Tunisian Seculars Claim Victory Over Islamist Ennahda Party In Elections

According to exit polls and Nida Tunis (Tunisia's Call)- Tunisia's secular coalition may have won more parliamentary votes than the Ennahda party- the Islamists who won a majority post Arab Spring.

Votes are still being counted, and the results will not be known until Wednesday, but Tunisia's are voting for 217 members of parliament, and a prime minister.

Beji Caid Essebsi, the 87-year-old leader of Nida Tunis, said soon after polls closed that “there are positive signs we may be first” with a large margin of seats.

His prediction was backed by exit polls conducted by the private Tunisia-based Sigma Conseil institute, which gave his party 37 percent of the 217-seat body, with just 26 percent to Ennahda.

“Based on our observations, we are optimistic,” said Yusra Ghannouchi, a party spokeswoman, who described the Nida Tunis announcement as “irresponsible.”

Good news for Tunisia, if the votes do turn out in Nida Tunis' favor. However, they are predicting a unity government.

Ennahda (which ruled the roost post Arab Spring) seems to have learned its lesson, after they were forced to step down for trying to Islamize the country, and two secular leaders were murdered.

The rest here.

Head of Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda Wants Blogger Who Exposed His Son-In-Law's Affair Flogged

The daddy-in-law of Tunisia's Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem, whose embezzlement of public funds and extramarital affair were exposed by a female blogger, wants those charged with slander flogged. In other words, flog that blogger. Daddy-in-law also happens to be Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the Islamist Ennahda Party that now rules Tunisia with an overwhelming majority, so he could get his way.

The Islamist leader said during a Friday sermon that the content published by Tunisian blogger Olfa Riahi reflects “values of hypocrites” punishable according to the Shariah law.

Female blogger Riahi had published what she said were authentic documents accusing Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem of having paid for nights he spent with a woman in Sheraton hotel from the government’s coffers.

Riahi said the hotel receipts and billing information she obtained beat the names of the minister and his alleged mistress. In an interview with alchourouk.com, Riahi said it took her two and half months to verify the authenticity of the documents and trace the bill payments.

“I have the bank account of the foreign ministry and I am certain the documents are authentic,” calling on the authorities to open a probe into the “scandal.”

The minister appeared in the state television dismissing the allegations as part of a plot against his Islamist government. He said he expects similar accusations to be leveled against other ministers.

But he admitted staying at the Sheraton hotel “because he does not own a house in the capital and because the hotel was near his office.” He also admitted that the woman mentioned in Riahi’s documents was true, but said she was a “relative” who came to see him at the hotel.

Mondir Thabet, a Tunisian political analyst said Ghannouchi’s statement was a rejection of the country’s civilian status and “a clear call for imposing Shariah.”

Ziad Krichan, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper “al-Maghrib” said Ghannouchi’s call reflects the Islamists unable to separate religion from politics.

Of course, the first thing Islamists do is claim that any accusations of corruption are just evil plots to defame their party, whereas it turns out their pious posteriors are simply just as corrupt as other politicians.

Islamists Caught With Their Pants Down

For all their so-called piousness conservative Islamist politicians are just as likely to stray from the moral path as say their conservative Christian counterparts. We've had our share of Christian political conservatives who have been caught with their pants down, so to speak, but so have Muslims.

There's the Egyptian cleric and MP for the uber conservative Salafi Al Nour Party, Ali Wanis, who was caught with his 19-year old girlfriend in a car "engaged in an indecent act." Now that might seem harmless to a Westerner, but in Islam it's forbidden to have sexual relations prior to marriage. And from the same political party, there's Anwar al-Balkimi (or Balkimy) aka the "nose job MP" who lied about getting a nose job because it's not allowed in Islam. He also apparently secretly married a famous belly dancer, Sama al-Masri, while still married to another woman. Again, polygamy is allowed in Islam, the problem is he didn't tell Sama, and no-one knew they were married, probably because she's definitely not conservative. When Sama discovered the truth about al-Balkimi she filed for divorce, which was how the rest of Egypt found out.

Now the latest Islamist scandal comes out of Tunisia.

Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem, from the ruling Islamist Ennahda party, has found himself at the center of an embarrassing scandal following accusations of public money embezzlement and involvement in an extramarital affair.

