New Libyan Leader Declares Islamic State, Sharia Law to Be Enforced

Libya's new leader declared his country's liberation Sunday and set out plans for the future with an Islamist tone. In a televised address, transitional leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil declared his nation will adopt Sharia law as the basis of government, and immediately announced the canceling of all bank loans in violation of such law. The announcement may prove a serious setback for the Obama administration, which had promised support for a post-Gadhafi democratic Libya.

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Libya's transitional leader declared his country's liberation Sunday after an 8-month civil war and set out plans for the future with an Islamist tone. The announcement was clouded, however, by international pressure to explain how ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi had been captured alive days earlier, then ended up dead from a gunshot to his head shortly afterward.

Gadhafi's death in circumstances that are still unclear, and the gruesome spectacle of his body laid out as a trophy in a commercial freezer and on public view, are testing the new Libyan leaders' commitment to the rule of law. Even at the ceremony to declare liberation, a couple speakers in positions of authority essentially said Gadhafi got what he deserved.

But transitional government leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, who made the keynote speech, did not mention the events surrounding Gadhafi's end and called on his people to eschew hatred.

"You should only embrace honesty, patience, and mercy," Abdul-Jalil told the crowd at the declaration ceremony in the eastern city of Benghazi, the birthplace of the uprising against Gadhafi. He urged Libyans to reconcile their differences.

And he laid out a vision for the post-Gadhafi future with an Islamist tint, saying Islamic Sharia law would be the "basic source" of legislation and existing laws that contradict the teachings of Islam would be nullified. In a gesture that showed his own piety, he urged Libyans not to express their joy by firing guns in the air, but rather to chant "Allahu Akbar," or God is Great. He then stepped aside from the podium and knelt to offer a brief prayer of thanks.

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