November 2017 saw a horrific massacre perpetrated by Muslim terrorists against Sufis in Al Rawdha Mosque in Egypt’s Sinai; this resulted in the death of over three hundred and the injury of over one hundred peaceful worshippers. The attack was not an isolated incident, but rather one of a long series of attacks by Muslim terrorists against Sufis. If one focuses only on Libya, a country with a long and rich history of Sufism, one can easily detect how Sufis and their property have frequently been the target of violence and mayhem, committed primarily by Salafists, Al Qaeda-related Islamist groups, and Islamic State (IS) sympathizers; Sufis have been assaulted, kidnapped, and killed, and their holy places looted and demolished. Human Rights Watch has recorded numerous such crimes, with most attacks taking place in the period since the Arab Spring of 2011: For example, in October 2011, there was destruction of Al Masry shrine in Tripoli; in November 2011 there was an attack on Girgaresh cemetery in Tripoli where tombstones were destroyed, and another on Sidi Nasr shrine, also in Tripoli; in January 2012, serious damage was done to Sidi Obeid cemetery and Sidi Obeid’s tomb in Benghazi; in July 2012, an explosive was detonated at the Sahaba mosque in Derna; in August 2012, an attack was launched against the mosque of Sidi Abdussalam Al Asmar in Zliten, which included the destruction of seven-hundred-year-old texts; in the same month, the shrine of Sidi Ahmad Zarroug was destroyed in Misrata; in the same month also, there was an attack on Sidi Sha’ab mosque in Tripoli where parts of it and the tombstones inside it were destroyed; in the same month again, extensive damage was inflicted on Othman Pasha mosque in Tripoli where thirty graves were desecrated and its library was looted and then smashed; in October 2017, destruction was wreaked on Sidi Abu Ghrara mosque in Tripoli; and in November 2017, fire was set to Zawiyat Ashsheikha Radiya (mosque) in Tripoli, causing massive damage. More recently, in December 2017, the grave of Al Mahdi Bin Muhammad Bin Ali Assunussi, son of the founder of the Sanussi movement and father of the late King Idris of Libya, was desecrated in Kufra. In addition, there have been reports in Libya stating that in August 2017 alone, tens of Sufis were kidnapped in Benghazi; their fate is still unknown.
- Husam Dughman
- International Security, Safety & Strategic Defence
- Posted On
