[Will Libya set a trend for a country predominately Muslim, voting for a secular government? - Gary ]

Libyans rebel against Islamic Militias

Libya: Islamist militia bases stormed in Benghazi
Thousands of Libyans in Benghazi marched against the presence of militias

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19680785

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Pro-government demonstrators stormed the headquarters of the Islamist Ansar al-Sharia militia in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Friday, aiming to evict fighters from the site, Reuters witnesses said.

Ansar al-Sharia has been linked to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last week in which the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans died. It denies involvement.

...

U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens was well liked, and many Libyans condemned the attack on the consulate despite being angered by the anti-Islamic U.S.-made film that triggered it. ...

http://news.yahoo.com/eight-people-arrested-over-benghazi-attack-official-173621608.html 

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Has Libya bucked the Islamist trend?
By Rana Jawad
BBC News, Tripoli

The National Forces Alliance (NFA), led by ex-interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril, gained more than double the seats of its Islamist rivals.

So should its MPs be described as secularist liberals or moderate modernists?

The reality is that those in the alliance are largely unknown, ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18895335 

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Amazigh [Berber] Persecution

The name [Berber] is derived from “barbarian” as they spoke neither Latin nor Greek. In their own tongue they call themselves Amazigh and their language is Tamazight,

Gaddafi appeared to make special efforts to persecute the Berbers, whom he saw as a threat to his view of Libya as a homogenous Arab society.

The Amazigh language and script, Tamazight, which distinct from Arabic, was officially banned and could not be taught in schools. Giving children Amazigh names was forbidden.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16289543

I definitely did not expect to see this in the news. I have no idea what to expect from Lybia. That country has defied stereotypes.

If so, I would give a lot of credit to Obama’s level headed approach toward helping their revolution succeed.

I’m generally very critical of Obama, but in this case I’m inclined to agree. He has avoided the undiplomatic pandering to Islamophobia. The Lion’s share of the credit goes to the Libyans. - Gary

gary100 - 21 September 2012 08:22 PM

I’m generally very critical of Obama, but in this case I’m inclined to agree. He has avoided the undiplomatic pandering to Islamophobia. The Lion’s share of the credit goes to the Libyans. - Gary

Right, and Obama’s minimal approach to involvement in supporting the Libyans, insured that they would “own” their revolution.  Despite his sometimes flowery and aspirational rhetoric, I sensed early on that Obama is basically very pragmatic.  This is exemplified nowadays by one of his titles: No Drama Obama.