Saturday, August 25, 2012

Libya 2.0: Armed Salafis bulldoze second Sufi mosque in 2 days in central Tripoli for being un-Islamic

Libyan Salafis Muslims use a bulldozer to raze a Sufi mosque in central Tripoli August 25, 2012. [...] (Reuters Pictures)
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Attackers bulldozed a mosque containing Sufi Muslim graves in the center of Tripoli in broad daylight on Saturday, in what appeared to be Libya's most blatant sectarian attack since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

Government officials condemned the demolition of the large Sha'ab mosque and blamed an armed group who, they said, considered its graves and shrines to Sufi figures un-Islamic.

It was the second razing of a Sufi site in two days. Ultra-conservative Islamists wrecked Sufi shrines with bombs and another bulldozer and set fire to a mosque library in the city of Zlitan in the early hours of Friday, an official said.

Libya's rulers have struggled to control armed groups who are competing for power in the north African country a year after Gaddafi's fall.

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