1.  Libya CIA Factbook
[By CIA THE WORLD FACTBOOK ]
The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks in the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not relinquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987.

2.  Religion in Libya
[By WIKIPEDIA]
By far the predominant religion in Libya is Islam with 97% of the population associating with the faith.[1] The vast majority of Libyan Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam, which provides both a spiritual guide for individuals and a keystone for government policy, but a minority (between 5 and 10%) adhere to Ibadism (a branch of Kharijism), above all in the Jebel Nefusa and the town of Zuwarah.
Mosque in Ghadames, close to the Tunisian and Algerian border. About 97% of Libyans are followers of Islam.

Other than the overwhelming majority of Sunni Muslims, there are also small Christian communities, composed exclusively of foreigners.

A general view of Tripoli

3.  Libya_Ottoman Legacy
[Todays Zaman , 7 October 2010/SAIM ORHAN ,TRIPOLI]

Tripoli -- Libya is a familiar place for Turks, as our ancestors ruled these lands for around 400 years. Its capital city, Tripoli, hosts a number of Ottoman works and relics and is full of mosques, minarets, hans and public baths. We are in the Green Square, or Saha al-Khadhra, which is the biggest and most famous square in the city.

Next to it is Assaraya al-Hamra, a palace from where Ottoman governors ruled Libya for several centuries. Libyans still love Turkey and the Turkish people even after so many years. We visit the palace, which is named al-Hamra, like the one in Granada, Spain. The interior of the palace is rather simple, but the place is still magnificent. The walls facing the courtyard are decorated with ceramic tiles.

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