For the past 14 years, Islamist groups and movements have held a significant role in Libya’s political landscape, emerging at the forefront of many key developments. Yet they did not act as a single entity, but as fragmented forces, and their divisions became one of the country’s most pressing dilemmas.
Islamist political parties and affiliated independent figures in Libya include the Muslim Brotherhood, the Justice and Construction Party, the Ya Biladi movement, among others, primarily active in western Libya. On the other side of the spectrum stand parties labeled as secular, along with the “Salafi Movement,” largely based in the east. This sharp ideological split has long shaped and continues to define the internal political balance in Libya.
Libyan journalist Mohammed Al-Sari told +963 that “since the fall of Gaddafi, Libya has been defined by fragmentation into factions and tribes, with a strong sense of regionalism fueling intense competition over power and influence. This also applies to Islamist forces, which failed over the years to form a cohesive movement or unified current, clear evidence of the weakness of national projects and goals for rebuilding the state, as narrow personal interests often prevailed over broader, urgent priorities.”
Al-Sari added: “Matters in Libya grew even more complicated as political forces increasingly aligned themselves with foreign states, each seeking to impose its own interests and vision on Libya’s present and future. This led to alliances of ideologically similar movements, though internally divided by competition for influence, such as the ties between Turkey and Islamist groups in western Libya.”
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After the ouster of former Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi in June 2013 and the Muslim Brotherhood’s loss of power in Cairo, Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood faced accusations of seeking to seize power. Their offices, and those of the Justice and Construction Party, were attacked in Benghazi, prompting the party to announce it was suspending participation in both government and the General National Congress (parliament). Around that time, the Justice and Construction Party began to eye Tunisia, where Ennahda Movement had launched a “Tunisification” process of the movement. Inspired by that, the Libyan party sought to promote a similar approach within Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood.
According to UN and international estimates, more than 300 armed factions operate outside the law in Libya. The root of the crisis lies in the continued chaos of uncontrolled weapons and militia dominance, compounded by domestic and external actors exploiting the situation for their own interests.
In June of this year, Libya’s National Human Rights Commission strongly condemned the violent clashes in the city of Sabratha, which left civilians seriously injured. Public anger mounted, with calls to expel militias from the city. The commission stressed the need to restructure the security sector, dismantle outlawed armed groups, and restore security and stability across Libya’s western coastal regions, which have endured lawlessness and rising crime for years.
Researcher Mohammed Salmi highlighted the near-total absence of functioning state institutions in western Libya for years, coinciding with the dominance of armed groups tied to political factions. He warned that this reality poses a grave threat to Libya’s future, especially as these groups steadily expand their influence and resist efforts to establish security, despite security being the foundation of political stability and economic growth nationwide.
In his remarks to +963, Salmi further noted: “A grave mistake lies in attempts to legitimize armed factions tied to different political parties and currents, in hopes of containing them. Time and again, this has produced disastrous consequences, undermining official decision-making and violating the rule of law.”
