海角大神

Clad in combat fatigues, Abdel Hakim Hasadi relaxes in the lobby of Derna鈥檚 opulent Pearl Hotel. The devout Muslim schoolteacher-turned-rebel commander is at ease with his emerging status as the leading figure in a city with a long and important history of Islamic piety.

But the rise of men like him is making Western officials uncomfortable. NATO Adm. James Stavridis warned last month of 鈥渇lickers鈥� of Al Qaeda in the uprising against Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, and a 2008 US diplomatic cable called the city of Derna a 鈥渨ellspring鈥� for anti-American fighters in Iraq.

Indeed, a strong current of Islamic fundamentalism runs through this Mediterranean city in Libya鈥檚 rebel-held east; many of its young men did go to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight US troops. And while Derna has a population of only 100,000, its influence extends throughout the country, giving the West pause about whether a post-Qaddafi Libya could be colored by Islamist fundamentalism.

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But many Libyans say this holy city will pose a threat only if Qaddafi is able to once again brutally suppress this uprising the way he did a smaller one in the late 1990s.

Mr. Hasadi dismisses the idea that Al Qaeda will somehow take root amid the Libyan unrest.

鈥淚 thought badly of the US before, that鈥檚 true,鈥� says Hasadi. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 changing now 鈥� they鈥檙e standing with us against Qaddafi.鈥�

He says jitters about pious fighters from Derna seeking to impose on Libya the harsh brand of Islamist rule favored by Al Qaeda just play into Qaddafi鈥檚 hands.

鈥淨addafi likes to try to make us out to be Al Qaeda, to discredit us,鈥� says Hasadi. 鈥淲hat do I want? Three basic rights: a constitution, freedom, justice. No more one-man rule. Is that what Al Qaeda wants? Really, having a beard and being a Muslim doesn鈥檛 make you Al Qaeda.鈥�

Extremists or not?

For the Libyan revolution鈥檚 rank and file, Islam is a central cultural fact of life. Fighters call themselves holy warriors and expect their reward to be heaven if they fall while fighting to oust Qaddafi. They also generally agree, when asked, that a future Libyan constitution should not violate stipulations of Islamic law.

But that doesn鈥檛 make them extremists, locals point out. In fact, it places them firmly in the mainstream of Libya and many other Arab countries.

Many in Libya do worry about Islamist militancy 鈥� but only if Qaddafi wins, not if he loses.

鈥淚f Qaddafi holds power and stamps out all legitimate political opposition, then many of the young might find Al Qaeda or things like that attractive,鈥� says Abdel Kader Kadura, a law professor at Garyounis University in the de facto rebel capital of Benghazi. 鈥淭hey will feel they have no choice, [other than] turning to that or giving up.鈥�

Indeed, many in Derna trace the city鈥檚 export of fighters to places like Iraq and Afghanistan back to Qaddafi鈥檚 repression, particularly in 1996, when tanks rolled into town to crush the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

鈥淚t started out with the Islamists in 1996. When you ignore people, oppress people, they turn to faith,鈥� says Ashour bin Taher, a liberal-leaning Derna native working with the rebel council in the city. 鈥淭he fighting was ugly and it lasted for months. And then Qaddafi just rounded up everyone. Islamists, liberals 鈥� it didn鈥檛 matter 鈥� you went to prison. That creates hatred.鈥�

A 2008 US diplomatic cable put its finger on the problem: 鈥淔rustration at the inability of eastern Libyans to effectively challenge Qaddafi鈥檚 regime, together with a concerted ideological campaign by returned Libyan fighters from earlier conflicts, have played important roles鈥� in turning locals to militancy, the US diplomat wrote. 鈥淥ne Libyan interlocutor likened young men in Derna to Bruce Willis鈥檚 character in the action picture 鈥�Die Hard,鈥� who stubbornly refused to die quietly. For them, resistance against coalition forces in Iraq is an important act of 鈥榡ihad鈥� and a last act of defiance against the Qaddafi regime.鈥�

City of resistance

Derna is deeply proud of its heritage of resistance 鈥� against the Phoenicians 1,400 years ago, against a US expeditionary force in 1804, against Italian colonialism in the 1920s, and later against Qaddafi.

It owes its history, in part, to its geography. About 800 miles east of Tripoli, it lies between Libya鈥檚 Green Mountains 鈥� historically a redoubt for rebels 鈥� and the Mediterranean Sea. The city鈥檚 founding myth is built around an expedition in the 7th century in which a small force of early Muslim companions of the prophet Muhammad came to wrest Derna from the hands of its Phoenician conquerors.

They were killed to the last man in the attempt, but the city鈥檚 main mosque is named for those early Muslim martyrs, and locals offer up their story freely when asked why they hate Qaddafi (though they also point out that he murdered and tortured residents more recently).

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As for Hasadi, he is equal measures amused and exasperated at reports he fought alongside Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, has plans to create an Islamic emirate in eastern Libya, or is now or has ever been a member of Al Qaeda. None of it is true, he says.

He calls the 9/11 attacks a 鈥渢ragedy鈥� and says, 鈥渨e completely reject attacks on civilians.鈥� But he supported Al Qaeda attacks on US troops in Iraq and in Afghanistan because, in his view, they were defending Muslims from US aggression. Now, he says, the standing of the United States has risen substantially in his eyes.

鈥淚t feels a little funny,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e all saw the [French] planes on Al Jazeera when they started [bombing Qaddafi鈥檚 positions weeks ago]. We were cheering them. We really have to thank [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy and Obama.鈥�

Hasadi鈥檚 reputation as a devout Muslim who sees in his faith a call to confront oppression 鈥� along with his aura of competence 鈥� is at the core of his support here. But, as he tells it, he was a reluctant exile and never fought overseas (many news reports have said he鈥檚 a 鈥渧eteran of fighting in Afghanistan鈥� without providing details).

He fled in the late 1990s, first to Sudan and Jordan, but quickly left both countries because they routinely arrested men wanted by Qaddafi and sent them back to Libya. He sought European visas, but couldn鈥檛 get one. So he ended up in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, he says, where he lived the quiet life of an Arabic teacher.

Hasadi denies training with Al Qaeda or the Taliban. 鈥淎ll my military training was here, when I was in the Army in 1982,鈥� he says. 鈥淔ighting against the US in Afghanistan? There was nothing for me to fight. All there were were airstrikes; I never saw a single American soldier. Then I left.

鈥淏efore, I was a peaceful man, I spoke my mind, but that was it. Qaddafi is the one who pushed me into the position of going to Afghanistan. He鈥檚 the one who made me a fighter now.鈥�

Today, he sees the US as standing with the Muslim community of Libya, and says he has no ambition beyond the defeat of Qaddafi. What about foreign jihad?

鈥淣o, why would I? I just want to live in my country and teach,鈥� he says. 鈥淧eople say the international community is after the oil? OK, take all of it. Just protect the people in return. The killing needs to be stopped.... That鈥檚 really all I want.鈥