Ghannouchi: State does not have right to monopolize Islam

An-Nahdha leader Rached Ghannouchi says even if his party gets an absolute majority, they want the country to be ruled by a government of national unity. “We cannot afford in the Muslim world to keep excluding an important part of our identity makeup: Islam. This exclusion has only led to discord, conflict and failure[s] at the political and economic level[s]. We call, therefore, for reconciliation with our identity, for the compatibility between Islam and democracy, and Islam and modernity,” Ghannouchi said in an interview with Sunday’s Zaman.

Yet the An-Nahdha leader does not call for a theocratic state as many of his critics have been quick to claim. Instead, his party “rejects the imposition of any beliefs or lifestyle on the people, whether under the name of liberalism or Islam.”

Ghannouchi, who argues that Tunisia has experienced a similar reform movement to that of Turkey during the Tanzimat era in the 19th century, sees Tunisia as closely aligned with Turkey. “We would like to increase [our] economic, cultural [and] academic relations and to build greater exchange between our civil societies,” he stated. The Turkish model provides inspiration for the region, “as it demonstrated practically that the corruption, backwardness, poverty and lack of freedoms that plague the majority of Arab countries are not inevitable.” Indeed, it was “proof that prosperity and democracy can emerge and develop within [Tunisian] culture and are not unattainable nor do they have to be imposed by external intervention.”

Following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent visit to Egypt, Tunisia and Libya wherein popular uprisings have removed and continue to oust autocratic leaders, the An-Nahdha leader remarked: “We take this opportunity to welcome the prime minister’s visit to Tunisia. … The people of Tunisia went to the streets in their thousands to welcome the prime minister and to salute him for his brave and principled stance on the Palestinian question.”

With the release of An-Nahdha’s election manifesto earlier last week, we asked Ghannouchi to discuss the revolution that acted as a catalyst for a mass revolt in the region, the transition period within Tunisia and the upcoming elections on Oct. 23 amongst a range of other topics.

Tunisia was at the heart of the 2011 Arab revolutions. What was the role of An-Nahdha in this uprising?

“The Tunisian revolution saw the uprising of Tunisians from diverse ages, classes and backgrounds against oppression, corruption and tyranny. An-Nahdha had been the victim of decades of repression [and] persecution that failed to eradicate it and it continued to be present and an integral part of Tunisian society. Nahdha members and supporters were part of the revolution alongside others, not under any party banner, as the revolution was not planned or led by any party. Also it is important to remember that the revolution did not happen in a vacuum. It was the culmination of the struggle of generations of Tunisians for freedom and dignity, including trade unionists, nationalists, leftists, liberals and Islamists. All these political activists, human rights defenders and civil society activists struggled for decades to denounce the state’s tyranny, social injustice and corruption, and their united efforts succeeded to strip the regime of any legitimacy and prepare[d] the ground for the revolution.”

Has the power balance genuinely shifted since the flight of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali? What has changed?

“The power balance has not entirely shifted. The old regime, through its figures and networks, still maintains a large degree of control over governance, the administration, the judiciary, the security services, the media and other important sectors. However, what has changed is that a new power has appeared on the scene. That is the power of the people -- a people that has risen, realized its strength and potential and broken the barrier of fear. The people can no longer be silenced or deceived and are determined to dismantle the entire system of dictatorship and to complete the revolution they started by taking Tunisia through a democratic transition towards a new Tunisia that protects the freedom and dignity of all its citizens.

“As I said previously, there are those who are seeking to take us back to a pre-revolution state, but their efforts will hopefully be in vain. Of primary importance for the success of the revolution is that the people have woken up and are fully aware of what is happening. It is the people who created this revolution and it is they who will defend it. At the vanguard of the people is the youth who led the revolution, and then led the protests after Ben Ali’s departure to ask for a new government to [replace] the one that Ben Ali left in place. We call on them to remain on their guard so that they defend the revolution they created against any sort of dictatorship and oppression under any name, whether religious or secular.”

There is a growing concern amongst critics that the return of An-Nahdha will lead to the so-called “Islamization” of the Tunisian nation. What is your take on this?

“Many of these concerns are the product of decades of campaign[s] of misinformation against Nahdha. This weapon of fear was used by Ben Ali inside and outside the country to justify his oppression of Nahdha. After the revolution, some of our opponents have adopted Ben Ali’s practices now because they are worried about Nahdha’s electoral weight. Nahdha has always maintained that it is not for a theocratic state and that it rejects the imposition of any beliefs or lifestyle on the people, whether under the name of liberalism or Islam. It has always struggled for a society where the freedoms of belief, conscience and choice are guaranteed and protected. Tunisia’s Arab-Islamic identity is a matter of national consensus as expressed in the Tunisian Constitution. However, neither the state nor anyone else has [the] right to monopolize the interpretation of Islam or impose any particular understanding on people or restrict their life choices because we do not have a church in Islam. Freedom is a principal value for us, and there should be no fear that we would violate it.”

An-Nahdha was against the postponement of the elections for a constituent assembly from July to October 2011. Why were they postponed and why did you eventually agree to this?

“We were against the postponement of the elections as we believe that it is a matter of priority to take the country back to a state of legitimacy and stability -- which would enable the country to deal with the immense challenges facing it -- and that return to legitimacy must go through the ballot box. We were not satisfied with the justifications presented for the postponement of the elections and felt it would only perpetuate the state of instability and anxiety and perhaps open the door to further delays. However, we had no choice but to accept the new date which was accepted by the interim government and other political parties.”

