Rashid Al-Ghannushi
Encyclopedia
Rashid al-Ghannushi or Rached Ghannouchi (born 1941) is a Tunisia
n Islamist who co-founded the Ennahda Movement, currently the largest party in Tunisia. He has been called the party's "intellectual leader".
, in the Qabis province
of southern Tunisia. He received his certificate of attainment degree, equivalent to the Baccalauréat
, in 1962 from the University of Zaytuna. He entered the school of agriculture
at Cairo University
in 1964, but following the expulsion of Tunisians from Egypt
due to the dispute between Gamal Abdel Nasser
and Habib Bourguiba
, he left for Syria
. He studied philosophy
at the University of Damascus
, graduating in 1968. While in Damascus
, Al-Ghannushi initially joined the Socialist Party
, but later adopted a more religious viewpoint. He spent a year in France
at the Sorbonne
before returning to Tunisia
and, along with many other Tunisians, established an organization devoted to the reform of Tunisian society based on Islamic principles.
Following an opening of political space in April 1981 by Bourguiba, Al-Ghannushi founded the "al-ittijah al-islami" or Islamic Tendency Movement. The Movement described itself as specifically rooted in non-violent
Islam
, and called for a "reconstruction of economic life on a more equitable basis, the end of single-party politics and the acceptance of political pluralism and democracy." By the end of July, Al-Ghannushi and his followers were arrested, sentenced to eleven years in prison in Bizerte
, and were tortured. Both the religious and secular community, including numerous secular political organizations, rallied in his support. He was released in 1984, but returned to prison in 1987 with a life sentence, then was again released in 1988. He moved to Europe
as a political exile, where he lived for decades.
He attended The Islamic Committee for Palestine conference in Chicago in 1989. Following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Al-Ghannushi denounced King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for the "colossal crime" of inviting the U.S. to deploy forces.
Al-Ghannushi continued to criticise Tunisian politics
and the regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
. Following popular unrest in which Ben Ali was ousted, Ghannushi returned to Tunisia on 30 January 2011, after spending twenty two years exiled in London
.
, the Islamic Liberation Party.
Following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein, Al-Ghannushi denounced King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for the "colossal crime" of inviting the U.S. to deploy forces. Al-Ghannushi supported Saddam more strongly than other Islamists, comparing him to to Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, the 11th-century Almoravid ruler who forcibly unified the Muslim principalities of Spain in order to wrest them from Christian domination. Al-Ghannushi said that, the Muslims now faced "Crusader America," the "enemy of Islam," and Saddam had taken a necessary step toward unity, "joining together two Arab states out of twenty-two, praise be to God." Al-Ghannushi threatened the United States while speaking in Khartoum during the crisis saying "There must be no doubt that we will strike anywhere against whoever strikes Iraq … We must wage unceasing war against the Americans until they leave the land of Islam, or we will burn and destroy all their interests across the entire Islamic world… Muslim youth must be serious in their warning to the Americans that a blow to Iraq will be a license to strike American and Western interests throughout the Islamic world." He also called for a Muslim boycott of American goods, planes and ships.
and the regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
. Following popular unrest in which Ben Ali was ousted, Ghannushi returned to Tunisia on 30 January 2011, after spending twenty two years exiled in London
.
Al-Ghannushi claims to represent a progressive strain in Islamic reformism, and continuously stresses the need for innovation against social injustice. He underscores the importance of local culture, and an Islamist movement based in the needs of Tunisians and not in "the obscure theories of Sayyid Qutb
". He has sided with worker's rights, unionism
, and women's education and rights
, though those rights are based in Islam and not Western liberal
feminism
.
He maintains that women, being one half of the Islamic community, should have full access to education. He cites oppressive cultural codes in Islamic cultures as the major force behind women's choices to turn to Western culture
, and believes that Islamic reform, as part of a larger reformist movement, is needed to address women's education, participation, and respect.
In discussions of plurality within Islamic societies, Rashid Al-Ghannushi believes that non-Muslim citizens should not be barred from positions in government, setting himself against more conservative viewpoints.
On 22 January 2011, in an interview with Al Jazeera
TV, Rashid Al-Ghannushi confirmed that he is against an Islamic Caliphate, and supports democracy
instead, unlike Hizb ut-Tahrir. In the interview, Al-Ghannushi accused Hizb ut-Tahrir of exporting a distorted understanding of Islam. For expressing moderate views, Rachid Ghanouchi is banned from entering Iran
and Saudi Arabia
.
