Islamism in Libya

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"No Compulsion in religion" (Qur’an, 2:256)

      I once disagreed with the Nobel physicist Steven Weinberg when he said: "With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil — that takes religion”. 

Today, Weinberg's quote rings some sad truth into my ears. Well, at least part of it. It’s true that not all people who believe in a certain religion are affected by this tendency.  However, there are enough to make Weinberg’s quote resonate with me when it comes to Libya. There is something inherently dangerous about many unhinged extremists in Libya who believe they know God’s mind, applying coercive system that uses religion to create an “us versus them” mindset; so that “us” (the extremists/the murderers) are right and “them” (whoever disagree with their specific goals and agenda) is wrong, leaving no room for temperance or tolerance with anyone holding any opinion that opposes theirs. 

Unfortunately, women are mainly  the first victim to this enslaving politico-religious system. Libyan women, who participated heavily to topple Gaddafi and put an end to his long years of oppression, cruelty and injustice, today are facing another type of cruelty, a political-Islamic movement (Islamism) to curtail them the very basic rights that they have already enjoyed them throughout the previous oppressive years of Gaddafi. 

Libya has brilliant women with unbeatable determination to succeed and help in building Libya. However, all the greater opportunities that every Libyan woman might have are increasingly accompanied by hostility and backlash against their rights. 

Today, the Libyan woman not only experience the fear of the rising crime and violence, the unlimited availability and misuse of weapons, or the conflict in power between the weak government and the illegitimate armed groups wandering the streets of Libya and killing whoever don't please them, but they also have to deal with the endless harassment, threats, sexual assaults and now execution as well. And what's worse is that they also have to deal with a series of ludicrous “fatwas” that impede their ability to lead an independent, private and personal life.

     “So warn them: your only task is to warn, you’re not supposed to force them.”

 (Qur’an, 88:21-22)

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"He hears and knows"

Unfair as it sounds, Gaddafi’s era was still a lot worse and in the face of the current attempts to restrain women’s basic rights by some silly fatwas, today, every truly free, courageous and independent Libyan woman has the divine right to stand up with no fear and protest freely and peacefully against any kind of oppression that can stop her from being the one and only captain of her life.

Change in Libya will not happen by itself. Libya needs women who dare with loud voices supported by well-planned actions. It needs progressively instructive awareness of duties and rights, responsibilities and rewards. It needs well-thought-out educational campaigns to initiate vigorous change. The Libyan revolution that happened to end oppression in all its forms and achieve human dignity, social justice and economic development, today is taking a whole different and dangerous path; a path based on ideological manipulations through using religion to politicize people's lives.  

“Had your Lord wanted, all the people on earth would have believed. So will you force people to believe?” (Qur’an, 10:99)

As a a FREE, INDEPENDENT LIBYAN WOMAN, this is my protest:

I strongly protest against Islamism and Salafism. 

I protest against ideological manipulations through intertwining religion and politics.

I protest against the use of religion to politicize people's way of life. 

I protest against any ideology that imposes religion by force. In fact, I do not need to have a religion in order to have a constitution that can fully protect my rights.

I no longer want the words: Radicalism, Extremism, Islamism, Harassment, Censorship, Kidnapping, Torture, and Execution to come to my mind every time I think of Libya. I do not want to be frustrated every time I talk or write about Libya. 

I do not want the Libya that many free Libyan women including myself fought so hard to achieve full rights to end up having a "politico-religious" system with the objective to eliminate anyone who doesn't "hate" democracy, or prevent women from leading an independent, liberated and free-thinking way of life, or execute people with different faiths/beliefs (or none), or basically suppress anyone with different personal views when it comes to faith/religion. Why? Simply, because the idea of religion involves a private and personal sphere; a secluded affair between the individual with his/her creator. It neither involves nor concerns a third party. "Islamism" (linking religion and politics together) is nothing more than a fascist ideology that represents detestation  based on a hypocrite scheme to protect Islam, when the real purpose is to give the green light to mentally unbalanced extremists to behave outside the law and adopt violence to achieve their private and corrupt goals. 

Besides, Islamism is also starting to promote atheism and pushing people away from God. You might disagree with me on that point,  because it is still not clearly noticed -for now- but it's happening. Many Libyans inside Libya started to hate the idea of religion and faith because of Islamism. But again, that's a private matter between each individual and his/her God. 

Unlike religion, the idea of politics is related to the individual’s voice and his/her relationship with the public community. It's not a private matter like religion. That's how politics and religion are opposite to each other. That’s why politics and religion had never been friends and will never be, no matter what. 

       The Grand Mufti of Libya, Sadeg Al-Ghriani had no right to publicly announce a fatwa stating that women teachers should cover their faces  when there are male students in the classroom!! Or that women should not be allowed to travel abroad all alone without a male relative!! He has no right to state any fatwa publicly about individuals' relationship with God or use religion to guide a woman's personal life. With all due respect, Sheikh Sadeg Al-Ghriani does not have a direct connection with God to lead my life or force any of his religious thoughts one me based on his own way of understanding religion. Ghiriani's fatwas are nothing more than his own personal thoughts that can be applied for those who seek them only. A fatwa is a private and personal matter, not entitled to be a public statement or a rule imposed on people. Plus, I don't understand why women are Sheikh Al-Ghiriani's main focus when it comes to Fatwas. Are these "Libya's main's issues now? Well, since he feels free giving fatwas about whatever he wants and use religion to intervene into people's personal life, why doesn't he come up with some useful fatwas about Libya's  "really serious" issues? Where were Al-Ghiriani's fatwas when every time "UNKNOWN" gunmen killed many innocent Libyans, bombed shrines and destroyed many of Libya's historical mosques? Where were his fatwas when many Libyan women were raped and tortured? Why I've never heard any fatwa regarding the unbearable sexual harassment rape of women in the streets of Libya?- maybe something like: any guy who verbally abuse a girl must get his tongue cut. And why I've never heard any fatwa regarding the predicament of Tawergha and all those displaced children, women and elders living in crumbling camps, facing the heavy rainfalls and floods that happened across Libya? 

If we keep denying these facts and these major differences between politics and religion, every unhinged extremist in Libya will always find a way to distort the genuine and peaceful meaning of a religion by politicizing people's way of life through vicious and illegitimate violence. They will keep causing havoc by bombing more shrines, more shops and cafes in Benghazi, Derna or else where; attacking more women-friendly spots to frighten, bully and put pressure on women not to go out. What kind of faith or religion that promotes this size of violence? A faith that impacts extreme negativity as kidnapping, torturing, raping, killing or any other kind of oppression is simply not a faith.

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He knows all

“He does not forbid you to deal kindly and justly with anyone who has not fought you for your

faith and driven you out of your homes, God loves the just.” (Qur’an, 60:8)

Every oppressor creates his worst enemy and fear. And just like every filthy tyrant that exists in this falling world, their worst enemy and fear are the people they oppress. For this reason, as a free Libyan, I will always rise against my oppressor and strike back until I get my full rights or die trying.

Peace

Nafissa Assed