COLONEL Muammar al-Qadhafi is dead. This information may or may not shock you, but it most certainly surprised me. I had expected Colonel Qadhafi to be captured or eventually leave the country like Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president. Either way, Colonel Qadhafi's death has prompted new questions: Who will take power? Will Libya transition to democracy? Will the country become politically stable? While the death of Colonel Qadhafi is certainly a huge step toward reducing the bloodshed, it still may be some years before there is sincere peace and stability in Libya.
First, the implementation of Sharia law may deter stability. Libyan leaders have recently declared that their new government will enforce Sharia law, and although they have pacified the West by claiming, somewhat ambiguously, that the government will have only a moderate variant of Sharia law that advocates democracy, it remains the case that many aspects of Sharia law are inherently undemocratic. Notably, the view that women are inferior and that a man's opinion will hold more weight than a woman's are important drawbacks to the system.
History shows that nations that have embraced Sharia law, such as Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan and Yemen, have not suffered a kind fate. In many cases, Sharia law has led to oppression and racism, and there is a good chance that a changed Libya will be just as oppressive and unstable as was the nation prior to the fall of Colonel Qadhafi.
Second, there is the matter of the rebels themselves. The rebel military was important in toppling Colonel Qadhafi, but how trustworthy, in fact, are they? Will they set down their weapons and allow Libya to obtain peace? Or will the presence of armed groups lead to a prolonged civil war, as in Somalia?
In an interview with a reporter from The Daily Beast, a Libyan medical student named Ehab voiced such concerns: "We have freedom now, but it's not good freedom. There are weapons everywhere. If the rebels remain in Tripoli, this will turn into a new Somalia. They control the streets, not the government. There have been conflicts here of a kind we've never seen before."
The Libyan rebels have been armed and killing for months now; it is rather unbelievable that they would so quickly and easily dispose of their weapons. In fact, Colonel Qadhafi's death has been described by some as a revenge killing. The rebel military has been more concerned about seeking blood than actual justice; even given the circumstances, this is not necessarily proceeding in the most ethical manner.
It also seems difficult to claim that the rebels will simply, after months of fighting, relinquish the power that their weapons have given them. It is dangerous for the Libyan rebels to have such uncontrolled power: Even after Colonel Qadhafi's death, they could continue to create havoc and no one would be able to oppose them.
Third, there is the possibility of racial tension between blacks and other segments of the population. Even though Libya has a substantial black demographic, the group did not possess much power in Colonel Qadhafi's regime, a situation that continues presently as blacks have no political representation in the interim Libyan government.\nFurthermore, as mentioned in The Daily Beast, "Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both reported cases of arbitrary arrests, torture, and execution of blacks in detention." Racism is further fueled by the rebel military, which often misidentified blacks by accusing them to be working for Colonel Qadhafi as mercenaries.
Whatever the current government decides, it seems there will not be peace; racial relations will remain bloody and chaotic. It is highly unlikely that such racism will be alleviated by the new government when racism itself appears to be one of the few similarities between the rebel military and the former Qadhafi regime. And there is no indication of a positive movement toward eliminating that racism.
When the Libyan revolution began, everyone hoped it would emulate the Egyptian revolution, which turned out to be comparatively peaceful and effective. On the contrary, the Libyan situation has been a representation of what can go wrong in a revolution against a totalitarian government. The revolution was effective in the sense that it toppled Colonel Qadhafi, but it remains to be seen whether it can achieve stability. Unfortunately, I do not see how Libya will maintain itself in the immediate future. Nevertheless, I hope I am wrong and that Libya does achieve the stability it deserves.
Fariha Kabir's column usually appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at f.kabir@cavalierdaily.com.
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