If this quote is real, I feel like Gaddafi is trying to say that “Ruling in the name of religion” i.e. a theocracy will never work and will only lead to discontent, contradictions, and problems.
So basically, “Keep the state absolutely secular”, there is no place for religion in policy making, moral argument, or dictating the lives of others. That’s why socialist states can only be secular. Not anti-religious as that will lead to the same problem as a theocracy but inverse, but instead secular in approach to the proletarian.
Didn’t Libya have some religious laws and policies? From what I read, while it was pretty secular compared to the rest of the region at the time, it did have some backward religious laws. Not trying to diminish the greatness of Gaddafi or socialist Libya, just stating.
If this quote is real, I feel like Gaddafi is trying to say that “Ruling in the name of religion” i.e. a theocracy will never work and will only lead to discontent, contradictions, and problems.
So basically, “Keep the state absolutely secular”, there is no place for religion in policy making, moral argument, or dictating the lives of others. That’s why socialist states can only be secular. Not anti-religious as that will lead to the same problem as a theocracy but inverse, but instead secular in approach to the proletarian.
this is exactly how I interpreted this quote
Didn’t Libya have some religious laws and policies? From what I read, while it was pretty secular compared to the rest of the region at the time, it did have some backward religious laws. Not trying to diminish the greatness of Gaddafi or socialist Libya, just stating.