According to documents published by Tunisian journalist and blogger, Olfa Riahi, the Islamist minister spent several nights at the Sheraton hotel in Tunis with a woman and paid for his stay from the government’s coffers.

Riahi she obtained the receipt and the billing information bearing names of the minister and his alleged mistress. In an interview with alchourouk.com, Riahi said it took her two and half months to verify the authenticity of the documents and trace the bill payments.

“I have the bank account of the foreign ministry and I am certain the documents are authentic,” calling on the authorities to open a probe into the “scandal.”

The minister appeared in the state television dismissing the allegations as part of a plot against his Islamist government. He said he expects similar accusations to be leveled against other ministers.

But he admitted staying at the Sheraton hotel “because he does not own a house in the capital and because the hotel was near his office.” He also admitted that the woman mentioned in Riahi’s documents was true, but said she was a “relative” who came to see him at the hotel.

Naturally they've all denied any wrongdoing, blaming the accusations on plots to bring down the Islamists. Wanis claimed he was just wiping his sick girlfriend's face, and al-Balkimi claimed he didn't even know Sama.

If you are going to claim moral superiority, make sure you live up to it, otherwise you're just a hypocrite, like these men.

Tunisian Cleric Denies Calling For Wiping Out The Jews

Sheikh Ahmad Al-Suhayli, the Tunisian cleric who called for wiping out the Jews in a sermon which was broadcast on Hannibal TV denies he said any such thing. Nope. He was not talking about killing them all. Not at all calling on killing Tunisian Jews. He was only talking about:

"...a sect of Jews that was mentioned in the Quran." "I was talking about their digression from the path and laws of Allah, and their distortion of his words."

I guess it matters not to Suhayli that since they were NOT Muslims, they had every right to digress from those laws and path. And because they were naughty Jews they deserved what they got, back in the day.

"That sect, mentioned in Quran, justly earned the wrath and punishments of Allah." [for killing some Muslim prophets] "These are Quranic facts. These are the words of Allah."

Referring to that evil Jewish sect that he claims still exists in Palestine:

"These are the extremist racist Zionists, who have been killing and slaughtering the Palestinian people for decades.  They have occupied their lands and trampled their honor.  Everybody in the world knows this."

"Then I called upon the Islamic nation to assume its responsibility regarding these continuous attacks." "I absolutely did not call to kill the Jews- I did not call to kill them all. Obviously, some among them are peaceful."

I would venture to say that he believes that those "Zionist Jews" are fair game.

Then he talks about anti-Zionist Jews, probably referring to the wacko, self-loathing Jews  Neturei Karta (who also happen to be holocaust deniers of sorts), and  how in Islam, Muslims are not allowed to harm non-Muslims (even though they do) because:

"Islam is a religion that preaches tolerance and non-violence." 

And yes it is, for some.  Canadian Tarek Fateh comes to mind.


Of course Suhayli's backtracking has more to do with the lawsuit filed against him by a group in Tunisia that advocates for minorities, and the Facebook page "Ennahda Made Me Hate Islam."  He was horrified to find his photo posted along with comments like: "Tunisian criminal of jahili origins calls to kill our Jewish Tunisian people."

No Blasphemy Law For Tunisia's New Constitution

Tunisia might be ruled by a majority Islamist parliament now, but they're not getting they're blasphemy law written into the new constitution, at least for now. That's one for the good guys.

Mustapha Ben Jaafar, the speaker of the National Constituent Assembly said:

“There will certainly be no criminalization."

“That is not because we have agreed to (allow) attacks on the sacred, but because the sacred is something very, very difficult to define.”

That means no long prison terms for someone accused of blasphemy. Or death, if you happen to live in Pakistan.

However, you can bet the Islamists will continue to attempt to Islamize Tunisia, a once secular country under dictator Ben Ali, but the secularists will fight back. In fact, the media and secularists have been instrumental in ensuring that the blasphemy clause does not make it into the constitution. Surprisingly, Ennahda has agreed to it. Surprising, because it has strongly advocated a global ban on blaspheming, ramped up after the violent protests in response to the anti-Islam film.

