Libya
(2003)
The Government restricts freedom of religion. Although Libya is a dictatorship,
the Government is tolerant of other faiths, with the exception of fundamentalist
or militant Islam, which
it views as a threat to the regime.
There was no change in the status of respect for religious
freedom during the period covered by this report; persons rarely are
harassed because of their religious practices unless such practices
are perceived as having a political dimension or motivation.
Information regarding relations among the country's
different religious groups is limited.
The U.S. Government has no official presence in the
country and maintains no bilateral dialog with the Government.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country's total land area is approximately 679,362
square miles, and its population is approximately 5,240,599. The country
is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim (97 percent); there is no significant
Shi'ite presence. There are small Christian communities, composed almost
exclusively of foreigners. A small Anglican community comprised of one
resident priest and mostly African immigrant workers in Tripoli is part
of the Egyptian Diocese; the Anglican Bishop of Libya is resident in
Cairo. There are Union churches in Tripoli and Benghazi. There are an
estimated 40,000 Roman Catholics who are served by two Bishops--one
in Tripoli and one in Benghazi; both communities are multi-national.
Catholic priests and nuns serve in all the main coastal cities, and
there is one priest in the southern city of Sebha. Most of them work
in hospitals and with the handicapped; they enjoy good relations with
the Government. The Catholic bishop, priests and nuns wear religious
dress freely in public and report virtually no discrimination. There
are also Coptic and Greek Orthodox priests in both Tripoli and Benghazi.
In 1997 the Vatican established diplomatic relations
with the country, stating that the country had taken steps to protect
freedom of religion. Its goal was to address the needs of the estimated
50,000 Christians in the country more adequately. There is an accredited
Nuncio resident in Rome and a bishop resident in Tripoli.
There still may be a very small number of Jews. Most
of the Jewish community, which numbered around 35,000 in 1948, left
for Israel at various stages between 1948 and 1967. The Government has
been rehabilitating the "medina" (old city) in Tripoli and
has renovated the large synagogue there; however, the synagogue did
not reopen during the period covered by this report.
Adherents of other non-Muslim religions, such as Hindus,
Baha'is, and Buddhists, are present.
There is no information on the number of foreign missionaries
in the country. As in other Muslim countries, Christian churches are
not allowed to proselytize, although generally, this restriction is
not observed.
Section II: Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The Government restricts freedom of religion. The
country's leadership states publicly its preference for Islam, although
it is aggressively opposed to more conservative or militant strains
of Islam, which it views as a threat to the regime. The Government has
banned the once powerful Sanusiyya Islamic order; in its place, Libyan
leader Colonel Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi established the Islamic Call Society
(ICS), which is the Islamic arm of the Government's foreign policy and
is active throughout the world. The ICS also is responsible for relations
with other religions, including the Christian churches in the country.
The ICS's main purpose is to promote a moderate form of Islam that reflects
the religious views of the Government, and there are reports that Islamic
groups whose beliefs and practices are at variance with the state-approved
teaching of Islam are banned. Although most Islamic institutions are
under government control, prominent families endow some mosques; however,
the mosques generally adhere to the government-approved interpretation
of Islam.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
The Government controls most mosques and Islamic institutions,
and even mosques endowed by prominent families generally remain within
the government-approved interpretation of Islam. According to recent
reports, individuals rarely are harassed because of their religious
practices, unless such practices are perceived as having a political
dimension or motivation.
Members of minority religions are allowed to conduct
services. Christian churches operate openly and are tolerated by the
authorities; the Government routinely grants visas and residence papers
to religious staff from other nations. The former Catholic church in
the medina is being restored and may be used as a church again. The
Government has not yet honored a promise made in 1970 to provide the
Anglican Church with alternative facilities when it took the property
used by the Church. Since 1988 the Anglicans have shared a villa with
other Protestant denominations.
Orthodox priests have been allowed to visit six Bulgarian
medics held since 1999 for allegedly infecting 400 children with HIV,
and the medics themselves have been allowed to attend Orthodox services
under guard.
There are no known places of worship for other non-Muslim
religions such as Hinduism, the Baha'i Faith, and Buddhism, although
adherents are allowed to practice within the privacy of their homes.
Foreign adherents of these religions are allowed to display and sell
religious items at bazaars and other gatherings.
Abuses of Religious Freedom
On February 16, a People's Court in Tripoli sentenced
to death Salem Abu Hanak and Abdullah Ahmed Izzedin, 2 out of at least
152 professionals who were arbitrarily arrested in 1998 in Benghazi
for involvement with Islamic organizations. Eighty-six of the 152 men
were sentenced while 66 were acquitted. Those who were convicted received
sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment. The appellate
hearing began on December 14, 2002. Amnesty International (AI) reported
that lawyers for the accused were neither allowed to study their case
files nor were they allowed to meet with their clients. The lawyers
were denied access to the court, and the judge appointed government
clerks to replace them. Family members were allowed to meet the accused
briefly for the first time since their arrest in April 2001, but were
not able to do so again until at least December 2001.
Some practicing Muslims have shaved their beards to
avoid harassment from the security services, who tend to associate wearing
beards with advocacy of politically motivated Islam. In the late 1980s,
Qadhafi began to pursue a domestic policy directed against Islamic fundamentalists;
September 11 has reinforced his view that fundamentalism is a potential
rallying point for opponents of the regime.
There continue to be reports of armed clashes between
security forces and Islamic groups that oppose the current regime and
advocate the establishment of a more traditional form of Islamic government.
There are currently no reports available on the number
or status of individuals detained because of their religious beliefs.
Forced Religious Conversion
There were no reports of forced religious conversion,
including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally
removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens
to be returned to the United States.
A non-Libyan woman who marries a Muslim Libyan man
is not required to convert to Islam, although many do so; however, a
non-Libyan man must convert into order to marry a Muslim Libyan woman.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
Information on religious freedom is limited, although
members of non-Muslim minority religions report that they do not face
harassment by authorities or the Muslim majority on the basis of their
religious practices.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The United States has no official presence in the
country and maintains no bilateral dialog with the Government on religious
freedom issues.
Sources: U.S. State Department - Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |