‘Moderate Islam’ to Rule Libya

Muammar Gaddafi is still in hiding but the Libyan rebels are moving ahead with a new government anyway. Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of the National Transitional Council, gave his first speech since Gaddafi’s ouster on Tuesday, outlining plans to create a modern democratic state based on “moderate Islam.” He said the new government would not accept any extremist ideology: “We are a Muslim nation, with a moderate Islam, and we will maintain that.” However, he did warn against secularism as well, laying out a vision “where Sharia is the main source of legislation.”