Libya looks to the heavens for order

Libya’s most senior Muslim figures are forming a new political party intending to rule the country on the “moderate” interpretation of Islamic law used in both Turkey and Tunisia.

In an exclusive interview, the cleric seen as the figurehead of Libya’s Islamist movement said a provisional manifesto had already won support from some of the country’s most important political and religious leaders.

Ali al-Sallabi, who spent eight years in Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s most notorious prison, Abu Salim, denied reports that he would stand for president himself but confirmed his move into secular politics. He said the movement, given the provisional name of The National Gathering for Freedom, Justice and Development, supported basing Libya’s constitution on Sharia law, but that it would be moderate and pursue democratic politics.

“This is not an Islamist party but a nationalist party,” Sallabi said. “But its political agenda respects the general principles of Islam and Libyan culture.” Until the revolution Sallabi had been living in exile in Qatar.

He is closely associated with the controversial Doha-based cleric, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, regarded as the spiritual leader of the worldwide Muslim Brotherhood movement.

The cleric attempted to reassure secular Libyans and the West about its future direction, saying Western intervention over Libya had changed its relations with the Muslim world. “The attitude of US, Britain, and France has made a significant impact. “In general towards the West there is now a good feeling.”