In a May 2011 interview, Al-Ghannushi said that the Palestinian problem lies at the heart of the Nation [umma], and that all the land between the mosque in Mecca and Jerusalem represents the heart of the Islamic Nation. He said that any [foreign] control over part of this heart is a stamp on the umma’s illness and predicted that Israel will soon come to an end.
In the aftermath of the 2011 Tunisian election, Al-Ghannushi reached out to the Jews of Tunisia, sending them delegations and gifts to Jewish nursing homes.
Some of his books were translated into other languages including English, French, Turkish and Persian.
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
n Islamist who co-founded the Ennahda Movement, currently the largest party in Tunisia. He has been called the party's "intellectual leader".
Biography
Al-Ghannushi was born outside El HammaEl Hamma
El Hamma is an oasis town located in the Gabès Governorate, 30 kilometers west of Gabès, Tunisia. Its population in 2004 was 34,835....
, in the Qabis province
Gabès Governorate
Gabès Governorate is one of the 24 governorates of Tunisia. It is located in south-eastern Tunisia. It covers an area of and has a population of 343,000...
of southern Tunisia. He received his certificate of attainment degree, equivalent to the Baccalauréat
Baccalauréat
The baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
, in 1962 from the University of Zaytuna. He entered the school of agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
at Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
in 1964, but following the expulsion of Tunisians from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
due to the dispute between Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
and Habib Bourguiba
Habib Bourguiba
Habib Bourguiba was a Tunisian statesman, the Founder and the first President of the Republic of Tunisia from July 25, 1957 until 7 November 1987...
, he left for Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. He studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of Damascus
University of Damascus
The University of Damascus is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through the merger of the School of Medicine and the Institute of Law , also making it the oldest university in modern-day Syria...
, graduating in 1968. While in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Al-Ghannushi initially joined the Socialist Party
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of several different political parties around the world that are explicitly called Socialist. All of these parties claim to uphold socialism, though they might belong to different branches of the socialist movement and might therefore have different interpretations of...
, but later adopted a more religious viewpoint. He spent a year in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
before returning to Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and, along with many other Tunisians, established an organization devoted to the reform of Tunisian society based on Islamic principles.
Following an opening of political space in April 1981 by Bourguiba, Al-Ghannushi founded the "al-ittijah al-islami" or Islamic Tendency Movement. The Movement described itself as specifically rooted in non-violent
Nonviolence
Nonviolence has two meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle It can refer to the behaviour of people using nonviolent action Nonviolence has two (closely related) meanings. (1) It can refer, first, to a general...
Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, and called for a "reconstruction of economic life on a more equitable basis, the end of single-party politics and the acceptance of political pluralism and democracy." By the end of July, Al-Ghannushi and his followers were arrested, sentenced to eleven years in prison in Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
, and were tortured. Both the religious and secular community, including numerous secular political organizations, rallied in his support. He was released in 1984, but returned to prison in 1987 with a life sentence, then was again released in 1988. He moved to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as a political exile, where he lived for decades.
He attended The Islamic Committee for Palestine conference in Chicago in 1989. Following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Al-Ghannushi denounced King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for the "colossal crime" of inviting the U.S. to deploy forces.
Politics of Tunisia
The politics of Tunisia function within a framework of a republic organized under a constitution, with a President serving as head of state, Prime Minister as head of government, a bicameral legislature and a court system influenced by French civil law...
and the regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was...
. Following popular unrest in which Ben Ali was ousted, Ghannushi returned to Tunisia on 30 January 2011, after spending twenty two years exiled in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Political views
Al-Ghannushi has been called "a thought leader in the process of the Islamist embrace of equal citizenship and equal rights."On Palestine and the Iraq war
The Islamic Committee for Palestine held a conference that took place in Chicago from December 22-25, 1989 and featured Al-Ghannushi as a speaker. Its theme was "Palestine, Intifada, and Horizons of Islamic Renaissance" and other speakers included Abd Al-’Aziz Al’Awda, the "spiritual leader" of Islamic Jihad and Muhammad ‘Umar of Hizb ut-TahrirHizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Sunni. pan-Islamic political organisation but keeps it open for all including shias,some of its beliefs are against sunni school of thought, whose goal is for all Muslim countries to unify as an Islamic state or caliphate ruled by Islamic law and with a caliph...
, the Islamic Liberation Party.