Jaafar, whose leftist party Ettakatol is part of the ruling coalition said:

“Sometimes we hold talks within the troika (three-party ruling coalition) and we feel that they (Ennahda) are prepared to let their opinions develop, to move the lines a bit.”

Jaafar, a strong proponent of freedom of expression said:

“There is a fundamental achievement of the revolution that should never be called into question, and that no one should be able to challenge, which is the freedom of expression and of the press.”

I wish them luck fending off the creeping Islamization of their country.

Tunisian Rape Victim Accused Of "Indecency" By Her Rapists

Tunisia, although secular and modern until the Islamists took power after the Arab Spring, was still a Muslim country, and women were therefore subject to mistreatment, as they often are under Islam. And, not surprisingly, they still are suffering at the hands of  a male chauvinist religious culture.

Take the 27-year-old woman who was in a car with her fiancé when the two were "apprehended" by several policemen. After demanding money and handcuffing the fiancé, they proceeded to rape the young woman in the back seat of the car. Now she's being hauled in to face a judge after the two reprobate rapists accused her of "indecency", and is therefore being victimized twice. Many think it is simply a tactic to intimidate the woman into dropping charges against the two police officers.

At least she has a lot of pissed off people advocating for her, including planned protests on the day the police have their court appearance.

Leading human rights, feminist groups and other prominent members of civil society have formed a committee evening to co-ordinate a campaign in support of the woman, including the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women and the Tunisian League of Human Rights.

Faïza Skandrani, the head of the Equality and Parity organisation, told Al Jazeera that the case was an important one for two reasons: it marked the first time a woman allegedly raped by the police had taken the case to court, and it was the first time the authorities were trying to publicly shame a woman into dropping such charges.

"The investigating judge is turning her from the victim to the accused, to help the police officers get away with it," she said. "I've heard about similar cases in Pakistan, but this is a first in Tunisia. Next they will be charging her with prostitution."

And activists have taken to social media to get their message out there, regarding planned protests.

A Facebook page supporting the protest called on Tunisian couple to bring signs saying "We love each other: Rape us!" More than 1,200 people had confirmed that they would be attending at the time of writing.

There are also calls for a nationwide "Women's strike" in the public sector on Tuesday.

Many Tunisians expressed their solidarity with the woman online, writing "Rape her then judge her" on the ministry’s Facebook page. The messages had been deleted at the time of writing.

Apparently, Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali's regime was equally oppressive when it came to women's rights, and some blame the current problems on the fact that the interior ministry has retained a bunch of Ben Ali's cronies with no efforts to reform or investigate the security forces, which have been blamed for rapes, torture and other abuses.  Nothing seems to have changed.

There have been many reports of police bullying ordinary citizens, including reports of them accusing women of prostitution in an attempt to solicite money.

Khaled Tarrouche, a spokesperson for the interior ministry, told the AFP news agency that the ministry "had nothing to do with" the proceedings against the young woman, emphasising that the decision to summon her was taken by the magistrate.

"In this case, we acted as was required of us. What had to be done was done, and the three police agents were arrested straight away," he said, insisting that cases of police assaulting women were "isolated".

"We shouldn't read into this anything organised, or generalised," he added.
"The police are also citizens first and foremost, and when they commit crimes, the law is applied unequivocally."

Faiza Skandrani, of the Equality and Parity organization, said

"This is a drop in the ocean of the problems we've been fighting.  Each time we close one door, they open another. The revolution was about freedom and democracy, not about undermining women's rights. They want to build a society where women can be used and treated like objects and where the man is always right."  

The woman also has an advocate in Karima Souid, an MP who belongs to Ettakatol, a centre-left party, that is part of the ruling coalition with the Islamist Ennahdha Party.

"I completely dissociate myself from this government. The rape case and the summoning of the victim this morning is the last straw," she wrote on Facebook.

Source:  Al Jazzeera 

Tunisian Islamist Organization Wants To Legalize Polygamy

Polygamy is illegal in Tunisia, but Tunisian Islamists want to change that because one wife just isn't enough. Besides, it's un-Islamic not to allow polygamy.

Adel Elmi, who is head honcho of what used to be the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, and is now called Tunisian Moderate Association for Awareness and Reform claims:

“Sanctioning polygamy is a popular demand now in Tunisia.”

