By BRIAN ROHAN | REUTERS
BENGHAZI, Libya: Fighters who toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi in Libya’s uprising will keep their weapons for now to aid in security, an Islamist commander said.
Many are expected to leave their units, given the end of major combat operations, while those who stay could accept command from the nascent defense ministry, brigade leader Abduljawad Bedeen said in an interview.
“A large percentage want to return to civilian life, and I wouldn’t be surprised if individuals chose to be part of the army,” he told Reuters. “As units we are not opposed to coming under the umbrella of the army — our main goal is to serve our country.”
“What we don’t want to see is a public relations event where fighters turn in their arms for the cameras,” said Bedeen, who is also spokesman for the Union of Revolutionary Forces that encompasses some 25,000 fighters from Libya’s east.
The Union aims to incorporate brigades in the rest of the country under its command, and its leader, deputy defense minister Fawzi Bukatif, has said those who remain outside should be considered illegitimate.
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Want Shariah applied
Many now wonder what version of political Islam fighters inspired by religion will seek to bring to the country.
Most of the fighters, who often went into combat shouting “God is greatest,” are devout Muslims and many could be considered Islamists, Bedeen said. But he sees their political goals as moderate.
“It’s difficult to say they have one way of thought or political agenda, but I can definitely say there is a large percentage of Islamists…. I did not see anyone with a secular agenda.”
“A large percentage of the fighters want the sharia applied and a constitution that does not conflict with it,” he said, referring to Islamic law. “I think all Libyans want this, not just the Islamists.”
Libya, with a population of six million, is almost completely Sunni Muslim and religiously conservative, but there are varied views on Islam’s role in the new era.
As in other countries which have seen revolts in the so-called Arab Spring, political Islam has seen a resurgence in Libya, but Islamist statements about sharia or religion in politics are only rough indicators of what lies ahead politically.
NOTE BY THE EDITOR: I do not like the label ‘Islamist’ – a new word invention by Western journalists… In any case, it will be interesting to see to what extend and on what kind of interpretation ‘sharia’ law is applied in Libya and in other of the ‘Arab Spring’ (another journalist invention) countries. We at The Muslim Times are for separation of Mosque and State…