BENGHAZI, January 9, 2012 (AFP)
BENGHAZI, January 9, 2012 (AFP)
A group of Libyan Muslim scholars have formed the nation’s first legal Islamist party with a view to rebuilding Libya based on Islamic sharia law, a statement from the new political entity said Monday.
The Party of Reform and Development (PRD) was formed on Saturday in the eastern city of Benghazi and is chaired by former Muslim Brotherhood member Khaled al-Wershefani.
Members of Muslim Brotherhood attended the party’s inauguration, but the statement said it “did not depend on any particular party”, referring to the Brotherhood.
The PRD is an “Islamist party committed to the principles of Islamic sharia” and aims to work for establishing a state based on institutions, the statement said.
“We aim to focus on national unity and build a Libyan state which is modern, civilised and developed and which does not exclude or marginalize anyone,” Wershefani told AFP.
But he added that the party would refuse to deal with any group which “contradicts sharia,” referring to the secular and liberal factions in Libya.
The creation of the new party comes just days after Libya’s new rulers scrapped a law under the regime of Moamer Kadhafi that banned forming political parties.
Since Kadhafi’s ouster several parties have been established in Libya, with others created during the rebellion itself in Benghazi, the city which first rose against his rule.
Libya’s Islamists, who say they want to promote moderate Islam, are a rising political force in post-Kadhafi Libya.
The Muslim Brotherhood held their first public convention on Libyan territory in November. It has said it does not intend to form a party for now, but has invited its members to participate in political activities.