The "moderate" in the organization's new name is a major joke, considering there is nothing moderate about wanting to establish shariah law in what used to be a somewhat secular country. A country that in the mid-1950s banned polygamy, outlawed forced marriages for underage girls, raised the marriage age to 17, and made it easier for women to divorce. But not only does he want to legalize polygamy, he wants any laws that are not Islamic in nature to be abolished.

The ruling Islamist Ennahda Party has promised women will not lose their rights, but Tunisian women's rights activists are very concerned, and with good reason, even though Elmi has said that the first wife will have "to approve before her husband is allowed to remarry”. How progressive is that.

According to Radia al-Nasrawi, a lawyer and activist, there is already a member of the Ennahda party that has bucked the polygamy ban by having two wives.

"He had a wife in Tunisia then married another in exile and brought her with him when he got back,” Nasrawi said.

Nasrawi added that the first wife filed a lawsuit against him with the court of Nabeul in northeastern Tunisia, but no measures have been taken against him so far.

We'll see whether Ennahda keeps its promise, or whether Tunisia becomes the Islamic Republic of Tunisia, down the road.

Tunisian Salafis Targeting "Un-Islamic" Cultural Events Worrisome

Angry Tunisian Islamists

Tunisia is taking a quick dive into Islamist hell.  I'm not sure what was expected when the people voted overwhelmingly for an Islamist leadership, but they're certainly getting what they voted for. Perhaps some were foolishly duped into thinking that they could trust the so-called 'moderate' Islamist Ennahda party's vows of moderate Islam; but guess what, it 'aint happening. The ultra-conservative bearded Salafis are flexing their muscles and the Islamist-led government is doing nothing to stop them.

It starts slowly, with little things like cultural events. Salafis destroyed art they believed to be offensive at an art exhibit/fair in June. And they're back targeting the arts again. This time it was the "un-Islamic" Bizerte music and theatre festival that was attacked by a bunch of Salafis bearing arms which left five people wounded. Four men were arrested, but people there said it took a good hour before the police did anything about the melee, and that the government isn't doing anything to control the Salafis thuggish behavior. And the attacks on culture have increased to the point that some producers are cancelling events.

Last week, the director of a festival at Gboullat, in the northern Beja region, announced he was cancelling the event under pressure notably from the Salafi -- adherents of a strict Sunni interpretation of Islam similar to the one practiced in Saudi Arabia.

Another festival had been cancelled at the end of July, in Sejnane, with the organizers again blaming radical Islamists, who interrupted the event, saying it was unacceptable during the month of Ramadan.

But the Bizert festival isn't the only event that has been targeted recently, in fact there have been a spate of attacks since the violent confrontation in June that left many wounded and one dead.

It was the third and most violent such incident in just three days, after Salafi prevented an Iranian group from performing at a Sufi music festival in Kairouan, south of Tunis, saying their Shiite chanting amounted to a violation of Islamic values.

On Tuesday, renowned Tunisian actor Lotfi Abdelli was prevented from performing his comedy act “100% Halal” by hardline Islamists who had occupied the auditorium.

The fact that the Salafis are allowed to wreak havoc and yet anti-government protests are quickly dealt with has some believing that the Ennahda are involved.

“They leave the Salafi alone,” said Tunisian actress and playwright Leila Toubel.

“How can we believe that this government and Ennahda are not involved? I would like to think that there is nothing to it, but these people (the Salafi) go unpunished, they make their own law,” Toubel said.

She accused the ruling Islamists of “complicity at least by silence.”

And some online media sites, like Kapitalis, feel the same way.

“What is serious about all this, more than the activism of these religious extremists, which grows by the day, is the laxity of the authorities who give in every time when faced with the diktats of some bearded fanatics."

Although the ministry of culture weighed in on the cancelled Abdelli show by saying it was an “attack on freedom of expression and a dangerous threat to cultural rights,” it's doubtful anything will be done; after all, an Islamist is an Islamist, whether they claim to be moderate or not.

It starts with the cultural events, and then eventually it will creep into other areas of life, until it is too late to do anything about it.

