For the Archives: A Tunisian Revolution Souring?
Profile and interview with Seyyed Ferjani of the Ennahda party
My first meeting with Seyyed Ferjani, the Ennahda revolutionary and current advisor to the Tunisian Ministry of Justice, was on a morning of tear gas and demonstrations. It was my first experience with this acrid-tasting chemical. A Tunisian friend had warned that the Martyr’s Day parade might turn ugly. Civil society groups wanted to march on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, a main road in Tunis, and the Ministry of Interior had prevented it. Protesters had wanted to gather in the main roundabout to commemorate all the heroes who had fallen during the revolution.
The day was a public relations disaster for Ennahda, whose members had been welcomed as heroes in the early days of the revolution. People forgot that they had also been the victims of the police state. When I asked later that afternoon about the way the state had acted towards the demonstrators, Ferjani said, “If you want to have a demonstration in Trafalgar Square, you need to ask for permission. It is a main thoroughfare in London, as is [Avenue] Habib Bourguiba. It is unreasonable to expect the state not to respond. Freedom has limits.” I was surprised at how a revolutionary whose stoop betrayed the handiwork of the police state could talk the language of state so easily.
Nearly a year on, Ferjani, who describes himself as a Muslim Democrat rather than an Islamist, is in the UK to address the prestigious Oxford Union. He seems confident before his address; after all, he has been grilled on the BBC’s Hard Talk, on Al-Jazeera and PressTV, by the New York Times, and at the Brookings Institution. While he was in the UK, I caught up with him to ask him some lingering questions that still need clarification, and the Ennahda revolutionary was as combative as ever.
The Majalla: How are you trying to reassure the West and Tunisians who are afraid of Ennahda?
I am sorry, afraid of what? If it’s a rational reason we are ready to address it. We need to look at the root causes, whether it is based on lack of communication on our side or there are issues we have to rectify. If it’s not, we don’t care about it! It is important to tell us what the basis of that fear is. But for the West, politics and international relations cannot be based on speculation or whims.
Q: How do you reassure women’s groups and the opposition, who are scared of your intentions?
This seems to be a prosecution based on speculation. With regards to women, we are the ones with a majority of women members in the Tunisian National Co-ordination Committee (NCC). This issue exists only in the minds of some people and [is] not grounded in reality. There is currently research being conducted by Oxford University which highlights the extent and importance of women in Ennahda and to its thinking.
Q: How can you ensure that the people on the ground will be following your thinking?
These ideas are far from new. They have been around for decades and are not alien to our supporters. Many sacrificed their lives—their physical wellbeing under severe torture—for these views. Consequently, when the people voted for Ennahda, they did so on that basis and because of these ideas. Some people do not share these views and simply judge Ennahda to be a European actor, not a party born out of an authentic voice of the Tunisian people that resonates with them.
Q: What are Ennahda’s priorities?
Our priorities are to serve the people and to shape a new constitution that responds to the aspirations of Tunisians [and] to establish a new economic structure that responds to the socio-economic needs that the revolution highlighted. This is why we see our democracy as a social, not liberal, democracy with regards to approaching the economy.
Q: How would you assess Ennahda’s performance since the revolution?
It is a mixed picture due to the lack of experience, and lack of time to address embedded problems within the economy.
Q: Can you work with the Left as well as the Salafists?
We are already working with the Left. With the Salafists, we distinguish between two kinds: many are peaceful, law-abiding citizens and they have to be protected as any other citizen. However, politically we don’t think the Salafists are close to us, as they are neither sophisticated in their politics nor do they have much political experience, and we are far closer to the groups that struggled against Ben Ali.
Q: In what way is Ennahda different from the Muslim Brotherhood?
We embrace many progressive ideas that reconcile freedom and Islam. Where we differ is politically; we don’t opt for a presidential system. We are already working with center-Left groups and they are not Islamist groups. We also differ in the details of our politics and in the fact that [the] Ennahda Party is a political party, not a social movement like the Brotherhood.
Q: What about the West? Do you think that the UK is adopting the right position?
