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Jamahiriya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jamahiriya (Arabic جماهيرية) is an Arabic term generally translated as "state of the masses." The term, a neologism coined by Muammar al-Qaddafi, is intended to be a generic term describing a type of state, like "republic" or "kingdom." In practice, the only state to which the term has ever been applied is Libya, of which Qaddafi is the de facto ruler. It is often left untranslated in English, with Libya's long-form name thus rendered as Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
The word jamāhīrīya was derived from jumhūrīya, which is the usual Arabic translation of the English republic. It was coined by changing the component jumhūr — "public" — to its plural form, jamāhīr — "the masses".
The Libyan government states that Libya is a direct democracy without political parties, governed by its populace through local councils. Because this system is ostensibly unique to Libya, the term jamahiriya was coined to describe it. Nevertheless, most observers consider the country a military dictatorship under the rule of Col. Qaddafi.