Breeding terrorists… a systematic Brotherhood-style takeover of educational institutions in western Libya

The takeover of a secondary school in Libya by the Fatwa House affiliated with the mufti of extremist groups, Sadeq Al-Ghariani, has sparked a wave of public anger, amid warnings about the use of educational institutions to spread an extremist ideological discourse under the guise of education.

Without prior notice, residents of the Al-Fernaj district in Tripoli were surprised to see the girls’ secondary school — whose construction took nearly four years — transformed from a public educational project into an entity affiliated with what is known as the “Imam Malik Schools,” linked to the Fatwa House.

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The school, established to ease pressure on educational institutions in the area and serve hundreds of students, suddenly fell outside the supervision of the Ministry of Education and came under the authority of a controversial religious body, which residents described as a “clear usurpation of the right to public education.”

The building, located behind the “Al-Khulafa” mosque and near a residential complex for female students, was supposed to represent a vital educational outlet for local residents. However, the decision to repurpose it deprived hundreds of students of access to free public education and redirected them toward an alternative educational system based on specific ideological orientations.

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Observers believe that this step represents a dangerous shift in the management of educational institutions, particularly in light of the absence of state oversight and the decline of its regulatory role.

These developments, according to observers, deepen Libya’s state-building crisis and weaken the prospects for a stable political settlement, amid the growing influence of unofficial forces within vital sectors, foremost among them education.

“A factory for terrorism”

The incident does not appear to be isolated but rather part of a broader pattern of activity by the Fatwa House within the education sector, especially following previous meetings between Al-Ghariani and officials in higher education aimed at integrating ideological perspectives into curricula.

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In this context, researcher on extremist groups Mohamed Yousri warned of the dangers of the continuation of this phenomenon. He said that the ongoing control of schools and religious colleges by extremist organizations aims to ensure the wide spread of Muslim Brotherhood ideology through graduates who later assume government positions.

Yousri added: “Al-Ghariani, known for his constant incitement against Libya’s stability, is attempting to ‘Brotherhood-ize’ Libyan society from the grassroots to the top, exploiting the political chaos that has afflicted the country for more than fifteen years.”

He stressed that the disregard by the executive authorities in Tripoli of what he described as the “nationalization of public schools” in favor of ideological entities could lead to serious long-term consequences, explaining that “the continued silence of the executive authorities will inevitably lead to the emergence of a generation not integrated into the civil state and whose loyalty lies with ideological organizations rather than the homeland.”

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