116 Coming Out and Coming Together revolution itself, described in the next chapter, remained complementary and largely unified for the duration of the fight. For Libyans, the Arab Spring not only prompted individuals to ally themselves under the banner of the revolutionary flag, but also enabled them convert all known preexisting diaspora groups and organizations in the United States and Britain to the cause (see Table 4.1). This not only empowered individuals to unite in new ways, but also allowed diaspora members to use previously “neutral” or apolitical “indigenous organizations” (McAdam 1999[1982]), that is, community associations and groups formed prior to the revolutions, as spaces for conationals to congregate. In this way, the Arab Spring transformed Libyan organizations into “mobilizing structures” for activism (McAdam et al. 1996), providing leaders with a base of support and collective resources for intervention at home. Although the NFSL and other groups formed in the 1970s and 1980s were no longer in operation just before the revolution, many of their participants immediately came to support the struggle. So too did Dr. Abdul Malek, founder of Libya Watch and representative of the Muslim Brotherhood from Manchester. He recalled that he and the Brotherhood came to ally with the revolution because of the regime’s severe response. When we went to the general meeting, which is the highest authority in the Ikhwan [Brotherhood], we expected something to happen on the seventeenth of February. The argument was over what to expect. Would we expect an outright revolution? Would we expect just some people to come out and then go home, or what? Our position at the end of the day was this: if something happens on the seventeenth, then we will have to wait for the response of the regime. If the regime uses brutal force and kills demonstrators, then we will go out right [away] with the revolution and there will be no going back. But if the regime backs away and allows these young people to vent their energy and their steam without an incident and without killing anyone, then the reform prospects that we are very keen on will continue. But obviously, the regime decided to act brutally against the uprising and started killing right away, and immediately we moved into the revolution mode. table 4.1. Libyan groups and organizations converted to the revolution and/or relief during the 2011 Arab Spring, as reported by respondents Diaspora Group/Organization Converted? USA Enough Gaddafi! Libyan Association of Southern California National Conference for the Libyan Oppositiona Yes Yes Yes Britain Libyan Muslim Brotherhooda Libya Watch Libyan Women’s Union National Conference for the Libyan Oppositiona Yes Yes Yes Yes a Denotes multinational membership. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009272148 Published online by Cambridge University Press