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Tunisia: Islamic supremacist pro-Sharia party favored in coming elections

Sep 24, 2011 6:57 am By Robert Spencer

“It is impossible to find out where the campaign funds come from or what kind of society the party has in mind.” Then why is Nahda called in this article a “moderate Islamist” party? What is a “moderate Islamist,” anyway? They want “a democratic regime based on the values of Islam” — in what way will such a regime reject any part of Sharia? Islamic law, after all, including its denial of the freedom of speech and the freedom of conscience, and equality of rights for women, is “based on the values of Islam.”

When I started warning last winter that Islamic supremacists were in the best position to take advantage of the uprisings in Tunisia (and Egypt), I was enunciating a minority view. One commenter here at Jihad Watch asserted that “these revolts are spontaneous outbursts against the ruling elite. There is not one shred of evidence of any Islamist involvement.” Another’s scorn was intense: “You are taking advantage of the ignorance of your readers to spoon feed them this nonsense about jihad in tunisia [sic] while the Tunisian people are clamoring for democracy and freedom.”

These comments are indicative of a tendency: Islamic supremacists generally charge their opponents with “ignorance” and treat them with arrogance and contempt, even when those upon whom they are heaping contempt are correct, and even when the Islamic supremacists know that they are correct.

And so on this yet again: I tried to tell you.

“Mosque & State: Tunisia’s Moderate Islamist Party Is Favored In Next Month’s Vote,” by Julie Gommes for Le Temps/Worldcrunch, September 23:

TUNIS — At a meeting last week, Tunisia’s moderate Islamist party Nahda (Renaissance) outlined its policy proposals for next month’s parliamentary elections. Simultaneous translation headphones, staff hired specifically to answer every foreign journalists” whim: everything was aimed at improving the party”s image, as Tunisians voters prepare to vote next month. Indeed, Nahda is leading in the polls.

The party”s program, a mix of Turkey”s market-oriented Islamism and more traditional values, included such measures as economic reform, a new union of Arab countries and the reduction of women’s weekly working hours, so that they can “devote more time to their families.”

The gathering opened with the assembly chanting verses from the Koran and every speech began with “In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.” This probably won’t improve the party”s image in Tunis, a city that is increasingly Europeanized. But Nahda knows that it’s in villages that it will win seats for the Constituent Assembly. Therefore, the program underlines the importance of fishing and farming, but also stresses the need to raise low salaries and give more to poor families.

Besides outlining the party”s program, Nadha also wanted to emphasize its modernity: “Islamists have always been misunderstood. We only want to keep the most objective principles, like peace and science. Religion is between you and God,” confessed Mondher Ounissi, a doctor. Supporters have mastered a well-oiled speech. It is impossible to find out where the campaign funds come from or what kind of society the party has in mind.

Nahda’s president, Rashid Al-Ghannushi, learned the lessons of the revolution and now advocates “a participative society, a market-oriented economy supported by a new social contract.” He says he wants to build “a democratic regime based on the values of Islam.” Tunisians may be in for the long haul as there have been repeated talks of “extending the planned two presidential terms.”…

Not a word about headscarves

Riding the wave of fashionable themes — an independent judiciary system, a strong cooperation between the people and the state and above all, creating about 600,000 jobs — Nahda wants to create an Arab Maghreb Union to challenge the Union for the Mediterranean when it comes to dealing with Europe. The same goes for the economy: a “common North African market with our Libyan and Egyptian brothers,” coupled with investments that would contribute to “GDP growth.”

There was, however, no word on the Islamic headscarf or on polygamy (Tunisia is the region’s only country where men are allowed to marry only one woman). Rashid Al-Ghannushi only mentioned the decline in the number of divorces as a result of the decision to reduce women’s weekly working hours….

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Filed Under: Sharia, Tunisia


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