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ROKU AppWhat Is Libya’s Future?
Written by Ralph Levy
The power vacuum and transition in Libya leave many wondering, What’s next? What does the Bible say about the future of this oil-rich Muslim country?
They say that nature abhors a vacuum. After 42 years of a nasty dictatorship, Libya may be one of the best current examples of this as it struggles to get back on its political and economic feet.
The long rule of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has come to a bloody end. Despite pockets of resistance by tribes still loyal to the colonel and defiant statements by Gaddafi himself, the nation is now controlled by the Libyan Transitional Council.
According to the Council’s website, it is the “only legitimate body representing the people of Libya and the Libyan state.” Its members are united in their opposition to the old regime and divided geographically, with some still resident in Benghazi, the eastern stronghold of the anti-Gaddafi movement, and some now in Tripoli, the national capital located further to the west.
Picking up the pieces
The pieces being picked up as the civil war winds down aren’t pretty. Both sides are accused of human rights abuses by Amnesty International and others. Gruesome stories of abuse and torture of Gaddafi family servants have surfaced, including the much-publicized burning by boiling water of Shweyga Mullah, the Ethiopian-born nanny to some of the Gaddafi family children, as well as reported torture and abuse of other servants in the Gaddafi households.
Fierce fighting continues in small areas still under the influence of tribes loyal to the former leader. Gaddafi himself pledges, “It is not possible to give Libya to the colonialists again. … All that remains for us is the struggle until victory and the defeat of the coup.” Yet bravado isn’t likely to bring back to power the former dictator, whose current whereabouts remain unclear.
In the meantime, most nations have by now recognized the Libyan Transitional Council, with China, one of the laggards, doing so on Monday, Sept. 12, 11 days after Russia gave its assent. Most Western nations did so earlier and are now unfreezing financial assets held to prevent the Gaddafi regime from gaining control of them during the uprising.
Over the next few months, work will begin on the rebuilding of Libya’s oil infrastructure, much of it damaged during the conflict. Yet it will be many months, or perhaps even years, till Libya is able to export at its prewar level of 1.6 million barrels per day.
What does the future hold for Libya?
With all this as backdrop, one has to wonder, Whither goes Libya? According to Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the leader of the Transitional Council, the future is rosy. “We will not accept any extremist ideology, on the right or the left. We are a Muslim people, for a moderate Islam, and we will stay on this road,” he declared after receiving a hero’s welcome in Tripoli (“Libya’s New Rulers Pledge ‘Moderate’ Islamic Rule,” Agence France-Presse, Sept. 13, 2011).
Yet forces beyond the control of political leaders have a way of controlling the movement of history, not the reverse. In 1979, when the shah of Iran was overthrown, many hoped for an open, moderate, Islamic democracy. What they got was quite different. And the sense of betrayal exudes from Egypt this fall, as its “Arab spring” revolution has yet to deliver the goods in the form of moderate and stable government, prosperity and true freedom of expression for its people.
In Libya, the problem may be even more acute, since 42 years of political repression surely create a vacuum in which moderate forces find it hard to operate.
A future Middle Eastern conflict
The Bible tells us that the days to come will bring to power an alliance of nations in the Middle East, led by one known as the “king of the South” (Daniel 11:40). Very likely united by a common religious faith, this alliance will enter a new phase of conflict against one greater and more powerful than it coming from the north. The king of the South will not be able to stand against the military and technological superiority of the king of the North (verses 40-44).
Interestingly, however, Libya is specifically mentioned in verse 43: “He [the king of the North] shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt [Libya’s neighbor]; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his [the king of the North’s] heels.” This may well indicate that Libya and Ethiopia will cave in under extreme pressure and give homage to the king of the North.
Whatever its destiny, oil-rich Libya is an important player in events now taking place in North Africa. Let’s keep our eyes not just on Libya, but on the entire Middle East, in these unstable times.
Ralph Levy is a minister of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, who grew up in England and now lives in the United States. Dr. Levy enjoys serving the Church, reading, travel and foreign languages. He has a Ph.D. in biblical studies and has worked in foreign language and religious education for much of his life.
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