Tunisia's Islamist Government Wants Bikini-Clad Tourists

Tunisia needs tourism for its economy to thrive. 7 million people visited the world famous pristine beaches, desert and  historical/cultural sites in 2010, but only 5 million in 2011 after the Islamists overwhelmingly won control of the parliament. That's a loss of over one third of tourist dinars, and the Islamists are worried. So Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali (of the Ennahda Party) wants to reassure potential tourists that nothing will change under an Islamist leadership, and that they can bring their bikinis and suntanable bodies to his country with no problems.

“We will respect the traditions of our visitors in their food, and clothing and lifestyle,” Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said at a conference to promote tourism held on the island of Djerba, known for its white sandy beaches and luxury spas. "Unfortunately, some want to paint Tunisia as a jungle and sow fear of the Ennahda government but this does not reflect reality and the proof is that these critics speak freely."

He even allowed alcohol at the opening ceremony, just to prove he was sincere. But Ennahda has an obvious public relations problem considering most Islamists are not moderate (if there's such a thing), and most of us, when we think of Islamists, think of Sharia and all its ugly trappings. But Jebali wants the world (and his own people) to know that they have no intention of establishing Sharia law in Tunisia.

“We want to reassure everyone and even our own people that there is nothing to fear from freedom and democracy."

Of course, there are still hard-core Islamists who are fighting to impose Sharia, and will probably continue to do so until they get their way. But here's hoping those tourist dollars are important enough to stave off the total Islamization of Tunisia. 

Trouble In Tunisia- Police Clash With Islamist Extremists

Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in 2010 led to the rise of the Arab Spring.  The Arab Spring, in turn, has led to rise of the Islamist winter.  Back in Tunisia, the people are battling a small, but steadfast group of extremists who are determined to highjack the democratic movement, as they are attempting to do in all the other countries that managed to purge their nations of their autocratic/dictator leaders.

In Jandouba, according to a witness, Police were forced to use tear gas against a mob of Salafi hardliners who set fire to a police station.

“The security forces are chasing about 200 Salafists armed with swords and sticks after an exchange of petrol bombs and tear gas,” resident Omar Inoubli told Reuters by telephone from Jandouba, about 160 km (99 miles) west of the capital.

“These groups set fire to a police station .... (They) are broadcasting recordings through the loudspeakers of mosques calling for jihad (holy war).”

Apparently, the Islamists (who were banned under  former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime) have been flexing their muscles since his ouster.  This latest fight was precipitated after police nabbed a Salafist.

“The situation has become serious in the city, which has been living in a state of terror and fear because of Salafist groups seeking to impose a strict way of life,” another witness, a woman who did not want to be named, told Reuters.

One resident said the Salafis had threatened people drinking alcohol and slapped women wearing trousers or skirts.

Even though the so-called moderate Islamist Ennahda Party won a majority of seats in the last elections, and  heads a coalition government, apparently it is too afraid to ruffle the feathers of the ultra-conservative, albeit smaller, Salafists and is doing nothing to reign in their excesses.

The Salafists, who represent a small minority of Tunisians, have profited from the new freedoms. They have attacked brothels, bars and cinemas showing films they consider to be morally suspect, and staged protests to demand an end to mixed-gender classes at universities.

While many renounce violence, some have been linked to al-Qaeda’s north African branch.

Tunisians aren't sitting idly back and allowing their country to be taken over; they are protesting the rise of extremism in the country, and taking to the streets to show their anger, but will that be enough?  If Ennahda doesn't take a stronger stance in controlling the Salafists in their midst, Tunisians will lose the battle, unless that's what Ennahda actually wants.

Tunisians Take To The Streets To Protest Conservative Islam

Here's some promising news out of Tunisia. Some people there are not too happy about the turn of events since the Islamists took control of the government in October. It seems the uber-conservative Salafists are, like in Egypt, trying to see how far they can push the envelope, so to speak, and the moderate Islamist Ennahda party is not doing much to stop it.

So, the people are back on the streets, but this time it's not to demonstrate against former dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, it's to protest the Islamists. 

An AFP correspondent estimated several thousand activists, professors, artists and other demonstrators flooded the streets of the nation’s capital, including along Bourguiba Avenue, a well-known thoroughfare that became a center for dissent during protests that led to the ouster of dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali a year ago.

