Libya And Muammar Muhammad al Gaddafi

No matter where you are in the world, you will hear the name Muammar Muhammad al Gaddafi and country Libya, as the country is going through an unimaginable time right now. So I though I give a little insight to all the inquisitive readers and travelers planning to visit Libya as to what is happening in Libya.

Libya And Muammar Muhammad al Gaddafi

Muammmar Muhammad as-Gaddafi | (c) Photo By suedostschweiz

Who is Mummar Muhammad al Gaddafi?

Born in 1942, Mummar Muhammad al Gaddafi came from a family belonging to a small tribe of Arabized Berbers. During his young days, he attended Muslim elementary school, and finished his secondary studies in Misrata with his interest in history. He later entered the Libyan Military Academy in Benghazi at the age of 19. Once graduated in 1966, his plan was to overthrow the monarchy. Gaddafi received further military training at the Hellenic Military Academy in Athens, Greece and UK.

Who Is He Today?

Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi, referred to as Colonel Gaddafi, has been the leader of Libya since 1969. Through the 1970’s and 1980’s Gaddafi’s government has been considered a Pariah state by the West. He is the longest serving of all current non-royal national leaders and one of the longest-serving rulers in history. In 1979 he withdrew the title of Prime Minister and has since been called the “Brother Leader” or “The Guide” in Libya’s Socialist Revolution.

2011 Uprising of Colonel Gaddafi

Early February of this year, political protests began against Gaddafi’s government in Libya. As the weeks went by, the protests escalated. Toward the end of February, Libya was in total chaos and the deaths were approaching into the 1,000’s.

The International Federation for Human Rights said:

Gaddafi is implementing a strategy of scorched earth. It is reasonable to fear that he has, in fact, decided to largely eliminate, wherever he still can, Libyan citizens who stood up against his regime and furthermore, to systematically and indiscriminately repress civilians. These acts can be characterized as crimes against humanity, as defined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

As March 2011 approached, Colonel Gaddafi had control of some parts of the country. Former Justice Minister to Gaddafi, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil had told the Swedish newspaper Expressen that he has evidence of Gaddafi personally ordering the Lockerbie bombing of 1988.

On March 17th, 2011 the UN declared no-fly zone in Libya – one of the measures taken to protect the civilians of the country.

The events of this uprising is endless and cannot describe in a single post. People all over the world including myself is praying for Libyans to be safe with their families.