LIBYA
Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
After the overthrow of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has failed to find any stability. In 2021, a Government of National Unity (GBU) was formed in Tripoli, the capital, under Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, who heads the internationally recognised government. In 2022, however, the parliament based in eastern Libya, formed a rival government, the so-called Government of National Stability (GNS). Since then, the two sides have claimed to be Libya’s legitimate government.[1]
A provisional constitution, the interim Constitutional Declaration, was promulgated by the National Transitional Council (NTC) on 3 August 2011, revised on 13 March 2012.
The Declaration stipulates that Islam is the religion of the state and Shari‘a (Islamic law) the principal source of legislation. At the same time, it guarantees non-Muslims “the freedom to practice their religious rituals” (Article 1). Article 6 promotes the equality of all Libyans before the law without distinction on the grounds of religion.[2] This is the first time that religious freedom has been constitutionally protected since 1969 when Colonel Gaddafi took power.
In 2016, a new constitution[3] was drafted recognising Shari‘a as the only source of legislation (Article 8), but without any guarantee for freedom of religion and belief. The draft has not been adopted.[4]
Although the interim Constitutional Declaration prohibits discrimination based on religion, the ongoing fighting between the two rival governments has restricted its effective application. Pre-revolution laws restricting religious freedom are still applied, and discrimination is rampant. Non-Muslims are subject to any number of legal restrictions and prohibitions.[5]
No laws specifically outlaw proselytising and apostasy from Islam,[6] nevertheless, the Penal Code of Libya is used to persecute people who engage in these acts. Articles 289, 290 and 291 of the Penal Code criminalise insulting, attacking, and defaming religion, especially Islam, the state religion.[7] Information by non-Muslims that can offend Muslims or threaten the country’s social structure is banned. Insulting Islam or the Prophet Mohammed, as well as “instigating division”, are punishable by death.[8]
Libya is predominantly Sunni Muslim, with most adherents following the Maliki school of thought.[9]
Islamic religious education is obligatory in state-run schools as well as private educational institutions. Other forms of religious education are not offered in educational establishments.[10]
There are several non-Islamic places of worship in the country. Most foreign Christians are sub-Saharan African migrants, Catholic Filipino foreign workers, some Coptic Egyptian migrants, and some Europeans, including a few Anglicans, Greek and Russian Orthodox, and non-denominational Christians.[11]
Once home to a substantial Jewish community, discrimination and persecution drove Libyan Jews out of the country, especially after 1948 and 1967. By 2004 no organised Jewish community existed in Libya.[12] Non-Muslims are restricted in their right to worship; there are also restrictions on foreign clergy who must apply for visas, or one-year residence permits.
The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) oversees Islamic worship in Libya with power over mosques, clergy, and religious practices, ensuring that they conform to government regulations.[13]
In September 2022, Libya’s House of Representatives adopted Law No. 5 on Combating Cybercrimes, which entered into force in February 2023. The law grants broad powers to censor online content deemed harmful to “public order” or “morals,” without judicial oversight. Human Rights Watch and UN experts have raised concerns about its vague language, harsh penalties, and potential misuse against free expression, privacy, and civil society. These risks may also affect religious freedom, particularly the online sharing of minority beliefs or interfaith dialogue. Civil society groups have called for the law’s repeal or revision.[14]
On 9 January 2024, Libya’s parliament, allied to the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), approved a new law criminalising “witchcraft and sorcery”, with penalties ranging from imprisonment for up to 14 years to the death penalty. The law has raised serious concerns about its impact on freedom of conscience and religion, especially for religious and ethnic minorities, including Sufi Muslims and ethnic Amazigh (Berbers) who follow the Ibadi tradition.[15]
Incidents and developments
In February 2023, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported the release of six Christian Egyptians who had been kidnapped and illegally detained earlier that month in western Libya.[16] According to press reports, they were tortured and were treated even worse once their abductors discovered they were Christians. A ransom was paid for their freedom.[17]
In February 2023, singer Ahlam al-Yamani and blogger Haneen al-Abdali were arrested for allegedly violating “honor and public morals”. The Interior Ministry in Benghazi accused them of insulting “the status of the chaste and dignified Libyan woman in our conservative society with acts and behaviours that are foreign to us and offend our customs, traditions and true religion.” Both women were later released.[18] That same month, the Deterrence Agency for Combating Terrorism and Organised Crime arrested Iraqi actress Dalia Farhoud in Tripoli, on charges of publishing content online that was “inappropriate” for Libyan society.[19]
