Don’t know when this was written, (reads like one year after 9/11?) therefor how up to date it is, but it’s TOO EASY label him a monster. Recall, a few years ago he announced WE ARE NOT ARABS! And asked ‘WHAT HAVE THE ARABS EVER DONE FOR LYBIA?’
ISLAM WILL NEVER FORGIVE HIM FOR THAT.
“Gadaffi has encountered continued problems with Islamic fundamentalists, most notably the Libyan Islamic Group, and it attempted to assassinate him in 1997. Based mainly in the United Kingdom its influence within Libya does not appear to be substantial.
Many people feel that the internal opposition, both secular and religious, is very weak. Gaddafi has long taken a consistently harsh view of religious fundamentalism, and there are no reports of this attitude changing. There is apparently some political tension between the western and eastern regions of the country, probably partly because fundamentalism is stronger in the east of the country. Developments since 11 September last year and the widespread international attack on terrorism have probably contributed to a marginalisation of fundamentalist tendencies in Libya. Certain opposition against Gaddafi and his regime exists outside Libya, primarily in Egypt and the UK. Most experts do not consider this opposition very strong, and certainly not active and cohesive. The regime is not thought to see it as an actual threat at present.
Many obervers feel the US State Department Country Report on Human Rights Practices regarding Libya does not provide a wholly accurate and up-to-date picture of current conditions in Libya in all respects.
Tribalism remains a key determinant in political allegiances in Libya. Neither oil wealth and modernizing influences nor Qadhafi’s revolution have altered the web of kinship-based loyalties that has characterized Libya’s domestic political scene for centuries. Libya’s tribes are arranged in a pyramidal lineage scheme of subtribal, clan, and family elements. Before Libya’s independence in 1951, the tribes operated as autonomous political, economic, and military entities.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/libya/opposition.htm
Boy. I had not visited Pike’s site in a long time. Good writeup you offered.
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In the late 1980s, Qadhafi began to pursue an anti-Islamic fundamentalist policy domestically, viewing fundamentalism as a potential rallying point for opponents of the regime. Ministerial positions and military commanders are frequently shuffled or placed under temporary house arrest to diffuse potential threats to Qadhafi's authority.
Apart from conflicts with the traditional religious hierarchy, Qadhafi had a longstanding conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood and other fundamentalist groups, whose membership went into exile or underground during Qadhafi's tenure.