Some in Tunisia are angry by the growing influence of radical Islamists, known as Salafists, who have dominated headlines in recent weeks.

Police on Tuesday ended a weeks-long sit-in by Salafists at the university in Manouba, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Tunis. The Salafists were angry the university had banned the full-face Muslim veil, or niqab, over security concerns if students were concealed from head to toe.

Journalists have also suffered attacks at Salafist protests.

“We are here to speak out against aggression against journalists, activists and academics,” said Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, founder of the Democratic Progressive Party. “And to tell the government that Tunisians’ hard-fought freedoms must not be compromised.”

Sarah Kalthoum, a retired teacher in her 70s, said she was concerned by what she viewed as regressive ideas from Salafists.

“We spent our lives educating people, and now some want us to go back in time 14 centuries,” she said.

These people might have lived under autocratic rule for several decades, but at least the country was secular. The possibility, nay,  probability of their country turning religiously conservative- if they don't fight it now- is not appealing in the least. One woman  said of the growing problem,

“The grocer told me the other day, ‘I don’t like your jeans,’“ said Leila Katech, a retired anesthesiologist. “I told him I didn’t like his beard.”

Through this religious prism, “Everything becomes tougher: Going to see a gynaecologist, what to wear, how to talk,” Katech said.

According to Chebbi,  Ennahda just doesn't want to rock the boat when it comes to their more extremist brothers; they're "complacent", as he put it.  Which, of course, is the quickest way to lose control.  The Tunisian people are very smart to tackle the problem now, before it's too late. You cut that tumor out before it metastasizes.

Since Tunisia was the catalyst for the Arab Spring, perhaps those other countries who kicked out or killed their own dictators who are having their own Islamist troubles will do the same thing.

Thousands of Tunisians Protest Against Religious Extremism

I'm not sure what the Tunisian people expected when they voted for the Ennahda Party giving the so-called moderate Islamists a majority of parliamentary votes.  But you get what you vote for, though apparently there are those who are not very happy with what they got, and have once again taken to the streets.

Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Tunisia’s constituent assembly Thursday to protest against corruption, unemployment and religious fundamentalists.

According to AFP estimates, between 2,000 and 3,000 students, teachers, miners and others assembled outside the Bardo Palace, where Tunisian lawmakers are gathering to draft a new constitution.

The protest comes partly in response to ongoing demonstrations at a university outside the capital Tunis, where Islamists have been calling for women students to wear head scarves and gender segregation in classes.

University professors at the protest chanted "No to extremism" and “Hands off the teachers,” among other slogans.

Students held placards protesting headscarves, known locally as niqabs.

“Neither mini-skirts nor niqabs” and “If you want to wear the niqab, do it at home,” were among the messages spotted.

After decades of living under President Ben Ali's secular albeit dictatorial leadership, you'd think the Tunisians would  have taken advantage of driving on the road towards democracy by not voting for Islamists. But they dumped one form of oppressive/suppressive governance for another, which will eventually turn out to be far worse in the long run.  It has already started with the Salafists- the worst of the lot- who have started pushing the envelope of religious fundamentalism.  I'm sure the "moderates" won't be too far behind.

Hopefully, though, the people will be able to nip this thing in the bud, before it turns into another Iran.

Islamists Win Majority In Morocco- Is Egypt next?

Islamists are gaining in popularity in Muslim-majority North African countries.  The Ennahda Party won a majority of assembly seats in the recent Tunisian elections, mostly thanks to the poor.  Now, according to the Moroccan government, the Justice and Development Party (PJD) won the majority of assembly seats over there, capturing at least 80 out of 395. With a low voter turnout (many boycotted the elections), the so-called 'moderate' Islamist party was heavily supported, like Tunisia, by poor folk.

And for all their claims of being 'moderate', these are the same people who wanted to ban an Elton John concert because he was homosexual, and were trying to ban alcohol. Apparently, they are now focused on combating  high unemployment and corruption in that country; but who knows what will happen down the line.

With the continuing trend towards Islamism in the Middle Eastern and North African regions, was it any surprise that they won? I think not. 

Next up, Egypt?

