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An Analysis of the History and Discourse of the Tunisian Islamic Movemental-Nahda M a Case Study of the Politicisation of Islam An Analysis of the History and Discourse of the Tunisian Islamic Movemental-Nahda m A Case Study of the Politicisation of Islam Mohamed Elhachmi Hamdi Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Oriental and African Studies University of London July 1996 ProQuest Number: 11010403 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11010403 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Abstract The aim of this study is to discover and analyse the history and dis­ course of the Tunisian Islamic movement al-Nahda , within the context of post-independence Tunisian history and the progression of thought within contemporary Islamic movements. As such, the study is both historical and analytical. It tries to give an accurate reading of the emergence, rise and recent eclipse of al-Nahda , as well as a compre­ hensive analysis of its political, social and intellectual discourse. The importance of the study comes from the fact that it may be considered the first academic research done in English on the Tunisian Islamic Movement. Up to now, it has received only scant treatment in English sources. Even in Arabic or in French sources are rare, and are usually written by either sympathisers or opponents of the movement. The history and the ideas of the movement are analysed in six chapters. The first concentrates on studying the reasons and factors be­ hind the emergence of the movement; the second on the politicisation of the movement and the implications of that politicisation for its pri­ orities and discourse; the third on the three major confrontations be­ tween the movement and the Tunisian regime that culminated in 1991 in the banning of all al-Nahda 's activities inside Tunisia. The basic concepts of a political Islam in the movement's litera­ ture are explored and analysed in chapter four, in particular the Isla­ mists' belief in the comprehensiveness of Islam and their rejection of secularism. Chapter five then concentrates on studying the detailed proposal put forward by the leader of al-Nahda for the definition of a modem Islamic state. Chapter six addresses the Islamists’ cultural agenda and their insistence on an Islamic identity for Tunisia, with particular reference to the perceived polarisation between Westemisa- 2 tion and Islamisation. The thesis also contains an appendix comprising some of the movement's most important documents translated from Arabic. 3 Table of Contents Abstract........................................................................................................... 2 Note on the transliteration of Arabic characters........................................ 5 Acknowledgements......................................................................................... 7 Introduction...................................................................................................... 8 Chapter One: The Emergence of the Tunisian Islamic Movement 16 Chapter Two: The Politicisation Process.................................................... 43 Chapter Three: 1981-1993: The Years of Confrontation............... 69 Chapter Four: The Basis for a “Political” Islam.......................................... 118 Chapter Five: The Islamists’ Islamic State.................................................. 155 Chapter Six: Issues of Identity and Westernisation.................................... 204 Conclusion........................................................................................................ 245 Appendices....................................................................................................... 260 I — The Founding Manifesto of Harakat al-Ittijah al-Islami (1981) 261 II — The Manifesto of al-Nahda Movement of Tunisia (1988) 268 III — The Islamic Basis of Our Foreign Policy (1988) 274 IV — Memorandum: Tunisia on the Path to Change (1991) 277 V — “This is the Day on which the Truthful will Profit from 286 their Truthfiilness” (1991) VI — Dedication: From Ghannushi’s Civil Liberties 294 in the Islamic State (1993) Bibliography...................................................................................................... 298 4 NOTE ON THE TRANSLITERATION OF ARABIC CHARACTERS Consonants (■ ’ except when initial J* d o b J, t O ta z o i tha t £ j t g h c h f C kh 3 q d J k i dh J 1 J r r m j z j n o* s Jb h A U* sh J w u * s y Long vowels Diphthongs a aw j u j J ay I + iyy % Short vowels j uw b a; at(construct state) 5 Note on the system of translation and transliteration All translations from the Arabic and French are mine, unless otherwise indicated. The standard system of transliteration has been used for Arabic terms, names and sources throughout the thesis, with minor modifica­ tions; the initial hamza has been omitted, as has the final ‘h’ of the ta ’ marbuta. All Arabic names of persons originating from the countries of the Maghreb have been transliterated according to the French system; therefore shin becomes ‘ch’ (as in the name Ghannouchi), and the qaf is rendered as a ‘k’. In instances where these individuals have au­ thored sources in Arabic, their names have been transliterated in the notes according to the Arabic system of transliteration; thus Ghannou­ chi becomes ‘al-Ghannushi’. If these same individuals have also writ­ ten works in French or English, they will be referred to in these cases in accordance with the French system. Certain Arabic words and names of personalities that are of com­ mon usage in English are not transliterated, for example ‘Islam’, ‘Qur’an’, and Gamal ‘Abd al-Nasser. 6 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to extend my thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Katharine Zebiry, who has guided my research over the last six years. Her patient assistance and practical advice, whether of a critical, structural or methodological nature, has served me well during the preparation of my thesis, and is deeply appreciated. I am also indebted to Dr. Michael Brett of the History department at SOAS, who was also very helpful in reviewing my progress, offering suggestions and advising me throughout my work. I also would like to thank my wife Zoubida for the enormous assistance and support she offered me to complete this study. I dedicate this thesis to the memory of my father Yousef. 7 Introduction The aim of this study is to discover and analyse the history and dis­ course of the Tunisian Islamic movement al-Nahda , within the context of post-independence Tunisian history and the trends of thought within contemporary Islamic movements. As such, the study is both historical and analytical. It attempts to give an accurate reading of the emer­ gence, rise and recent eclipse of al-Nahda , as well as a comprehensive analysis of its political, social and intellectual discourse. The importance of the study comes from the fact that it may be considered the first academic research done in English on al-Nahda ; up to now, the movement has received only scant treatment in English sources. The most elaborate work to date on this subject is Francois Burgat and William Dowell’s The Islamic Movement in North Africa .’ As the title suggests however the Tunisian case is only a part of a wid­ er North African interest; Burgat originally published his findings in French in his book LIslamisme au Maghreb: la Voix du Sud,2 where he reviewed the history of the Islamic movement not only in Tunisia but also in Algeria, Libya and Morocco. Nonetheless, his research into al-Nahda may be considered the most thorough thus far among French sources. Even in Arabic, books published about the Tunisian Islamic movement are very rare. Of the few published, one is entitled al- Nahda , and was written by the government official Abd Allah Imami, who studied the movement under the rubric of terrorist organisations in the Islamic world.3 A second is al-Ittijah al-Islami wa Bourguiba: Muhakamat man li man? (“The Islamic Trend and Bourguiba: Who is Trying Whom?”), written by Waleed al-Mansouri from within the 8 ranks of al-Nahda , refuting the government’s main charges at the ma­ jor trials of 1987 and published in 1988. These two books formed part of the political war between the Tunisian regime and al-Nahda and do not constitute objective sources for academic research. I may add to this category my own book, entitled Ashwaq al-Hurriyya, which I based on a collection of al-Nahda documents and published in order to draw attention to the plight of Islamist detainees in Bourguiba’s jails.4 Although the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front has attracted more attention in the Maghreb as a whole since 1990, it was the Tunisian Is­ lamic movement that played the role of the champion of Islamism in the region during the eighties, gaining more fame and attracting more scrutiny than any other Islamic organisation in the Maghreb. However, this scrutiny has come mostly from the media, rather than from aca­ demics. In this sense, carrying out academic research in English into al- Nahda may claim some originality from
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