When journalist Saddam Rashidi and his colleague heard that a number of extremist employees at the Sabha branch of Libya’s main internet provider, LTT Internet Company, had cut off the Internet for over two months – a long time compared to the few previous times – they decided to investigate the matter.

When journalist Saddam Rashidi and his colleague heard that a number of extremist employees at the Sabha branch of Libya’s main internet provider, LTT Internet Company, had cut off the Internet for over two months – a long time compared to the few previous times – they decided to investigate the matter.

“When we went to the branch headquarters, we asked to meet the director, but we were told he was on leave and that his deputy was not in his office,” says Rashidi. “We knew that we were not welcomed there. The staff refused to answer our questions. In fact, the large number of bearded men was fishy and the way they were looking at us was weird,” said Rashidi. When Rashidi and his colleague tried to take photographs of customers, they were told “The Internet and photography are haram.”

The competent authorities say the main reason for the disconnection of the Internet and communications is a result of a cut submarine cable in Sirte, northern Libya, as a result of the ongoing war against the Islamic State (IS).

 Yet Mohammed Faraj, Director of the Sabha Communications Company says: “The poor service in the city and communication disconnection for a long time have been caused by deliberate negligence of some employees at LTT.”

Rashid’s colleague, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “The company officials realize that the technicians are religious extremists and do not perform their jobs, but no one talks to them about this,” he said. “It is suspicious and fearful and tribalism prevails here in the society. Bearded men fill the LTT and the female employees we used to deal with are no longer there because extremists believe that intermixing is haram.”

Tribal protection

Tribalism in southern Libya provides some sort of protection for the extremists who are residents of the area. Most recently, however, a lot of foreign extremists, mostly elders and preachers, have been frequenting the city.

Prominent among these visitors is Egyptian preacher Omar Abu Abdullah Masri who secretly entered the country several times. Now, a number of the city’s sheikhs facilitate his entering without the knowledge of the Ministry of Religious Affairs or the security services, which have been disabled for a period of time. Young people come to attend his lectures from southern and eastern Libya and even from Tripoli and its suburbs.

Months ago, Masri visited Sabha and lectured for a week in Uqba ibn Nafi mosque. Most of his lectures focused on the belief that democracy was a godless practice, and elections were tantamount to polytheism, prohibiting all aspects of modern life, according to some attendees. The lectures attracted a large turnout who believed that Masri was teaching them “the righteous religion.”

Proliferation of extremists

Malek Wanis, a young Salafist from Sabha, says the city is filled with extremists who are trying to influence people in various ways. There is a fundamental disagreement between Salafists and extremists, says Wanis, because Salafism “is based on the principle of moderation while extremists seek immoderation in everything. There is no difference between extremists and IS.”