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In the early 1970s, Colonel
Muammar Al Qathafi began to synthesize and expand his ideas
of Arab unity, self-determination, economic egalitarianism,
and cultural authenticity into the Third Universal Theory.
The importance of this new theory was shown by the creation
of the Higher Council for National Guidance on September 10,
1972. The council comprised the RCC chairman; the ASU
secretary general; the minister of education; the minister
of information and culture; the minister of youth and social
affairs; the minister of planning, the University of Libya's
president; the administrative chairmen of religious
endowments; the Muslim Call Society chairman, and the ASU
secretary of thought and culture.
The Higher Council for National
Guidance was created to disseminate and implement Third
Universal Theory (also seen as the Third International
Theory or simply the Third Theory). The Third Universal
Theory was predicated on the belief that the two dominant
socio-politico-economic ideologies [the capitalism and the
communism] had proved their incapacity to solve the human
satisfaction. Attributed to the explanation related to it,
capitalism placed the good of a few individuals ahead of
that of the community as a whole; communism so emphasized
the community that individual development was stifled.
Nations constituting what is commonly referred to as the
Third World were caught between proponents of the two
ideologies: the United States and the Soviet Union, both of
which, according to Colonel Muammar Al Qathafi, were
"imperialist states which seek to achieve their ambitions by
extending their zones of influence."
The leader of the Al Fatah
revolution of the September 69 proclaimed that the Third
Universal Theory (3UT), because it was based on the Quran,
predated capitalism and communism. Furthermore, it offered
an alternative. It rejected the class exploitation of
capitalism and the class warfare of communism, finding that,
in practice at least, systems based on both ideologies were
dominated by small elite.
According to the Third Universal
Theory, classes were an artificial colonial import. Far from
building a system that rested on some form of class
relations, the theory sought to eliminate class differences.
It embodied the Islamic principle of consultation (shura),
by which community or even national affairs would be
conducted through mutual consultation in which the views of
all citizens were exchanged. This principle was manifested
later in Libya in the creation of people's committees and
popular congresses of March 1977.
The Third Universal Theory was an
attempt to establish a philosophical grounding, based on
Islam, for positive neutrality on the part of Third World
nations. Under the theory, Third World states could coexist
with the United States and the Soviet Union, and they could
enter into agreements with them for their own purposes. But
Third World states in general and Arab states in particular
should not fall under the dominance of either of the two
ideological, imperialist superpowers. In dividing the world
between the two superpowers and their supposed prey, the
Third Universal Theory anticipated much of what has come to
be called the North-South interpretation of international
relations, whereby the world is divided into
natural-resource-consuming nations (the industrialized
North) and the natural-resource-producing nations (the
underdeveloped South). Indeed, Qathafi has championed this
interpretation of international relations. Guided by this
viewpoint, Libya has been a strong supporter of national
liberation movements against colonial regimes, even though
the terrorist tactics used by some groups have tarnished
Libya's international reputation and led to economic
sanctions and to military attacks in mid-1986.
Central to the Third Universal
Theory are the concepts of religion and nationalism as
embodied in Islam. The leader of the revolution believes
that religion and nationalism have been the "two paramount
drives that moved forward the evolutionary process. They
constitute man's history as they have formed nations,
peoples, wars." In short, he shows how religion can
determine human actions and interactions.
The atheism of the communists is
another reason the leader of the revolution finds their
ideology invalid. According to Qathafi, communists cannot be
trusted because they fear no ultimate judgment and thus may
break their word if they consider it beneficial in any
particular case. Islam, as the essence of monotheism, is the
true religion that encompasses Jews, Christians, and
Muslims, all of whom followed God's prophets. The
differences among these religions exist not because of the
prophets' teachings but because of differences among their
followers.
If religion is basic to the
individual, nationalism is basic to the society. The Quran
refers to tribes and nations that are inherent in the
universe. A person belongs to a nationality upon birth. Only
later does he or she become a conscious member of a
religion. Thus, Qathafi faults those who deny the validity
of nationality. His concept of nationality, therefore,
relates to his concept of Arab unity.
In this regard, Qathafi adheres
to the traditional, secularly based view of Arab nationalism
propounded by such thinkers as Michel Aflaq, a founder and
key political philosopher of the Baath Party, and Nasser.
For Qathafi, nationalism takes precedence over religion. In
a wide-ranging speech before the GPC meeting in Sebha on
March 2, 1987, Colonel Muammar Qathafi denounced Islamic
fundamentalism as "nonsense" and stated that "no banner
should be hoisted over the Arab homeland except the banner
of pan-Arabism."
Data as of 1987 |