Ennahda- Tunisia's Moderate Islamist Party's Anti-Israel Stance

I think most will agree that unless they are secular,  there is no such thing as a moderate Muslim, particularly when they don't reside in the West.

Tunisia's self-proclaimed moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, for all its attempts to identify itself with being moderate, is not quite what it seems to be, and the Committee For Accuracy In Middle East Reporting (CAMERA) has written an interesting article exploring that issue. 

Ennahda's leader Rachid Ghannouchi who is considered a "reform-minded Islamist" is actually "rabidly anti-Israel" which CAMERA finds troubling. Also,

Noted Middle East historian Martin Kramer differs in his view of Ghannouchi from The Times, The Post or the BBC. Kramer posted on his facebook page translations of comments reportedly made by Ghannouchi in May 2011:

I bring glad tidings that the Arab region will get rid of the germ of Israel. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, leader of the Hamas movement, once said that Israel would disappear before 2027. That date may be too far off; Israel may disappear before that.

For more on the CAMERA article, click here.

The 'Arab Spring' Gives Rise To The Dark Days of Islamism

What many had hoped would happen with the advent of what eventually was coined the "Arab Spring" was a journey towards democracy for those who fought hard to rid themselves of  their ruthless autocratic leadership. Others, however, feared that with the removal of these dictators those mainly secular governments would give rise to fundamentalist Islamist political parties and they, in essence, would be replacing one evil for another.  Those concerns, it turns out, were entirely warranted.

Tunisia, a mostly secular nation that encouraged freedom of religion and gender equality, will now have a Moderate Islamist majority leadership.  The Ennahda Party is predicted to have won almost 40 percent of the 217 assembly seats with a 90 percent voter turnout.  Opposition groups claim that it was mostly the poor who voted for the party, which seems to confirm that it is mostly the ignorant, uneducated that are drawn to Islamist ideology.   In an effort to allay the fears of many Westerners and secular Tunisians, party members told the press that

“We would like to reassure our trade and economic partners, and all actors and investors, we hope very soon to have stability and the right conditions for investment in Tunisia."

“We respect the rights of women ... and equality between Tunisians whatever their religion, their sex or their social status.”

Sure, their elections were democracy in action, but Shariah law is the polar opposite of a democratic system of law. Women have very few, if any,  rights under Shariah, and minority religions (including minority Muslim sects) are persecuted and marginalized in countries that adopt Shariah as their rule of law.  And although Rachid Ghannouchi has vowed not to change the cultural fabric of society by imposing Islamic values on the Tunisian population, who knows if he will keep his word.

Then there's Libya.  They too claim the country will be a moderate Islamist state, but Shariah will be the law of the land. According to Interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil :

"Any law that violates sharia is null and void legally. The law of divorce and marriage... This law is contrary to sharia and it is stopped."

That was in reference to laws during Ghadaffi's reign that placed restrictions on polygamy, which is allowed under Sharia. They also intend on establishing Islamic banking in Libya.  They too are trying to reassure the world that they are moderates, but as is well documented there is no moderation in Islam  unless it is secular.

Next up Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood whose founder Hassan Al Banna  admired Adolf Hitler and whose slogan is "Islam is the solution" and "jihad is our way" is poised to win a majority, as well.

The West needs to come to terms with the fact that our idea of democracy is a far cry from what Muslim majority countries view as democracy. Shariah law is as backwards as it gets, and any country that adopts it as its main form of legislative law, is taking major steps back towards the dark ages.

What amazes me most is that these people have been given an historical opportunity to rise up out of the shackles of oppression, and yet they have opted to replace one form of domination with another far worse. All they had to do was look at Iran or the Gazans in Palestine to see the outcome of voting for a religious leadership.  The Iranian people voted in the mullahs during their revolution in the late 1970s and are now suffering terribly the consequences of that decision, with no hope of gaining freedom in the foreseeable future. The Gazans voted overwhelmingly for Hamas, and they too are suffering under the governance of a hard-line, extremist group.   While Libya and Tunisia might start off as so-called moderate Muslim countries,  that will more than likely change over the years.  Only time will tell.

Sources: AlJazeera, AlArabiya, TelegraphUK,