Following the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein, Al-Ghannushi denounced King Fahd of Saudi Arabia for the "colossal crime" of inviting the U.S. to deploy forces. Al-Ghannushi supported Saddam more strongly than other Islamists, comparing him to to Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, the 11th-century Almoravid ruler who forcibly unified the Muslim principalities of Spain in order to wrest them from Christian domination. Al-Ghannushi said that, the Muslims now faced "Crusader America," the "enemy of Islam," and Saddam had taken a necessary step toward unity, "joining together two Arab states out of twenty-two, praise be to God." Al-Ghannushi threatened the United States while speaking in Khartoum during the crisis saying "There must be no doubt that we will strike anywhere against whoever strikes Iraq … We must wage unceasing war against the Americans until they leave the land of Islam, or we will burn and destroy all their interests across the entire Islamic world… Muslim youth must be serious in their warning to the Americans that a blow to Iraq will be a license to strike American and Western interests throughout the Islamic world." He also called for a Muslim boycott of American goods, planes and ships.
Later views
Al-Ghannushi continued to criticise Tunisian politicsPolitics of Tunisia
The politics of Tunisia function within a framework of a republic organized under a constitution, with a President serving as head of state, Prime Minister as head of government, a bicameral legislature and a court system influenced by French civil law...
and the regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is a Tunisian political figure who was the second President of Tunisia from 1987 to 2011. Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister in October 1987, and he assumed the Presidency on 7 November 1987 in a bloodless coup d'état that ousted President Habib Bourguiba, who was...
. Following popular unrest in which Ben Ali was ousted, Ghannushi returned to Tunisia on 30 January 2011, after spending twenty two years exiled in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Al-Ghannushi claims to represent a progressive strain in Islamic reformism, and continuously stresses the need for innovation against social injustice. He underscores the importance of local culture, and an Islamist movement based in the needs of Tunisians and not in "the obscure theories of Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid Qutb was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamist theorist, poet, and the leading member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the 1950s and '60s....
". He has sided with worker's rights, unionism
Unionism
-Trades:*Community Unionism, describes the various ways in which trade unions can work with communities and community organizations*Craft unionism, an approach to union organizing in the United States and elsewhere that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the...
, and women's education and rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
, though those rights are based in Islam and not Western liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
He maintains that women, being one half of the Islamic community, should have full access to education. He cites oppressive cultural codes in Islamic cultures as the major force behind women's choices to turn to Western culture
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
, and believes that Islamic reform, as part of a larger reformist movement, is needed to address women's education, participation, and respect.
For women, there was no path to freedom, knowledge or self-determinationSelf-determinationSelf-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
except through a revolt against Islam and its mores and the imitation of the West-until the Islamist movement. Before the emergence of the Islamist movement, woman found herself in an unstable and decaying society whose "liberation" was purely superficial: nudity, eroticismEroticismEroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
, leaving the house and the intermingling of the sexes. So she revolted against these superficial manifestations and called for the return to Islam. But not without trepidation, because for women the return to Islam still portended a return to the age of decline: the harem, self-negation and the inability to determine her own destiny.
In discussions of plurality within Islamic societies, Rashid Al-Ghannushi believes that non-Muslim citizens should not be barred from positions in government, setting himself against more conservative viewpoints.
On 22 January 2011, in an interview with Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
TV, Rashid Al-Ghannushi confirmed that he is against an Islamic Caliphate, and supports democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
instead, unlike Hizb ut-Tahrir. In the interview, Al-Ghannushi accused Hizb ut-Tahrir of exporting a distorted understanding of Islam. For expressing moderate views, Rachid Ghanouchi is banned from entering Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
.
In a May 2011 interview, Al-Ghannushi said that the Palestinian problem lies at the heart of the Nation [umma], and that all the land between the mosque in Mecca and Jerusalem represents the heart of the Islamic Nation. He said that any [foreign] control over part of this heart is a stamp on the umma’s illness and predicted that Israel will soon come to an end.
In the aftermath of the 2011 Tunisian election, Al-Ghannushi reached out to the Jews of Tunisia, sending them delegations and gifts to Jewish nursing homes.
Works
- Public freedoms in the Islamic state.
- We and the West (jointly).
- From the experience of the Islamic Movement in Tunisia.
- So when Ibn Taymiyya.
- Rapprochement in the secular and civil society.
- The Islamic movement and the issue of change.
- The Palestinian issue crossroads between paths.
- Women between the Koran and the reality of Muslims.
- Citizenship rights in the Islamic state.
- The difference right and the duty to unity.
Some of his books were translated into other languages including English, French, Turkish and Persian.
External links
- The Nahdha Party
- Al-Hiwar forums and news
- Rashid Al-Ghannoushi: Ben Ali's regime aims to destroy Tunisian people's Islamic opposition, identity, Khaled Hamza, Ikhwanweb, 2 November 2006, interview
- Rashid al-Ghannushi, A Leader of Pure Islam, Rohama, 27 January 2011