Rached Ghannouchi, father of Muslim democratic movement in Arab world, arrested by 100 policemen while breaking Ramadan’s last fast
Washington, D.C.; (4/20/2023) – The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), the nation’s umbrella group of national, regional, and local Muslim organizations, unequivocally condemns Tunisian President Kaid Saied’s systematic smothering of all political freedom and opposition parties in Tunisia, and his tyrannizing and suppression of all political voices calling for democracy in the North African nation – including the brazen arrest of 81-year-old esteemed philosopher, Islamic political thinker, and democratic activist Rached Ghannouchi on the eve of the holiest night of the month of Ramadan, on trumped up “provocative” speech charges by anti-terrorism prosecutors, and the raid and shuttering of his Ennahdah (Renaissance) headquarters the same day, which is the largest and most influential political party in the country.
“The recent arrest of Rached Ghannouchi is an absolute death knell for the democracy emerging in Tunisia, largely under Rached’s vision and leadership, since Tunisia sparked the Arab Spring in 2011,” said Oussama Jammal, USCMO secretary general.
Saied, who came to power under murky circumstances in 2021, dissolved Tunisia’s democratically elected parliament, and under emergency laws began ruling by autocratic decree, against the will of Tunisia’ people and all its political opposition parties.
Ghannouchi, who studied philosophy at Paris’ prestigious Sorbonne University, has long been known for his broad thinking on Islamic values and civilization, like his intellectual mentor Algerian philosopher Malik Bennabi, which is widely inclusive of other religions and cultures.
Ghannouchi rocked the budding Muslim awakening of the 70s and 80s with his call for popular sovereignty of the people over all political, cultural, and religious institutions as a prime objective of Islam and the Quran. His celebrated book Public Freedom makes this argument with force and clarity.
No stranger to political persecution, he spent two sojourns in prison in the 80s for openly expressing his belief in the public’s political and social freedom and rightful authority in the life of the nation. Exiled in 1993 from Tunisia for his call to democracy based on Islam’s values, he lived humbly in a London suburb for two decades, returning to a hero’s welcome in Tunisia in 2011, when Tunisian autocrat Ben Ali fled in fear of protests that ultimately swept the Arab world.
Though Ghannouchi’s party won the nation’s first true elections, true to his ideas, he did not attempt political office until 2019, when he became Tunisia’s speaker of parliament.
Saied came to power two years later, dissolved its legislatures, and trashed its new and admirable constitution, usurping all powers to himself. Since then, Saied has imprisoned for “terrorism” any political opponents, lawyers, activists, and journalists who have criticized him and his autocratic policies.
USCMO leadership, constituents, and American Muslims call for the immediate release of Rached Ghannouchi and all political opponents and critics of Saied’s open dictatorship and an immediate cessation of Saied’s assault on Tunisian democracy.
We agree with U.S. House representatives who in late March sent a letter to President Joseph Biden warning against the “stark acceleration in Tunisia’s autocratic consolidation,” Saied’s “repugnant, racist and xenophobic remarks about migrants” that have incited widespread persecution of sub-Saharan Africans there, as well as Tunisians associating with the U.S. or Americans.
We also support their call for the U.S. to ensure all aid goes directly to aid Tunisia’s badly suffering people, while stopping any funding that will “strengthen the hand of those, including the internal security services, that have exacerbated repression and authoritarianism” under the dictatorship of Saied.
We stand with freedom and democracy for the Tunisian people.
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