The above edict, written in Arabic, was delivered in response to a question posted by someone who asked about the suitability of dealing with and praying behind an Abadi preacher in Nafousa Mountain, western Libya, who preaches that the "Koran was created".
The Libyan Supreme Fatwa Committee (of the General Authority of Endowment And Islamic Affairs) was widely criticised for declaring most Libya's Berbers "deviant", "Kharijites" and "astray", who adhere to "infidel" doctrines, such as "the Koran being created", and therefore Abadi preachers cannot, the edict continues, lead Islamic prayers in a mosque.
The president of the GNA, Mr. Sarraj, speaking in general terms had condemned incitement to hatred and "fitna", but made no specific mention (whatsoever), neither by name nor by organisation, to the radical edict nor to the Supreme Fatwa Committee [1].
Still worse, the Bayda government (the government appointed by the HoR) has approved the edict made by its religious authority (the Supreme Fatwa Committee), and even stated that the Supreme Fatwa Committee is "moderate" [7] and that the edict said nothing about the Abadites possessing infidel doctrines. This is very, very strange because the above fatwa clearly mentions in Arabic the Abadite as
الإباضية فرقة منحرفة ضالة، وهم من الباطنية الخوارج، وعندهم عقائد كفرية، كعقيدتهم بأن القرآن مخلوق وعقيدتهم في إنكار الرؤية
and even stated that praying behind them is "indignified" and "not permitted" (فلا يُصلّى خلفهم ولا كرامة). Does this mean that the Prime Minister cannot read Arabic? Or does it mean there is an evil agenda to wind-up the Berbers to cause civil war in Libya? Whatever the reason behind all of this nonsense the world needs to know that most Berbers abhor violence and have no intention of swallowing the bait swallowed by their neighbouring brothers across the region. All attempts to drag the Imazighen into this "global war on terror" will be doomed. Terror is simply a matter for intelligence to weed out, in silence, without firing a single bullet, if, of course, the intention is to eradicate the radicals!
The audacity is that instead of repudiating such extreme hatred and radical edict, the Bayda government said the fatwa made no mention of the "Amazigh" by name, although everyone knows that in Libya only the Berbers (the Amazigh) are Abadite (or Ibadis or Abadis). This is like saying the inhabitants of Jeddah are infidels, and when the Saudis complain, one can reply to them by saying: who said anything about the Saudis!
From a Berber perspective such statements and fatwas serve no purpose other than "fitna" and incitement to hatred; and to deny a link between Abadite and Imazighen is like adding insult to injury; and hence Libyaherald wrote: "The Beida-based government has sided with its Awqaf (religious endowments) and Islamic Affairs Authority in the row over the latter’s fatwa damning Ibadis as infidels. It has claimed that the committee is moderate . . . despite the fact that a large proportion of Libya’s Amazigh community are Ibadis" [2].
Over two-hundred (200) Libyan intellectuals including writers and academics and political activists and journalists have signed a statement [8] totally rejecting sectarian religious discourse (الخطاب الديني التصنيفي) that divides Libyans (الذي يشق صف الليبيين) and strives to disseminate hate speech amongst the sons and daughters of one nation (ويجتهد في بث خطاب الكراهية بين أبناء الوطن الواحد). They have also questioned the role of the General Authority of Endowment And Islamic Affairs and the nature of its political project that targets individuals and institutions in a way that does not agree with the principles on which the General Authority of Endowment is based. The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya had also condemned the fatwa [5].
According to the Amazigh Supreme Council [6]:
"The Amazigh Supreme Council, declares absolute rejection of the fatwa issued by the High Committee of Fatwas, affiliated to the so called Interim Government, located in eastern Libya. In that fatwa, they stated that Ibadhi muslims are a deviant astray group, belonging to Khawarij and possess infidel doctrines. Which is a direct incitement for a genocide of the Amazigh people in Libya, a blatant violation of international treaties and conventions, a call for unrest among Libyans by threatening the social peace in the country, and the possibility of propagation of this menacing speech to neighboring countries; Algeria and Tunisia; Therefore, we call all Libyans to refrain from being persuaded by such racist and menacing speech. During these difficult times, we urge all the military councils of all the Local Governance Units within the membership of the Amazigh Supreme Council, to unify their work and efforts to guard security and stability. Furthermore, we call the international community to commit to its duties of protecting civilians. Tripoli, 10/07/2017 (27/06/2967ⵣ) "
References:
[0] The full fatwa: https://www.temehu.com/pictures/new-takfiri-fatwa-berber-infidels.jpg
[1] http://www.pm.gov.ly/news/item/4250-بيان-لرئيس-المجلس-الرئاسي-لحكومة-الوفاق-الوطني-حول-فتوى-تكفير-الأباضية.html
[2] https://www.libyaherald.com/2017/07/24/beida-government-insists-its-islamic-affairs-authority-is-moderate/
[3] http://www.lananews.com/ar/?p=73283
[4] https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/new-takfiri-fatwa-sparks-outrage-among-libya%E2%80%99s-amazigh
[5] http://www.alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/147013/
[6] https://www.facebook.com/AmazighSC/photos/a.1655045648116074.1073741828.1647989688821670/1995993094021326/?type=3&theater
[7] https://www.temehu.com/HOR/bayda-government-statement-regarding-abadite-fatwa.jpg
[8] http://alwasat.ly/ar/news/libya/147626/
