After 42 years of oppressive rule by the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libyan officials on Sunday declared the liberation of the nation to cheers from crowds in Benghazi, where the uprising began in February. Gaddafi met a violent death Thursday. National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil thanked the United Nations and the European Union, and vowed to uphold Islamic law in the country, including polygamy. “We as a Muslim nation have taken Islamic Sharia as the source of legislation," he said. "Therefore any law that contradicts the principles of Islam is legally nullified."