No Result
View All Result
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
23 °c
Tripoli
24 ° Sat
24 ° Sun
  • Advertising
  • Contact
LibyaHerald
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
LibyaHerald
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

The destruction of Libya’s Sufi heritage

byMichel Cousins
September 6, 2012
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A

By Dr Ismail Suayah

North Carolina, USA, September, 2012:

My wife is my favorite companion, and we do many things together, but one thing she . . .[restrict]refuses to do with me is watch action films, because images of violence and senseless destruction fill her with despair. The other night I showed her two pictures of the mosque and zawiya (Sufi school) of the revered Sufi Muslim scholar-teacher, Sheikh Abdussalam Al-Asmar, in Zlitan. In the first, taken last spring, our eleven-year-old daughter, Aliya, stood in front of the mosque, its glistening emerald dome shimmering in the clear blue Libyan sky over her head. The second photo, taken after the shrine’s destruction, showed a gaping hole where the dome used to be. My wife turned her head away. “I cannot bear to see that,” she said before she stood and walked away. That gaping hole, she told me later, haunted her for days.

Usually she is far more sensitive than I to violent images, but the destruction of the mosque affected me the same way. Just last May, we pulled our daughter Aliya from school so she could see a free Libya for the first time. Aliya had found her own way to support the Libyan revolution, making and selling hand crafts in her spare time to raise funds for those displaced by the fighting. One day in Libya, so she could see the war’s impact, I took her to see the destruction in Misrata. On our way back towards Tripoli, I planned to stop in Zlitan to show her the sites of Sheikh Abdussalam Al-Asmar. Our visit to the shrine would be an uplifting end to a difficult day of witnessing the widespread destruction in Misrata.

I had vivid, tender memories of visiting that shrine as a child. Frequent nose bleeds often woke me from my sleep when I was young, and my blood-drenched pillow terrified my poor, illiterate parents who had already lost four children to preventable diseases. Their only recourse was to visit the revered sheikh’s shrine to make a desperate plea to God to restore my health. I vividly recall sitting in that shrine between my mother and blind grandmother as they prayed, the melodic voice of my mother reciting the Koran and that of my grandmother making dua (prayers of supplication) asking the divine (Allah, azza wajal) to stop the bleeding and lift my burdens.

RELATED POSTS

US$ 77 million credits opened for import of livestock in first four months of 2025 in preparation of Eid Al-Adha

Largest direct reduced iron (DRI) factory in the world to be established by Turkish company Tosyali in Benghazi

When my daughter and I arrived at the sheikh’s mosque, we were disappointed to discover the shrine sealed shut for fear of looting and desecration by extremists. The notion that this peaceful shrine was threatened was so unsettling to me that I rushed my daughter out of Zlitan. As we drove away, I wondered how any Muslim could argue that God was not in that space where I had sat between my blind grandmother and my mother listening to their fervent prayers to God.

I abhor stereotypes; groups of human beings are never homogeneous. I am not here to cast all Salafis as extremists, but those who destroy Libya’s heritage are fanatics. In their arrogance and delusion they have oppressed people who have already endured decades of brutal oppression. Where in Koran or Hadith do they find justification for destroying centuries-old mosques and desecrate graves of Muslim scholars? What right do they have to burn a 500-year collection of scholarly Sufi Islamic work – not to mention a heritage of our nation? Hasn’t Qaddafi burned enough books in Libya?

Libya does not belong to the Salafis. My ancestors lived in Libya long before the Salafi movement came to North Africa. Libyan Salafis have no creed from God or referendum from the Libyan majority to impose their ruling on the fate of my country’s heritage. Nor can they claim sole ownership of the faith which Libya’s majority practice. Why do most Libyans and Muslims around the world remain silent when the Salafi extremists attack holy sites? Islam teaches us to honor and respect the dead and pray for them, not desecrate their graves. Our faith is that of peace and justice, not violence and destruction. Let’s remind ourselves that our God is most merciful and compassionate.

