Abstract

This article investigates the theoretical and practical connections Islam has had to the evolution of the Libyan polity. It inquires to what extent the role of Islam impacted Libyan politics and it severs the link between them, ranging from the establishment of the monarchy in 1951, through the "Jamahiriyya", to the post-2011 revolutionary period. By developing an attentive analysis of the diverse forms through which Islam was either mobilized or shaped by the various regimes, it shows that there never was enough room for the implementation of an idea of radical Islamic state in Libya society.