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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Libya
Index
In the early 1970s, Qadhafi began to synthesize and expand his
ideas of Arab unity, independence, economic egalitarianism, and
cultural authenticity into the Third Universal Theory. The
importance of this new theory to the regime was shown by the
creation of the Higher Council for National Guidance on September
10, 1972. The council comprised the RCC chairman; the ASU secretary
general; the minister of education; the minister of information and
culture; the minister of youth and social affairs; the minister of
planning, the University of Libya's president; the administrative
chairmen of religious endowments; the Muslim Call Society chairman,
and the ASU secretary of thought and culture.
The Higher Council for National Guidance was created to
disseminate and implement Qadhafi's Third Universal Theory (also
seen as the Third International Theory or simply the Third Theory).
The Third Universal Theory was predicated on the belief that the
two dominant socio-politico-economic ideologies--capitalism and
communism--had been proved invalid. According to the theory,
capitalism placed the good of a few individuals ahead of that of
the community as a whole; communism so emphasized the community
that individual development was stifled. Nations constituting what
is commonly referred to as the Third World were caught between
proponents of the two ideologies: the United States and the Soviet
Union, both of which, according to Qadhafi, were "imperialist
states which seek to achieve their ambitions by extending their
zones of influence."
Qadhafi proclaimed that the Third Universal Theory, because it
was based on the Quran, predated capitalism and communism.
Furthermore, it offered an alternative. It rejected the class
exploitation of capitalism and the class warfare of communism,
finding that, in practice at least, systems based on both
ideologies were dominated by a small elite. According to the Third
Universal Theory, classes were an artificial colonial import. Far
from building a system that rested on some form of class relations,
the theory sought to eliminate class differences. It embodied the
Islamic principle of consultation (shura), by which
community or even national affairs would be conducted through
mutual consultation in which the views of all citizens were
exchanged. This principle was manifested later in Libya in the
creation of people's committees and popular congresses
(see Subnational Government and Administration
, this ch.).
The Third Universal Theory was an attempt to establish a
philosophical grounding, based on Islam, for positive neutrality on
the part of Third World nations. Under the theory, Third World
states could coexist with the United States and the Soviet Union,
and they could enter into agreements with them for their own
purposes. But Third World states in general and Arab states in
particular should not fall under the dominance of either of the two
ideological, imperialist superpowers. In dividing the world between
the two superpowers and their supposed prey, the Third Universaal
Theory anticipated much of what has come to be called the
North-South interpretation of international relations, whereby the
world is divided into natural-resource-consuming nations (the
industrialized North) and the natural-resource-producing nations
(the underdeveloped South). Indeed, Qadhafi has championed this
interpretation of international relations
(see Foreign Relations
, this ch.). Guided by this viewpoint, Libya has been a strong
supporter of national liberation movements against colonial
regimes, even though the terrorist tactics used by some groups have
tarnished Libya's international reputation and led to economic
sanctions and to military attacks in mid-1986.
Central to the Third Universal Theory are the concepts of
religion and nationalism as embodied in Islam. Qadhafi believes
that religion and nationalism have been the "two paramount drives
that moved forward the evolutionary process. They constitute man's
history as they have formed nations, peoples, wars." In short,
Qadhafi believes that religion determines human actions and
interactions.
The atheism of the communists is another reason Qadhafi finds
their ideology invalid. According to Qadhafi, communists cannot be
trusted because they fear no ultimate judgment and thus may break
their word if they consider it beneficial in any particular case.
Islam, as the essence of monotheism, is the true religion that
encompasses Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all of whom followed
God's prophets. The differences among these religions exist not
because of the prophets' teachings but because of differences among
their followers.
According to Qadhafi, if religion is basic to the individual,
nationalism is basic to the society. The Quran refers to tribes and
nations that are inherent in the universe. A person belongs to a
nationality upon birth. Only later does he or she become a
conscious member of a religion. Thus, Qadhafi faults those who deny
the validity of nationality. His concept of nationality, therefore,
relates to his concept of Arab unity.
In this regard, Qadhafi adheres to the traditional, secularly
based view of Arab nationalism propounded by such thinkers as
Michel Aflaq, a founder and key political philosopher of the Baath
Party, and Nasser. For Qadhafi, nationalism takes precedence over
religion. In a wide-ranging speech before the GPC meeting in Sabha
on March 2, 1987, Qadhafi denounced Islamic fundamentalism as
"nonsense" and stated that "no banner should be hoisted over the
Arab homeland except the banner of pan-Arabism."
Data as of 1987
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