Religion and State in Libya: The Politics of Identity

Abstract

Striking as the role of religion has been in the modern political history of Libya, it illustrates ambiguities in political identity that are, in fact, common throughout the Muslim Arab world. The tensions between the concepts of political legitimacy bequeathed by the historical Islamic empires and Western-inspired notions of ethnic nationalism and state patriotism have created dilemmas for rulers and the ruled in the Muslim Arab world since the beginning of the twentieth century. The Libyan governments' reliance on Islamic formulas to inspire political loyalty reflects the weakness of both Arab and Libyan nationalist traditions in the country. Qadhdhafi's revolutionary ideology constitutes an effort to transcend the dilemmas of Libyan national identity, but it has not proved persuasive to most of his compatriots.

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References

1. The other major exception, Saudi Arabia , did not have strong ties with the Ottoman Empire. See James P. Piscatori, “Ideological Politics in Sa'udi Arabia,” in Islamic in the Political Process, ed. James P. Piscatori (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), pp. 56-72.

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5. Modern Libyan history is accessibly treated in John Wright , Libya: A Modern History (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982).

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10. These quotes are from interviews published in Thus Spoke Colonel Moammar Kazzafi (Beirut, 1974) and Time, 9 Apr. 1979.

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on the disputes with the religious leadership, see Lisa Anderson , “Qaddafi's Islam,” in Voices of Resurgent Islam, ed. John L. Esposito (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983).

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12. Oriana Fallaci , “The Iranians Are Our Brothers: An Interview with Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya,” New York Times Magazine, 16 Dec. 1979.

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13. The Libyan opposition is articulate in its complaints, but, apart from plans for a transitional democratic government, somewhat vague about its vision of Libya's future. See, for example, the Newsletter of the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (London).