(CNN) -- Dr. Abdulmonem Hresha knows first hand how Moammar Gadhafi's regime works. He says the seeds of his opposition were sown when he was age 10. He and classmates were taken to witness the public execution of a political opponent of Gadhafi. "They hung him up in front of thousands of small kids," Hresha said. "He did that to scare people." Hresha, who taught physics at Tripoli University, later fled to Canada. The prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood now lives in London, and anticipates the group could become an important player in a post-Gadhafi environment. As in Egypt and Tunisia, the Brotherhood in Libya has been energized by the sudden upheaval sweeping the Arab world.
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The Brotherhood in Libya is energized by the sudden upheaval sweeping the Arab world
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It says it has no organizational links with the Brotherhood elsewhere
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It is largely drawn from educated middle classes in Tripoli and Benghazi
In 1998, Gadhafi's security services launched a crackdown against the group that saw more than 200 members imprisoned and hundreds more forced into exile, including @placeholder.
But in the longer term, in a country where the political space has been dominated by @placeholder for more than 40 years, the Brotherhood's organization and nationwide presence may afford it an advantage.