Ennahdha Movement.. From the establishments, the power then failure and splits

The Times ArabiaDecember 10, 2021

273 11 minutes read

Islamic Political in Tunisia went through many historical periods, ranging from underground work to go public, direct confrontation, arrests, getting-away from the country, and returning to Tunisia after 2011, which is the return of Political conflict in the country and the splits.

Ennahdha, the historic movement representing the Islamist movement in Tunisia, was founded in 1972 and officially declared itself on June 6, 1981. It wasn’t until 2011 that President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali left the country following the outbreak of the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution in December 2010 that Ennahdha was recognized as a political party in the country.

In its Basic Law, it presents itself as a national party with an Islamic authority, acting within the framework of the Constitution and in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 87 of 24 September 2011, on political parties, and within the framework of the republican system, to contribute building a modern democratic and prosperous Tunisia.

Who founded it? What are the reasons for its establishment? What are its most prominent stops?

“Before answering these questions, it should be noted that Ennahdha was called by several names in the past, first the Islamic Movement before its founding conference in 1972, and then the title of the Islamic Group according to the Brotherhood movement in Egypt, and then the Islamic Trend Movement, until it became the party of Ennahdha after the Tunisian revolution in 2011 that toppled Ben Ali”.

I. Pre-establishment:

In a book published by Abdullah Al-Amami, entitled “Ennahdha..Terrorist organizations in the Islamic world”, says that during the 1960s Tunisia witnessed radical societal changes, and Zitouna education gradually began to stop. It spread to the capital to include the Ibn Rushd Institute for Modern Zitouna Education, and with it the Ibn Sharaf Institute for Traditional Zitouna Education. Some of the sheikh of Zitouna Mosque, who had volunteer circles to educate people about their religion, felt the need to intensify their efforts. Sheikh Ahmed Ben Milad was thus an episode for young people, including Abdelfattah Mourou, who personally joined him to form a circle in the Hammouda-Pacha Mosque and then the Al-Yusufi Mosque

In 1969, two important events took place, in preparation for the establishment of the Islamic Movement in Tunisia (Ennahdha Party). The first was the emergence of a religious association led by Sheikh Habib Al-Moustawi, to form the Association for the Preservation of the Holy Quran. The second was the return of Rached Ghannouchi from his year-long stay in the Arab Mashriq in Cairo and several years in Damascus, Syria. The two personalities coexisted for three years, working with different goals and intentions. The Ghanouchi’s ambition was to become the leader of the religious wing in Tunisia. Together, they formed an alliance aimed at participating in political action with the aim of internal reform.

Based on this principle, Al-Moustawi tried to employ the Ghannouchi and Mourou groups, giving them legitimacy to spread their advocacy activity as representatives of the Assembly. They started touring Tunisia with preachers and forming a network of sympathizers. The feet of the duo began to take root when Mourou was promoted to member of the Association’s governing body, while Ghannouchi was assigned a member of the Tunis Regional Office in 1971.

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II. Establishment of the Islamic Movement:

In April 1972, the founding conference of the so-called Islamic Movement was held in Tunisia. It was called the 40th conference, because it consisted of 40 people who were chosen by Rached Ghannouchi (Professor of Philosophy) to make them the nucleus for the establishment of his movement. This was the beginning of a series saturated with conspiracy, violence, and intellectual and material terrorism by Ghannouchi and Mourou.

The founding conference came up with several decisions, the first was the identity of the movement and that it was a local expression of the international movement of the Muslim Brotherhood based in Egypt. Allegiance was arranged for the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ḥasan al-Huḍaibī, who remained in office until 1973. Indeed, allegiance was given in Saudi Arabia during the conference that brought together the group’s 40 members in Tunisia in al-Huḍaibī during the pilgrimage season.

The second decision of the Conference was structuring, whereby members were able to form their own group in a much disciplined manner through the recommendations of the Conference to establish institutions for the Movement: The movement’s Shura Council, an executive council, and the emirate’s plan, which represented the top of the pyramid and went to Rached Ghannouchi.

The Emirate is a term derived from the military commanders, who were ordered by the Holy Prophet to obey them. The Emirate within the Brotherhood means activist groups affiliated with the secret wing of the Brotherhood to carry out a movement work under the leadership of the Supreme Guide, who must be Egyptian according to the Brotherhood’s law. The implementation will be supervised by the heads of the Brotherhood in other countries, in accordance with the principle of obedience and hearing.

III. From Secrecy to Public:

Initially, the movement was restricted to the intellectual and advocacy aspect of mosques, and it received positive interaction from the Constitutional Socialist Party, the only party in the Tunisian political arena, in order to counter the activity of the left, which was dominant in the opposition at the time.