Do you believe that the upcoming elections in Tunisia will be truly democratic?

“The elections haven’t taken place yet, so we hope that they will be truly democratic, free and fair. We call on independent international observers to take part in the monitoring of the elections so as to give the process more credibility, and so that the people have confidence in the results that are produced. We would like to invite Turkey as a country with a long tradition of free and fair elections to send observers to participate in monitoring the October elections.”

If An-Nahdha is the party elected, how will it take on the democratic transition? Will Nahdha be able to change the fabric of a deeply divided and corrupt system?

“We have repeatedly said that even if [we] get an absolute majority that we want the country to be ruled by a government of national unity. This will ensure that a national consensus is built by the credible social partners so that we can start tackling the main challenges that face Tunisia: the economic challenge, the security challenge and the challenge of building new democratic institutions for the country -- a democratic constitution, independent judiciary [and] a democratically elected parliament and president. This consensus will also enable us to start a process of truth and reconciliation similar to the South African one so that we tackle the injustices of the past. We believe that such a government is needed for at least five years so that the country gets through this difficult period and moves to a more stable, democratic and prosperous situation.”

What are Nahdha’s plans in addressing the growing economic crisis coupled with high unemployment?

“The details of how we plan to tackle the economic crisis and the [rate of] high unemployment are in our election program and manifesto, which was released this week. In summary, we believe that there can be no economic prosperity without stability. The lack of a legitimate government at the moment is affecting the country’s stability and its economic situation. Therefore, we hope that the election will produce a legitimate government that will rebuild the country’s stability. Secondly, we would like to tackle the rampant corruption that has prevented the private sector from investing locally. Tunisia has no great natural resources such as oil, but we have a great geographical location, a very beautiful and culturally rich country and a highly skilled and dedicated labor force. Therefore, we plan to use these competitive advantages to attract domestic and foreign investment in the areas of tourism, high-tech industries geared towards exports [and] agriculture, which is still a very important sector of the economy. We also want to make Tunisia a financial center in the region by attracting the very successful Islamic finance industry to the country. Moreover, we would like to strengthen our economic relations with our neighbors in North Africa and around the Mediterranean for the mutual benefit of all. In this instance, we would like Turkey to become one of our main trading partners, and we would [like] to learn from its very successful economic example, which has made an example in the region and around the world. We hope that through our economic plans that the country’s growth rate will reach 8 percent by 2016 and that we create 590,000 jobs so that we cut unemployment to 8.5 percent of the labor force.”

What are Nahdha’s future plans if it does not succeed in the upcoming elections?

“What is meant by success? As explained above, Nahdha’s aim is not to govern but to take part alongside everyone else in the historic task of building a new democratic Tunisia. Regardless of the election outcome, we will continue to work through various channels towards this end. However, if we do not get a substantial part of the vote in free and fair elections, we have to accept these results and work on reviewing our path and policies. Democracy is about accepting the outcomes of free and fair elections, and we accept this fully.”

You have often mentioned An-Nahdha’s resemblance to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Turkey. What are the similarities and what can An-Nahdha learn from the AK Party when developing its governing institutions?

“Most of my books and writings have been translated into Turkish and this may have had an influence on [the] AKP. We have always maintained that Islam and modernity are compatible. We cannot afford in the Muslim world to keep excluding an important part of our identity makeup, which is Islam. This exclusion has only led to discord, conflict and failure[s] at the political and economic level[s]. We call therefore for national reconciliation, for reconciliation with our identity, for the compatibility between Islam and democracy, and Islam and modernity. At the social level, we call for social justice where opportunities are not offered just to the few, but to all. We call for solidarity between the rich and the poor. We would like the rich to get richer, and for the poor to break the cycle of poverty with the help of the state and their fellow citizens. At the economic level, we would like to follow the Turkish model that has opened the market to free initiative and which has resulted in the tripling of [the] Turkish national income in eight years under the rule of [the] AKP.”

There has been much talk of Turkey acting as a model for the Arab Spring nations. To what extent did Tunisians and Egyptians use Turkey as a model during their uprisings?

“All people aspire to freedom and dignity, and that was the principal inspiration and motivation for the revolutions. Generations have been struggling for those aspirations out of the conviction that all those are universal human rights. However, it is true that the Turkish model has provided inspiration, as it demonstrated practically that the corruption, backwardness, poverty and lack of freedoms that plague the majority of Arab countries are not necessary or inevitable, or a result of Arab Muslim culture as claimed by certain disqualified theories. The Turkish model, alongside others such as Malaysia for instance, provided proof that prosperity and democracy can emerge and develop within our own culture and are not unattainable nor do they have to be imposed by external intervention.”

What is the future of Turkish-Tunisian relations?

“Relations between Tunisia and Turkey are not new but go back hundreds of years. You could see the extent of the relationship by looking at the Tunisian flag, which looks very similar to the Turkish one. We would like therefore to strengthen the relationship that already exists and to deepen and widen it and make it more strategic. We would like to increase [our] economic, cultural [and] academic relations and to build greater exchange between our civil societies. We take this opportunity to welcome the prime minister’s visit to Tunisia, which we hope will be the start of this mutually beneficial relationship. The people of Tunisia went to the streets in their thousands to welcome the prime minister and to salute him for his brave and principled stance on the Palestinian question. We stand with him against oppression and for the right[s] of our Palestinian brothers [to] freedom and dignity.”