AFRICA/LIBYA - "Libya has a tradition of a balanced Islam", said Mgr. Martinelli

Tripoli (Agenzia Fides) - "Libya has a tradition of being a balanced country, religious, and that has never been fundamentalist" says to Fides His Exc. Mgr. Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli. On 23 October, in Benghazi, the President of the Libyan Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, said that the Islamic law (Sharia) will form the basis of the legislative post-Qaddafi of Libya, causing alarm and confusion between different commentators. The Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, however, comments: "I interpret the reference to the Sharia law as the will to write a constitution that is to serve mankind through the religious principles of Islam. In this sense it can be a positive contribution to building the unity of the country". (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 27/10/2011)