As we drove to the "liberation day " party hosted by the Libyan embassy, my wife reassured me again that it would be a mixed party. At the entrance of the hotel, a few Libyan kids were jumping around noisily and waving the new colorful flags. As we entered the reception hall however, most women were seated separately and what was supposed to be a happy occasion turned out to be a succession of clerical sermons.
The program started with a long stand to the tune of the new national anthem, a bit repetitive and quite frankly too long. Cut it in half and it would still be too long! A friend at our table decided not to continue standing in the middle of the anthem playing. He told me he was protesting the fact they were playing a version praising King Idris, Libya's conservative ruler who was overthrown by Gaddafi. There was of course a recital from the Koran followed by a sermon by an invited guest cleric. He was said to be a well known "Alem" or religious scholar, but very few in the hall paid attention to what he said. Instead, most guests at the tables were having a chat among themselves. The turn finally came for the speech of the Libyan ambassador, a religious scholar and businessman turned diplomat, so I made an effort to listen. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of the same, a sermon praising Allah for the success of the revolution but no more. As the monotonous program continued, a group of apparently disenchanted boys and girls started to play folklore songs on their own, to the beat of the darbouka, a libyan little drum-type. The organizers were not amused.
If anything, this small event reflects what awaits the new Libya. With the fall of the much hated Gaddafi regime, Libya has managed to dig its way out of a long and dark tunnel. However, many are worried that it may be headed towards yet another dark tunnel, this time engineered by conservative religious zealots who may be preaching a lot but can deliver little. Ironically, in the past, this religious zeal served Libyans well as an antidote to Gaddafi, a refuge from his absurd rule and in the end, a rallying faith which helped overthrow him. However for the new Libya and the future of its young men and women, faith alone may not be enough. As the country tries to set its bearings at the start of a difficult journey towards a better future, it finds itself being pulled in two opposite directions. On the one hand, in the name of God, a conservative mindset at the helm is taking matters into its own hands, prescribing virtue and resisting social change. On the other hand, an increasingly restless and long marginalized grass root of youth is fighting for change and yearning to join a much more modern world.
