Libya

Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa and the 17th largest in the world. Its area is 694,983 square miles (1 mile = 1.609344 kilometers), all but 10% of which is desert.

[Page 711]An overwhelming number of Libyans are Sunnī Muslims. Overall, 97% are Muslims of one type or the other. Other religions are represented, including Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism. Christians are present from many other countries, although the majority of are Coptic Christians from Egypt (about 60,000 people). About 40,000 Roman Catholics bring with them a European background. There is a small population of Buddhists in Libya. There are about 38,000 Jews left, a number greatly reduced from the pre-1945 numbers. From 1945 until 1948, there was a concentrated attempt to kill the Jews ...