By Mohssen Arishie
She did it. She encouraged warring factions to put aside the ‘religious fatwa on killing’ and leave their weapons at the doorway. The listeners filed in like students into class and attentively listened to her speech about peace. The faces of her audience were relaxed and aglow with optimism. The speaker was UN Envoy to Libya, Stephane Williams, addressing Libyan faction leaders, who, not long ago were at each other’s throats.
The leaders exchanged friendly nods as Ms Williams urged them to stop obstructionists from jeopardising this “rare opportunity” to restore peace. They were persuaded to come together and heal their country’s gaping wounds caused by a 10-year civil war.
“After many years of oppression, division, chaos, misery, and conflict, Libyans should come together for the sake of Libya, for the sake of their children and grandchildren, to chart a Libyan vision for the way forward that has the opportunity to preserve the country’s unity and reassert its sovereignty.”
So began Ms William’s peace sermon that touched the hearts of her audience. Her words must have drawn the attention of the Libyan adversaries to tolerance, peace and love.
Libya became caught up in a bloody maelstrom in February 2011 after fundamentalist preachers led by Sheikh Youssef Qaradawi issued fatwas, permitting the killing of each other, but only to overthrow longtime strongman Muammar Gaddhafi.
Qaradawi, who is the Grand Mufti of the terrorist group of Muslim Brotherhood, told the Libyans that they would honour their religious duty by killing their ruler and those loyal to him.
As head of the International Union of Islamic Scholars and the European Council for Fatwa and Research, Qaradawi wields tremendous influence on extremist, terrorist groups rampaging across the region.
“To the officers and the soldiers who are able to kill Muammar Gaddhafi, to whomever among them is able to shoot him with a bullet and to free the country and [God’s] servants from him, it is the time to do it!” Qaradawi exhorted.
Gaddhafi was tortured and killed by Qaradawi’s followers, who were yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Great).
In a more shocking exhortation, the sheikh appealed to non-Muslim forces to help in the slaughter of Libyan Muslims in the Gaddhafi camp in an outrageous fatwa issued in February 2011, saying, “NATO troops should come and intervene in the war raging between the Libyans.”
Qaradawi’s invitation to Western troops to intervene must have evoked memories of the Crusades, when European Christian armies fought Muslims in the 11th and 13th centuries. History repeats itself in the same places but with different faces.
Such fatwas led to the destruction of Libya, the displacement of Libyan people and the collapse of its economy as oil and gas exports stopped.
Years before he spewed forth his venom laced with religion, Qaradawi was the darling of the Libyan leader, whom the sheikh described as the “great guardian of Islam”. Weighed down the awards and accolades of his Libyan patron, Qaradawi returned to Qatar, where he resides (and carries the passport of his adopted country).
Meanwhile, Ms Williams deserves resounding credit for her achievement. Her predecessor, Mr Ghassan Salame, resigned after his Libyan peace efforts floundered and fizzled out. He alleged that health reasons were behind his resignation.