It is neither right nor wrong; however, we want the relationship to be much better than it is now.
Q: Has the euphoria of the revolution worn off in Tunisia?
We cannot talk about euphoria yet. However, the burning quest of the revolution is still alive. Despite the fact that the head of state has changed the machinery of the previous regime, [it] still remains in the governmental structures, so these challenges still keep the candle of the revolution burning. People want to see the fruits of change. What they want is their freedom, the democratic institutions and so on—but more importantly, they want socio-economic change and they want it fast. People sometimes don’t understand that social change takes time and we shouldn’t expect dramatic social change. I’ll give you an example: 1 percent growth was celebrated in the UK. In Tunisia, we inherited a 2 percent [contraction in] GDP and experienced 3 percent growth by 2012. This is in spite of the number of strikes and demonstrations that occurred in the country.
If this type of social upheaval occurred in China or the West, their economies would be paralyzed. Still, we made a strong economic recovery. Tourism, for instance, is up by 25 percent. We created one hundred ten thousand jobs, although we are mindful [that] we have a long way to go and there is still the problem of unemployment. But then you have in many sectors, including the olive harvest sector, the need for employees. Two hundred fifty thousand jobs were created, but many Tunisians didn’t want to do it. There was even talk of bringing in foreign workers to harvest the bumper olive crop. But whilst the numbers and figures are encouraging, often times the people don’t notice it. Sometimes the problem can be in the lives of Tunisians: they have the mindset of revolution and want to experience social change in their own lives, and figures sometimes do not matter.
Q: Your party has often sought to distance itself from more conservative Islamic governments and movements and you have called your party ‘Muslim-oriented’ rather than Islamist. How have you so far sought to reconcile Islam with democracy and modernity?
We are proud of our Islamic and Muslim heritage, as well as being proud of our Arab culture. We reconcile with that the best from the West, which is democracy. This is our project. We don’t look at the West as hostile, but we take from it and reconcile [it] with the best parts of our heritage. Consequently, we brought something that is in harmony—a win-win formula instead of falling into a cycle of conflict where the West or the East tries to conquer the other. We are offering something new to Europe as well as to the different forces in our own country.
Q: Do you believe that Islamic Shari’a should be a principle source of legislation?
With great respect to everybody who is talking about Shari’a, there has to be consensus about the meaning of Shari’a. Is it the Shari’a of [the] Taliban, Iran, Turabi and Numeiry, or Saudi Arabia? Which Shari’a are we talking about? It’s a very vague term, with its content not being wholly clear. However, Islam is clear. This is why we opted for the religion of the state to be Islam. This is why Ennahda was clear in refusing to put Shari’a in the constitution.
Q: How far is your party prepared to confront deeply Salafist forces in Tunisia?
There is a difference between Salafis who are peaceful and those who are violent. With the former, they will have the protection of the state as they are citizens and are entitled to their views even if we don’t agree with them. Sometimes they are hard on us, but they are entitled to their freedom to express themselves. Those who are violent, the instruments of the law such as the police will take care of them.
Q: What threat do you think the Islamist forces in the Maghreb pose to Tunisia?
We are dramatically and radically against Al-Qaeda, not only philosophically and ideologically, but also because they believe that they have to destroy in order to win. While we believe we have to build together, even with our competitors, in order to win. Ennahda are here to add value for civilization so all humanity can benefit. We cannot embrace this discourse of destruction.
Q: How far do you think Tunisia has come in terms of freedom of expression?
I do believe that freedom of expression in Tunisia is far more than some countries in the West and I wish we had a system like Ofcom in place, which could regulate freedom of expression in the press, for example.
Q: What measures have been implemented to tackle Tunisia’s chronic high unemployment levels?
We believe that the state should take care of infrastructure such as schools, hospital, roads, railways, and the machinery of the state. The rest should be up to the private sector. The state should ensure that the regulation should be relaxed so business can flourish without compromising the public interest.
Tam Hussein |Fri| 1 Feb 2013 | Majalla