In March 2023, six Libyans were facing the death penalty for converting to Christianity and proselytising. The charges were based on Article 207 of the Penal Code of Libya, which punishes any attempt to “alter fundamental constitutional principles, or the fundamental structures of the social order”.[20] According to The Guardian, Libya’s Internal Security Agency (ISA) said in a statement that the arrests were to “stop an organised gang action aiming to solicit and to make people leave Islam”.[21] Foreign citizens were also expelled for proselytising during that period.[22]
In February 2024, Amnesty International called for an end to the abuses by the ISA in the name of “guarding virtue”. The international human rights group said that it had gathered evidence of an intensified crackdown on freedom of thought, expression and belief by the ISA against the backdrop of a May 2023 decree issued by the Awqaf to combat what it calls “religious, intellectual and moral deviations.” The ISA published multiple videos in 2023 that show people confessing to having insulted Islam or embraced Christianity. There is concern that these “confessions” were obtained under duress.[23]
In May 2023, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai as the new Apostolic Nuncio to Libya.[24] In July 2023, he appointed Sandro Overend Rigillo OFM, as the Apostolic Vicar of Benghazi.[25] Bishop Overend Rigillo told TVMnews that Libya, particularly Benghazi, can act as a bridge between Christians and Muslims of good faith. “Benghazi is a place in which we can see the bridge that the Church wants to set up with our Muslim brothers – those who are moderate, naturally.”[26]
In May 2023, a court in Misrata sentenced 23 people to death for membership in the Islamic State group. Fourteen individuals received life sentences on the same charges; others received minor prison sentences. The defendants were convicted, amongst other counts, for the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya in 2015.[27]
Israel and Libya have no diplomatic relations,[28] but in August 2023, Libya’s Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush had an informal meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen. This caused an outcry in Libya and, as a result, she was sacked.[29] In October 2023, the Grand Mufti of Libya, Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ghariani, issued a call to Muslim youth to join the so-called Al-Aqsa Flood operation initiated by the Palestinian al-Qassam Brigades against Israel.[30]
In November 2023, the Al-Hasyn Committee, tasked by the Awqaf to combat “witchcraft and sorcery”, reported attacks on minority cultural and religious sites including the demolition of Sufi shrines, as well as acts of vandalism at archaeological sites. According to Amnesty International, Maliki and Ibadi imams, preachers and followers were targeted in the city of Yefran.[31]
In February 2024, 79-year-old Sufi Sheikh Muftah Al-Amin Al-Biju was arbitrarily arrested at his home in Benghazi during an ongoing crackdown by armed groups against Sufi clerics and activists. These groups operate in alliance with the self-proclaimed Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), who de facto control eastern Libya. One year later, he “remained forcibly disappeared”.[32]
In June 2024, the Awqaf in western Libya angered Libya’s minority Ibadi community, after it claimed that witness testimony by Ibadis, which it described as the “people of heresy and whims,” should not be considered valid. This effectively rejects Ibadism as a legitimate form of Islam. As a result, the Supreme Council of Ibadism called on the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the High Council of State (HCS) to disband the Awqaf and replace it with a new agency that respects all the Islamic doctrines that are followed in Libya.[33] GNU Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah sent a letter to the head of Awqaf in which he complained that the agency’s statement had provoked strife among Libyans and went beyond its jurisdiction.[34]
In November 2024, according to Amnesty International, the Supreme Council for Islamic Sufism in Libya released a statement condemning the ongoing persecution of Sufi sheikhs and followers in the country. They allege that Sufis are the victims of arbitrary detention, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, as well as deaths in custody and enforced disappearances. In Benghazi, forced “confessions” have been used to charge several sheikhs with the crime of “witchcraft”.[35]
In November 2024, Emad Trabelsi, GNU Interior Minister announced that the Ministry of Interior planned to reactivate the “morality” police. The minister added that women would not be allowed to leave their homes without wearing the Islamic veil or travel alone without a male guardian. The minister also said that human rights in the European understanding were not compatible with Islam.[36] According to press reports, the minister’s declaration sparked controversy in Libyan society.[37]
Prospects for freedom of religion
During the period under review, respect for religious freedom as well as for all other fundamental human rights, declined at the legal and political levels with competing governments and their respective militias trying to gain legitimacy by promoting Islamisation. Muslim minorities such as the Sufis and Ibadis, but also non-Muslims such as foreign and local Christians, were heavily targeted. Daily life for many Muslims, especially women, has also become more restricted. With Libya still politically divided and unstable, there are no prospects for the situation to improve any time soon.
Sources
Libya