In 1974, members of the movement were allowed to publish the Journal which called “The Knowledge”, and became the actual platform for its ideas.

In an article in the journal, Ghannouchi identified himself as a student of three preachers; Hassan el-Banna, founder of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Imam A’la Maududi in Pakistan, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that the major trends in the contemporary Islamic movement are the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Group in Pakistan, and the Islamic Movement in Iran. As for the remaining Islamic trends, they are more or less dependent on one of these major trends.

Talking about the leaders of these movements, Ghannouchi added: I hesitate to present them because of the embarrassment I feel in front of the evaluation of those men and experts, of whom I am only a small student.

Regarding the Islamic Caliphate and the coup trends, he said: The Caliphate has now fallen, and legitimacy has fallen. Therefore, the reformist position is no longer enough.

IV. Change movement name:

In August 1979, the founding conference of the Islamic Organization was secretly established, and its organic law, on the basis of which the organization was structured, was ratified.

At its second congress in 1981, which was also secret, it was agreed to go public and change the name of Islamic group to Movement of Islamic Orientation. The founding of the movement was officially announced on June 6, 1981, and a formal request was made for a legal license for the movement.

After July 1981, the movement’s top leaders were arrested for belonging to an unauthorized association. Rached Ghannouchi and Abdelfattah Mourou were sentenced to 10 years in prison, but were released in 1983 and 1984.

The movement’s witnessed little improvement regarding the authority relatively in a way that allowed in 1985, to establish the Tunisian General Union of Students, but it soon experienced crisis after the dismissal of Mzali in July 1986.

The movement was accused of receiving funding from Iran and being involved in the bombings that targeted four hotels in the Sahel. Mourou sought refuge in Saudi Arabia. Ghannouchi was arrested in March 1987 and sentenced to hard labor for life.

Having benefited from the coup d’état of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali against President Bourguiba on November 7, 1987, most of its members were released, and on November 7, 1988, it signed with other parties the National Pact that President Ben Ali called for as a platform for organizing political action.

“In early 1989, Ghannouchi applied for the Islamist movement to become legal, but the request was rejected, the situation became tense and Ghannouchi left for Algeria on 28 May of the same year“.

Tensions escalated to a level of confrontation, where the government announced in May 1991, when the then Minister of Interior Abdallah Kallel declared an abortive attempt by Ennahdha coup against the Ben Ali regime, the Ministry of the Interior continued a massive campaign of arrests and prosecutions for endangering the security of the leaders and supporters of Ennahdha movement. On August 1992, a military court sentenced 256 leaders and members of the movement to life imprisonment; some of its leaders emigrated to the West and settled there for many years, like Ghannouchi, who had sought political asylum in Britain, and spent nearly 20 years in London.

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V. Taking advantage of the Tunisian Revolution:

Like Islamic political groups in many Arab countries, Ennahdha exploited the wave of “the Arab Spring” and the Tunisian revolution that toppled the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 to overthrow the regime by any means, taking advantage of the innocence of the revolutions naivety and then practicing their exclusion for all, whether through electoral games that it showed it were good at, or through force and horrific crimes.

“Indeed, Ghannouchi returned to Tunisia from London, and Ennahdha was recognized as a legal political party in the country, forming part of all parliaments and most governments since the 2011 revolution, but its presence declined, with its parliamentary representation moving from 89 in 2011 to 53 (out of 217) in the 2019 legislative elections”.

The movement’s 10th Congress, held in late May 2016, represented a qualitative leap in its intellectual and political path. The Ennahdha Consultative Council decided to separate the political work of the party from advocacy activities. Ghannouchi confirmed that Ennahdha had turned into a party that works solely in the political field, leaving the advocacy of civil societies behind.

VI. Presidents of the Movement since its establishment:

The movement’s leadership, with all its different names, was rotated by about 13 leaders. The longest period was Ghannouchi, who headed it from 1972 to December 1980, then briefly from April 1981 to July 1981, from December 1984 to March 1987, and from November 1991 to today.

The other leaders are; Abdul Raouf Boulaabi, Fadel Al-Baladi, Hamadi Jebali, Salah Karker, Jamal Al-Awy, Mohammed Al-Qalawi, Sadok Chourou, Mohammed Al-Akrout, Mohammed Ben Salem, Habib Ellouze, Noureddine Arbaoui, and Walid Bennani.

VII. Ennahdha movement period’s rule:

The movement failed to fulfill any electoral promises during its rule, or during its period’s authority. The country’s economic, political, and social crises continued, as well as the corruption of institutions, penetration of the judiciary, and violence against opponents.

