kingdom was plagued by a poor educational
system and a weak economy that depended on
foreign aid from the United States. High-grade
oil was discovered in 1959, which eventually led
to significant economic and social gains for the
country.
In 1969 a group of Libyan officers lead by
Captain (later Colonel) Muammar al-Qadhdhafi
(b. 1943) deposed the monarchy in a bloodless
coup while King Idris was out of the country. In
its place they established the Libyan Arab Repub-
lic, which drew its inspiration from the ideals of
secular Arab nationalism as espoused by President
Jamal Abd al-nasir of Egypt (r. 1954–70). The
charismatic al-Qadhdhafi, a Bedouin, has revolu-
tionized Libyan politics and society and has been
the supreme leader in the country since the coup.
He was once portrayed as an Islamic “fundamen-
talist” in the Western media because of his efforts
to reintroduce Islamic law in the early 1970s.
However in the mid-1970s he presented a new
political ideology, called the Third Universal The-
ory, in his Green Book. His theory was conceived
as an alternative to the “theories” of capitalism
and Marxism, and it called for direct popular self-
rule through networks of congresses and commit-
tees and the creation of a classless society. This
theory provided the basis for renaming Libya the
“Peoples’ Republic” or “Republic of the Masses”
(Jamahiriyya) in 1977. In reality the government
has been an authoritarian one in which political
parties are banned and has a record of serious
hUman rights violations. Islam was not mentioned
explicitly in his Green Book, although “religion”
was discussed as a binding social and moral force.
In his speeches, however, al-Qadhdhafi has por-
trayed Islam as an anticolonial religion based on
the Quran and the use of ijtihad (reasoned legal
judgment). He has condemned the traditional
Islamic legal schools and Sufi orders as reaction-
ary, and has even banned the Sanusis.
Under al-Qadhdhafi’s leadership, economic
and social conditions have improved significantly
for most Libyans. From being one of the most
destitute countries in the world it now has a pov-
erty rate below 8 percent and one of the highest
literacy rates in the Middle East (82.6 percent,
2003 estimate). Libya has improved its relations
with its Arab and African neighbors and has been
a strong supporter of anticolonial and advocacy
movements of developing countries, including the
palestine liberation organization and the Irish
Republican Army. During the 1980s and 1990s it
was viewed as a pariah state and a supporter of
terrorism. U.S. president Ronald Reagan ordered
a bombing of Libyan bases and al-Qaddhafi’s resi-
dence in April 1986 after several military incidents
in the Gulf of Sidra and suspected Libyan involve-
ment in the bombing of a nightclub in West Berlin
that killed two U.S. servicemen. The U.S. attacks
may have precipitated the retaliatory bombing by
Libya of Pan American Flight 103 over Lockerbie,
Scotland, in which 270 people perished, includ-
ing 37 American college students. In recent years,
radical Islamist or Jihad movements have not been
able to establish a base in Libya and relations with
the United States have improved as a result of the
government’s willingness to destroy its weapons
of mass destruction and related facilities.
See also colonialism; ibadiyya; reneWal and
reForm movements; sUFism.Further reading: Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, The Making
of Modern Libya: State Formation, Colonialization, and
Resistance, 1830–1932 (Albany: State University of New
York Press, 1994); Mahmoud Ayoub, Islam and the
Third Universal Theory: The Religious Thought of Muam-
mar al-Qaddhafi (London: KPI Limited, 1987); Dirk
Vandewalle, A History of Modern Libya (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2006).literacy
Traditions of literacy have been fundamental to
the growth and maintenance of Islamicate societ-
ies throughout the world. According to Sura 96 of
the qUran, often considered the first revelation
delivered to mUhammad by the angel gabriel,K 444 literacy