest and turned into an internal armed conflict. Following the escalation of the Libyan crisis, several resolutions were adopted by the United States Security Council such as the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 on March 8, 2011. According to this resolution, apart from imposing some sanctions on the Libyan government, the Security Council upheld the authority of the International Criminal Court to investigate al-Qadhafi’s crimes. Nonetheless, the second resolution of the Security Council in regards to Libya was passed on March 18, 2011, and was approved under the title of resolution 1973 according to which a no-fly zone was established over Libya. By establishing a no-fly zone, this resolution banned all the airplanes from flying over Libya and to enforce this ban, establish a ceasefire and protect the non-military personnel, it permitted the other countries to take all necessary measures, including military measures. (Mohammadian, 2011: 68)

Following the adoption of the resolution, military forces entered Libya to implement the (1973 resolution) and NATO took responsibility for the military operations in this country. Despite much debate over the measures taken by the Security Council and NATO, the troops were stationed in Libya and eventually with the assassination of Muammar al-Qadhafi by the revolutionaries, his 42-year old regime was overthrown.

The Achievements and Challenges of the Islamic Awakening in the North African Countries

The Islamic Awakening waves that swept across the Middle East and North Africa had a number of achievements that could change the direction of the international system in favour of the global awakening and lay the foundation for the rule of Islam in the world. Some of these achievements are as follows:

• The beginning of a new wave of the Islamic Awakening in the Middle East and North Africa.
• Realization of God’s promise of victory based on perseverance and stability of human beings against the oppressive system and denying the discourse of oppression in the Sunni political thought.
• The revival of Islam in the countries within the region after many years of diligent efforts to fight Islamism.
• The failure of Western plans to create a new Middle East with a focus on the superiority of the Zionist regime and a rule of the system of domination.
• The isolation of the West, the United States and Israel by the people of the region and their turning away from the policies of these countries.
• The failure of the ten-year efforts to achieve a compromised flow against the flow of resistance to provide security for the Zionist regime.
• The fall of the most violent dictators in the West and the shaking of the pillars of the other dictatorships and instilling fear in the hearts of the present dictators.
• Strengthening the dialogue of the Islamic revolution of Iran at the regional and global level despite the efforts of the West to make the developments in the region unrelated to the discourse of the Islamic revolution. As a matter of fact, the influence of the Islamic revolution of Iran upon them is something that cannot be disputed.
• Proving the untruthfulness of the claims made by the West in support of matters such as human rights, democracy, and the right to determine the fate of nations by supporting the dictators in the region and remaining silent or even sanctioning some suppressions.
• Laying the background and turning the Islamic Awakening into an epitome for the global awakening that is indicated by the 99% similarity of some developments of the movement in the United States and Europe with the developments of the revolutions of the Arab countries.
• Mentioning the Islamic movements influenced by the Islamic revolution of Iran as one of the most vital international actors will help to strengthen the position of the discourse of the revolutionary Islam and anti-oppression and also increase the power and spiritual influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran upon the countries of the region. Finally, it will also promote the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of international developments.

However, it must be known that along with the above-mentioned achievements, there were also some challenges. In reality, analyzing the damages and weak points of the uprisings and political and social movements is one of the most necessary matters that must be taken into consideration to take an effective measure to keep that movement safe from deviations and mistakes by this means. Consequently, we shall now mention some of the major challenges and threats faced in the progress of the Islamic Awakening and specifically in North Africa. They are as follows:

1. The lack of cohesive and organized leadership.
2. The lack of an epitome.
3. The return of dictatorship.
4. The challenge of experience.
5. The challenge of division and so on. (Rezakhah’s blog, 2011)

On the other side and among the most significant challenges of the progress of the Islamic Awakening, are the common cultural-religious whereby the main ones are as follows: ethnicity, pride and selfishness, not knowing the situation, excitement-oriented and lack of a plan, weakness of the action spirit, weak media, weakness of insight and general understanding of members of the community stemming from a significant reduction in the average studying, weakness of the cultural elites, weakening the genuine culture of Islam, inculcating low self-esteem, division, deviation in the course of the Islamic Awakening, weak trust and in the divine promises, closing the door of ijtihad (jurisprudence) in the Sunni school of thought, lack of deep insight into the Islamic legal laws, emphasizing the implementation of the Islamic laws in some parts of people’s life, being far away from the Islamic etiquettes, sectarianism, lack of knowledge regarding the beliefs of the other Islamic sects, the dependence of the Sunni scholars on the government and performing the Islamic activities during their leisure time. (Dahshiri and Nejati-Arani, 2012: 301-311)

Ways and Means of Overcoming the Challenges and Guaranteeing the Future of the Islamic Awakening in the North African Countries

In general, to overcome the challenges mentioned above, the countries destined for the Islamic Awakening need to focus on two components namely; institutionalization and systematization. One of the fundamental axes of the Islamic Awakening is the return of the Muslims to the identity of genuine Islam. As a result, the future of this movement is somehow dependent on a healthy return of the Muslims to their Islamic identity which in this way, three axes of avoiding differences and relying on the religious commonalities, relying on the common identity of the Muslims and the Islamic world and protecting the values ​​of the Islamic identity in the face of internal and external threats are very decisive. Relying upon the common Islamic identity in the context of the Islamic Awakening in the current situation is the most fundamental approach that can play a decisive role in protecting the achievements of the Islamic Ummah, establishing an Islamic dignity and renewing the Islamic civilization. Finally, the Muslims must adhere to the following axes in their current Islamic Awakening movements:

1. The followers of the basic Islamic sects should comprehend the differences between their sects based on the several commonalities in belief and jurisprudence present in these sects. They should also avoid calling each other infidels and disrespecting opposition sects. In such conditions, the internal differences within the Islamic community will naturally decrease and it will be possible to achieve their unity despite them accepting their differences in matters of belief and jurisprudence.
2. The Muslims in the different sects from different nations have officially recognized a general and common identity known as ‘Muslim’ and define all their spiritual and material assets in the form of the Islamic world.
3. All Muslims should strive to defend the identity of their religion and carry it out as an important religious and transnational duty for the sake of promoting and strengthening the Islamic world. Likewise, they should also make efforts to protect the certainties, sacred things, the Islamic identity and the Muslim world from internal and external dangers and threats.
4. Efforts to achieve institutionalized convergence between all the Islamic movements and groups.
5. Establishment of the Supreme Council of leaders and elites of the Islamic Awakening for ideological and practical interaction focused on various areas of the awakening to enhance the capabilities of the awakening leaders and centralize the joint leadership of the Islamic Awakening.
6. Pay attention to the contexts of convergence between the religious awakening and religious approximation in the different Islamic sects.
7. Providing the necessary scientific conditions and facilities to produce theoretical support and theorizing concerning the various aspects of the Islamic Awakening and the grounds for returning to the common religious and Islamic identity.
8. Wise use of the new information and technology capacities to organize intellectual and social awakening in the virtual world and mobilizing the Muslim masses in the social networks and leading them to the religious convergence.
9. Observing the threats of the Islamic Awakening from the West under the leadership of the United States and coordinating efforts to neutralize it, especially in the area of ​​escalating tensions between the religions and the Islamic sects. (Iran Human Rights [IRH] Site)

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