The Dilemma of Libya

The political and social conflicts and instability continue to be a major struggle in Libya. At a first glance, the media and a large number of politicians (Libyans & non-Libyans) continuously point out at the lack of strong Libyan leaders and politicians, or the lack of forming a solid government to help the country move forward. Others look at the tribal society of Libya to be problematic and that the interaction with tribes will not help solving the conflict in Libya.

For what it’s worth, tribalism can be detrimental to the stability and progress of any nation, yet if treated properly, interaction with all Libyan tribes can be a methodical process towards political and social stability in Libya. In most African countries, including Libya, tribalism is always looked at as a one of the most troublesome issues against democracy and overall stability. For many, tribalism means a group of people who are obsessed and proud of identifying themselves by the tribe or clan of group they are part of and treat this idea as an ultimate reality to be more superior than any other group of people. There is no way to deny or ignore the fact that in many countries the idea of tribalism has taken an extreme approach and caused more problems and issues than any solutions on the table.

But again, in Libya, tribes are major part of the social and cultural structure and identity of the nation, and it’s a big mistake to diminish the importance of tribes in Libya, and their contribution towards peacebuilding. To be driven by a tribal affiliation is never a bad thing, as long as you don’t see your tribe being superior to the rest. In fact, Libya can be better off with its tribes than without them. Libya experienced decades of oppression and dictatorship by one leader, and tribes can work as a natural mechanism to check and keep balance between powers, and ensures that no single group can take over entirely and/or have excessive use of power.

That lead us to the main question: If it’s not the government, or politicians, or even tribalism that create major troubles in Libya, what triggers all this conflict then, and make the country goes from bad to worse in a daily basis? Well...

What’s troubling about the situation in Libya today is the extremely unhealthy environment that any elected government, politicians live within and deal with to build this nation.

What’s tearing Libya apart is making desperate “peace” deals with people who fought under various and completely different banners (Feb17, Ansar Sharia, LIFG, Libya Dawn…), while ignoring to mention and include the honorable tribes of Libya in the process.

What’s conflictive about the situation in Libya is the powerful existence of people like the grand mufti, who’s constantly ready to give an oppressive fatwa for every breath a Libyan woman takes, just to diminish her political and social role within the country as much as possible.

What’s so disturbing about the situation in Libya is the unstoppable international support of the armed militias and their leaders up till this very moment.

The support of these criminal entities is what got Libya stuck in this extremely difficult situation today. They created a very complicated environment for every government to function properly; for every politician to lead correctly; and for all the honorable tribes to interact peacefully to help find solutions for the immense issues in Libya.

The mufti, the armed militias and their followers created destructive chaos. And what’s worse about these people is that they are being influenced or manipulated by any other sort of entity or organization to do what they do. These people are extremely destructive by their own nature. They have caused cultural destruction, political and social marginalization of Libyan youth and women that led to the failure of security, and consequently of state-building. They created “Takfiri” ideologies that are extremely dangerous. With these ideologies, the mufti and his supporters succeeded to produce a psychology that is culturally predatory; a psychology that cannot be at peace with Libya and definitely never will be at peace with the world.

The armed militias and their disturbed leaders have caused serious lack of security, unforgettable crimes, and made both neighbor & far countries in the world look upon us as hostile, ignorant and unwelcome society anywhere we go today. Libya will not be able to function properly or become open to the world with the domination of individuals like these. The more international support they get, the more powerful and in control of the country they become, and the more they’ll destroy every attempt for the country to make a step forward, no matter how many governments we form. To them, it doesn’t matter!

Libyans are tired! And given this destructive environment that Libyans are experiencing, any coming government (if lucky) may only survive these mentalities for a certain period of time, but no government will have the political, economical, social and cultural capabilities, confidence, and strength to function properly or build anything in this country as long as people with such ideologies in Libya exist and keep getting the international support for their heinous crimes

It’s not about having a solid government

It’s not about the weak administration of Libyan politicians

And it’s not the tribal society of Libya that is problematic

The dilemma lies behind the extremely unhealthy environment caused by the armed militias and their bloodthirsty leaders taking over the country.