Magharebia

The Monday bomb attack on Derna's historic Sahaba Mosque prompted Libyans to rally against extremism, a local journalist said on Tuesday (July 10th).

"Citizens staged an angry march to condemn this barbaric act," Derna reporter Adil Boujeldin said. "They cleaned the place, and began repair and construction work."

According to a source in the High Security Committee, highly destructive explosives were used in the blast. Sahaba Mosque is one of the most important Islamic landmarks in Derna. Its 13 shrines include the tomb of Prophet's Companion Zuhayr Ibn Qais Al-Balawi, which was destroyed in the early-morning explosion.

The local population blamed the bombing on salafists, who had refused to pray in the mosque because of the tomb.

Fateh al-Khashmi, editor of Quryna daily, wrote on his Facebook page: "Hasn't Derna, the gem of Green Mountain, had enough? O, damn you, saboteurs!"

"What happened in Derna doesn't have anything to do with Islam," said Tarik al-Houni, a media activist from Benghazi. "All Derna residents are quite resentful of what has happened," he told Magharebia.

Journalist Souad Nasr said: "When ideology turns into a terrorist policy that sows fear and tension, society, people turn against that ideology."

"Our Libyan society doesn't encourage terrorism in any form, especially blowing up mosques and shrines of Prophet's Companions!" Nasr added.