Head of one of the strongest units that defeated Moamer Kadhafi, Ismail Salabi has indirect links to a group recognised by Al-Qaeda and is a strong critic of Libya's new political leaders.
But he denies being an Islamist and says all he wants is a country of rights, justice and freedom where he can return to his former job as a trader.
The Benghazi commander of the February 17 Battalion is an outspoken critic of the National Transitional Council (NTC) working to rebuild Libya, confident of his power in a set-up that has no regular army or defence ministry.
"It was the revolutionaries who died at the front who liberated Libya, not the members of the NTC who were ministers under Kadhafi, some of whom have only spent a few hours in Libya in months," Salabi, 35, told AFP.
"That's why some seek to portray us as Islamists in an attempt to discredit us," he said.
"Like all Libyans we are Muslims and conservatives," he went on. "Western countries don't know our traditions and customs, so it's easy to instil fear by speaking of Islamists.
"But we are not Islamists."
Dressed in traditional Libyan garb of a white gown and an embroidered waistcoat, he cites French revolutionaries and the Prophet Mohamed in the same breath.
"Since the beginning of the revolution, we have been working with the West," he said. "If we were close to Al-Qaeda that would have been impossible. We want to build a new country, a country of human rights, justice and liberty."
The NTC has sought to quell fears of Al-Qaeda allies within its ranks, expressing support this week for Salabi's opposite number in Tripoli, Abdelhakim Belhaj.
According to France's Liberation newspaper, Belhaj was a founder of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), close to Al-Qaeda, and was arrested by the CIA before being handed over to Kadhafi in 2004.
Belhaj reportedly renounced violence while a prisoner and was released in March 2010, before joining this year's revolution.
"The Islamic Fighting Group was the first to launch a reformist movement in Libya," Salabi said.
"Its demands were exactly the same as those of the people (who) on February 17 called for a civil and not a military state, for respect for human rights and dialogue."
Salabi also spent time in Kadhafi's jails but is evasive about the reasons for his arrest.
"My older brothers were wanted for their political activities, but I was just a youngster who smoked and played football and wasn't interested in all their business," he said.
"Kadhafi's security people arrested me to put pressure on them, and I stayed in prison from 1997 to 2003," he added.
Salabi said he turned to religion in jail but remained independent and did not join any Islamist group. And if any of his men belonged to the LIFG, that was a personal choice.
Although he does not mince his words in talking of the NTC, Salabi stressed that he was working for the new authorities "in total transparency."
But he avoids answering questions on the role he might play in a new Libya "with elected representatives who consult the people," saying all he wants is to get his civilian job back.
NTC military spokesmen are quick to deny that extremist elements are rife in Libya.
"We are moderate Muslims. Those who make out that terrorist and fundamentalist elements exist in Libya are not in touch with reality," Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani said in the the council's wartime capital of Benghazi.
"I do not rule out the presence of some extremist elements among the fighters, but you can't speak of Al-Qaeda-like groups like those operating in Afghanistan or Yemen," said overall deputy commander General Sliman Mahmud.
"In Libya, with its moderate society and solidarity, there's no risk of the emergence of extremist groups. In any case, the ballot boxes will have the final say," he told reporters.