The first sign of what was to come appeared in October 2011 when Salafis attacked and vandalized about a half-dozen Sufi shrines in and around Tripoli, including two shrines in my home town Janzour. The desecration of Christian graves belonging to British and Australian WWII soldiers in early 2012 was the second sign. But the wave of desecration (some happened in broad day light) of sacred historical sites that stretched from Misrata to Tripoli after Ramadan is our most alarming sign of what the future holds if we allow Salafis to dictate the terms of life in Libya. Today, they are more heavily armed and organised than ever – poised to indoctrinate Libya’s innocent, frustrated youth and take advantage of Libya’s fragile state. If the perpetrators and enablers of these heinous acts are not held accountable now, their zeal will only worsen. What will happen when they decide to oppress the Libyan women? Will we allow them to determine the fate of Libyan Jews should they be granted their right of return to Libya? Oil alone cannot sustain Libya; what will happen if the Salafis drive away tourism?

While they are predominantly Sunni Muslims, Libyans are as diverse as any group, and not just in their Islamic practice (madhab/tariqa). The Libyan society is racially, ethnically, culturally and economically diverse. This diversity should play to our strength, not to our weakness. The Libyan people sacrificed so much in order to be free from fear and oppression, so let’s not succumb to either. Let’s object to those who intend to divide us and do so peacefully, in accord with our Islamic values. Let’s unite behind the leaders we have democratically chosen. Let’s have a constitution that embraces our diversity. Let’s create the peaceful, just and prosperous future that Libya’s young people deserve.

Dr Suayah is a former geo-marine scientist, currently working in the software industry. He lives in the United States in the state of North Carolina with his wife and two children. [/restrict]

Related Posts

Libya

OpEd: And exactly how safe is Tripoli?

January 10, 2018
OpEd: Turkey’s foreign minister on tomorrow’s Istanbul conflict resolution conference
Libya

OpEd: Turkey’s foreign minister on tomorrow’s Istanbul conflict resolution conference

July 31, 2017
Op-Ed: Playing the Trump card in Libya
Libya

Op-Ed: Playing the Trump card in Libya

November 19, 2016
Opinion

Op-Ed: Libya after the spin and deception

December 21, 2015
Opinion

Op-Ed: The Art of Avoiding Dialogue

December 16, 2015
Opinion

Op-Ed: Libya’s Article 13 – disagreeing over the political agreement

October 12, 2015
Next Post

New allegations surface of US torture of Libyans and collaboration with Qaddafi regime

Two more Qaddafi figures set to go on trial on 10 September

ADVERTISEMENT

Top Stories

  • Ceasefire announced after heavy overnight fighting in Tripoli

    Ceasefire announced after heavy overnight fighting in Tripoli

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 444th Brigade and Military Intelligence head Mahmoud Hamza’s narrative of the SDF / RADA Tripoli clash

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Calm returns after overnight Tripoli clashes as major militia leader reportedly killed

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Gunfire at demonstrations calling for Aldabaiba’s downfall, nervous ceasefire holding as calm returns to Tripoli

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mitiga airport reopened, flights operating including to and from Istanbul, Alexandria and Cairo

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
LibyaHerald

The Libya Herald first appeared on 17 February 2012 – the first anniversary of the Libyan Revolution. Since then, it has become a favourite go-to source on news about Libya, for many in Libya and around the world, regularly attracting millions of hits.

Recent News

US$ 77 million credits opened for import of livestock in first four months of 2025 in preparation of Eid Al-Adha

Largest direct reduced iron (DRI) factory in the world to be established by Turkish company Tosyali in Benghazi

Sitemap

  • Why subscribe?
  • Terms & Conditions
  • FAQs
  • Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights
  • Subscribe now

Newsletters

    Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

    Sending ...

    By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password? Sign Up

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    *By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Login
    • Sign Up
    • Libya
    • Business
    • Advertising
    • About us
    • BusinessEye Magazine
    • Letters
    • Features
    • Why subscribe?
    • FAQs
    • Contact

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.