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VIII. Ennahdha Crimes:

The Tunisian Ennahdha movement also committed its crimes through a secret apparatus and militias that did not shy away from bloodshed, despite raising religious slogans. The movement still maintains two organizations: One is a normal administrative structure, and another is a parallel one that includes an intelligence service and a military apparatus that is closely, organically, and directly connected to Ghannouchi. This apparatus is responsible for the crimes they commit, which will not be subject to any statute of limitations, in addition to clear political crimes, for which the Tunisian people will hold them accountable.

1. Hotels bombings in Sousse and Monastir:

The period of the mid-1980s witnessed a growth in activity and an intensification of the conflict with authority, during the period’s power of Habib Bourguiba. Tunisia was shaken with the explosion of four hotels in Sousse and Monastir on the Tunisian coast (1987), which claimed the lives of 13 tourists. The Tunisian state paid financial compensation to the families of the victims. This incident represented a strong blow to Tunisian tourism, the vital nerve of the economy.

Former Ennahdha leader Sahabi al-Omari accused former Prime Minister and former Secretary-General Hamadi Jebali of being behind the bombings, saying that Hamadi Jebali, who planned the attack at the behest of Ennahdha’s military wing, planned it.

The judge Farhat Rajhi, who took charge of the trial of the suspects in this bombing, said that the involvement of the Islamists in the operation is clear, and with the explicit confessions of the seven suspects, confirming that the Ben Ali regime did not interfere in this file, and that the sentences were relatively harsh, compared to the size of the terrorist operation, which was maximum 20 years in prison.

2. Burning of the assembly headquarters in Bab Souika:

On 17 February 1991, a group of persons belonging to the movement burned down a headquarters of the Constitutional Democratic Rally in Bab Souika in the center of the capital, killing one of its guards and injuring another.

3. Political assassinations:

“During the period of the rule of Ennahdha movement, the secretary general of the Unified Democratic Patriots Party, Chokri Belaïd, 48, was assassinated on 6 February 2013”. “The country was barely relieved by the horror of the first assassination, only to be shaken by a second assassination, targeting Mohamed Brahmi of the Popular Current Party, on 25 July 2013 (Republic Day), the judiciary later formally charged Mustafa Khadr, the supervisor of Ennahdha’s secret service, and arrested him on 5 June 2020”.

4. The black history of Ghannouchi:

In a book written by the Tunisian Chokri Mabkhout, entitled ‘’The history of atonement in Tunisia, the sons of Bourguiba’’, says that Ghannouchi has previously been involved in terrorist acts, the most important black points in his file as the head of the Ennahdha Movement of Brotherhood. He mentioned that he had previously faced charges in his trials, the most important of which was the burning of several educational centers and the kidnapping of officials in Tunisia, but he returned to the scene through protests and political activity after 1985.

Ennahdha is also prosecuting many charges, such as rigging elections, contracting an American lobby company since 2014 to polish its image, as confirmed by the report of the Court of Accounts, which is the highest judicial body in Tunisia, as well as administrative and financial corruption cases.

“The movement’s crimes crossed borders into regional states, especially Libya, which fell prey to Turkish ambitions and Turkish-facilitated goals, and opened the country as corridors for the transfer of arms and mercenaries into Libya”.

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IX. Internal and external failure:

The movement is struggling to maintain its organizational cohesion and survival. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of its members have submitted their resignations over the past months, including first-tier leaders such as Abdellatif Mekki, Samir Dilou, and Mohamed Bin Salem, as well as members of the frozen parliament such as Jamila Al-Kasiksi, Toumi Hamrouni, Rabab Al-Latif, and Nusseiba Ben Ali, in addition to a number of members of the National Constituent Assembly such as Amal Azzouz, some members of the National Consultative Council, regional councils and regional and local offices.

The stated and unstated reasons for these resignations are:

1. Failure of internal reform:

In their resignation statement, Ennahdha members and leaders noted that one of the main reasons for their resignation was the failure to reform the movement’s internal structure, and the acknowledgement that the current leadership was responsible for the movement’s isolation.

2. Generational conflict:

“The younger generations within Ennahdha are outraged, accusing the party’s leadership, led by Ghannouchi, of failing and negligence, arguing that Tunisia’s national interests should prevail over the narrow accounts of the movement’s leadership, but Ghannouchi has not heeded these requests”.

3. Lack of ideological and political cohesion:

Contrary to what Ennahdha leaders propagate, the movement suffers from major ideological and political differences, which were revealed by the movement’s former vice president, Abdelfattah Mourou, in an interview with lemaghreb newspaper on August 27, 2011, in which he categorized Islamists within the movement into three categories: