Libya’s national assembly voted on Wednesday to make Islamic law, or sharia, the source of all legislation, in an apparent bid by moderate Islamists to outflank ultra-conservative militants who have been gaining influence.So to head off the Islamists, the "moderates" decide to embrace Islamism.
...[L]awmakers suggested at least part of the reason for the statement from the General National Congress (GNC) was political.
As in Tunisia and Egypt, where autocratic leaders were also ousted in the Arab Spring revolts, Libya has seen fierce debate over the role of Islam in its new democracy with the rise of ultraconservative Islamists long suppressed by Qaddafi.
The hardline group Ansar al-Sharia, blamed for the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, has been attempting to extend its influence, and has accused some assembly members of being un-Islamic. Its militants have clashed with the armed forces in the east of the country.
And we all know how easily ultra-militant jihadist hardliners are appeased by things like this.
The constitutions of other Arab countries that are not yet Islamist would generally say something like Sharia is a main source of legislation, not the only source.