For Gaddafi, ridding the country of foreign cultural and economic influences was part of correcting imperial injustices. Over time, languages other than Arabic disappeared from shop windows and restaurant menus, and bonfires blazed with books and Western musical instruments, recalling the practices of the right-wing leaders he so despised. A “Libya First” policy awarded all government contracts to Libyans and required that businesses be Libyan headed and 51 percent Libyan owned and staffed.
