Tunisia and "Al-Nahda"

1. The election results showed a decline in the popularity of Tunisia's Al-Nahda Party. Despite this, democratic Islamists insist on ignoring the lessons and continuing down the path of ruin. 2. The Tunisian people initially supported "Al-Nahda" and chose it for its alleged Islamism, but Al-Nahda effectively abandoned the identity for which the people chose it. 3. The problem with "Al-Nahda" was not just its participation in the democratic game, which we have detailed its conflict with Islam, but also its excessive focus on "consensus" with "secularists" and the international system, appeasing them by suppressing those calling for Islamic rule, such as Ansar Al-Sharia and others. 4. Some will philosophize that I am defending the "extremists," which is a lie. We know that there is extremism in Tunisia, and I have criticized extremism in general with a detailed Islamic critique over the past months. 5. However, when the Al-Nahda government suppressed protesters at the U.S. embassy over the film insulting the Prophet (peace be upon him), killing some and imprisoning others, and some died on hunger strikes (the first being Muhammad Al-Bakhti and Bashir Al-Qali), that was not a fight against extremism! 6. We must not forget when Ghannouchi boasted to foreign journalists about this killing and imprisonment in response to accusations of leniency toward extremism! 7. We must not forget when the Al-Nahda government declared Ansar Al-Sharia a terrorist group, banned its religious gatherings, and killed some of its members for allegedly assassinating soldiers and figures like Belhaj and Brahmi, while Ansar Al-Sharia denied involvement in those assassinations. 8. I am not speaking here on behalf of "Ansar Al-Sharia," nor do I know what has become of its members after this crackdown, but it should be remembered that Al-Nahda was dealing with them with such brutality at the same time its government protected those who mocked God and His Messenger in exhibitions like the Abdaliya Palace exhibition, and the Nahda Interior Minister Ali Al-Aried boasted of suppressing protests against this exhibition! 9. Moreover, "Al-Nahda" was doing this after coordinating with the American envoy Daniel Benjamin to apply anti-terrorism laws approved during (Ben Ali's) era to those demanding Sharia rule. 10. We must not forget Al-Nahda's exclusion of Islamic authority from the constitution and Obama's administration rewarding it financially, as reported by the "Wall Street Journal." 11. Nor should we forget the frankness of Al-Nahda's veteran, Al-Sadiq Shuru, when he mentioned in parliament that his party was treating Ansar Al-Sharia the way Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's regime treated Al-Nahda! 12. Was Al-Nahda in all of this deserving of God's favor and guidance? Or did the Prophet's (peace be upon him) words apply to it: (Whoever seeks the pleasure of people at the displeasure of God, God will be displeased with him and the people will be displeased with him)? It lost its popularity after losing its religion. 13. One of the greatest tragedies is that after this, you find in "Islamist" circles those who discuss the election results politically, trying to show that Al-Nahda achieved a victory by losing the elections, by avoiding economic burdens and implicating secularists in governance!! In a purely secular logic devoid of any legal perspective or reflection on divine laws, without asking the question: (Was Al-Nahda with God so that God would be with it and make the outcomes of events in its favor?) 14. Someone will say: (What was Al-Nahda supposed to do after the revolution?) Simply: It should have urged people to complete the revolution to uproot the deep state and free themselves from the international system. If it did not do so, it should have exploited the opportunity for a pure and noble call, making no concessions until God grants empowerment or takes it while being pleased with it. 15. Otherwise, what did Al-Nahda gain except losing its popularity and contributing to tarnishing the Islamic project, portraying it as a failure, and being used to strike the youth who are zealous for Islam, guarding blasphemy and mockery of religion, then contributing to restoring the system of slavery under the name of democracy?! And it will meet God with dozens of Muslim youth and hundreds of others still imprisoned because they were angry for God and His Messenger. 16. And now "Al-Nahda" applauds the "secular" parties that have come to power, why? To appear consistent with itself and respect the rules of the game that brought it to power before! These parties will rule by man-made law, so ruling by anything other than what God has revealed is disbelief. May Al-Nahda disassociate itself from God and deny it, but in reality, it applauds it as long as the people have chosen these rulers, even if it is not what God has permitted! And do not blame Al-Nahda itself for betraying this people and misleading them after they once chose it to lead them with Islam! 17. Thus, the international system and remnants of Ben Ali used the Al-Nahda Party to absorb the anger of the Tunisian revolutionary people while reproducing the system with new faces, just as happened in Egypt. 18. The worst thing about the parties claiming to work for Islam is that they do not read their setbacks in the light of God's verses and His laws, nor do they learn from those who came before them. After the Egyptian coup, Al-Nahda did not deduce the corruption of the so-called democratic path and its concessions, but rather concluded that salvation lies in further "consensus" and appeasing the clear enemies of Islam. And God is truthful: (And nothing prevented people from believing when guidance came to them and they sought forgiveness from their Lord except that the way of the former should come to them or the punishment should come to them face to face). 19. We expect very difficult days for Al-Nahda, worse than what happened to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Knowing that I warned about this when Al-Nahda was at its peak, just as I predicted for Egypt what it is now suffering from on the day of Morsi's election victory, based on understanding God's laws. 20. The emotional supporters of Al-Nahda and its path will be angry with this speech of mine and will distort it, just as their counterparts did during Egypt's experience. Then, when the disaster strikes and Al-Nahda and others in Tunisia are subjected to various forms of persecution and oppression, you will see some of these people move to the other end of the spectrum—also driven by emotion—and embrace extremism, and the nation will be lost again in a whirlpool of excess and negligence, unless God saves us with His mercy. Our Lord, have mercy on the nation of Muhammad. And peace be upon you.