President of Al-Azhar Graduates Organization in Libya says GNA supports takfirist discourse

Doaa Emam

Libya is in a state of ideological conflict between the desire of its national institutions, headed by the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to spread a moderate discourse that restores balance in the face of takfirist groups, and between the efforts of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and its terrorist militias, which are loyal to the Brotherhood and Turkey and seek to erase any moderate thought and replace it with extremism and violence.

Akram al-Jarari, head of the Al-Azhar Graduates Organization branch in Libya, talked with the Reference about ways to confront militancy in his country and to restore control over platforms that extremists have taken to spread their toxins.

Following is the edited, translated interview.

First of all, tell us about Al-Azhar’s efforts to confront extremist ideology in your country.

Al-Azhar trains Libyan imams and preachers to correct misconceptions about Islam and respond to suspicions promoted by extremist currents, as well as to work to protect the country’s people from joining terrorist groups, learn how to refute extremist ideas in a modern way, and define the tolerance and moderation of Islam.

How many branches of the organization are in Libya?

We have 12 offices for the World Organization of Al-Azhar Graduates, including five offices in the south, in addition to an office in the eastern region. All the heads of offices have attended training courses at Al-Azhar, and there is full coordination with the security services and municipalities in the provinces, as well as the Security Directorate and social councils, to organize advocacy work and spread moderate thought in mosques and schools through seminars, lectures and workshops.

What is your status with the GNA?

The areas controlled by the GNA reject the Al-Azhar curriculum and prevent the presence of any offices for the World Organization of Al-Azhar Graduates.

How do you see the role Egypt plays towards Libya?

The Egyptian state pays great attention to our country due to the longstanding neighborliness and good relations between them. The Libyan people and scholars appreciate Egypt’s efforts, and all of them are eager to hold onto the moderate banner of Al-Azhar, which we consider to be the way to salvation from the wave of extremism and violence that has fiercely spread through Muslim and Arab countries.

How do you deal with returnees from terrorist groups?

We are interested in making ideological reviews for everyone involved in carrying arms against the army and even those who sympathized with terrorist groups but did not join. Great effort is being made with them at the hands of imams and preachers who were trained by Al-Azhar scholars to correct the misconceptions they have.

Who holds dominance: moderates or extremists?

Mosques are under the control of the state, and Al-Azhar trainees are appointed as imams and preachers, while some have been suspended from work in areas controlled by the Brotherhood and other extremist currents. The Libyan street welcomes the moderate and Sufi thought from Al-Azhar, as both are the same method. The most famous Sufi orders in Libya are the Tijani, Issawi and Qadri tariqas.

How did extremist thought reach Libya’s youth?

Terrorist groups took advantage of the simplicity of the people, as the country has no doctrines or parties, and they brought slogans about applying God’s law, which the Libyan people sympathized with, but then they saw the assassinations, the leaders’ fraud, and the spread of terrorism, taking note that the extremists’ presence in Libya was aimed at toppling Egypt.

What is your plan to protect the youth?

We are constantly increasing the number of imams and preachers communicating with and visiting children’s schools in order to sensitize the youth, reduce the spread of extremism, and warn against engaging in terrorist groups that infiltrated Libya from abroad and wreaked havoc, corruption and destruction.