Since its establishment, the Moderate Association for Awareness and Reform (formerly the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) has aroused much controversy. Its president, Adel el Alami, doesn’t hesitate to declare war on anything he deems in violation of Sharia and Islam.

Since its establishment, the Moderate Association for Awareness and Reform (formerly the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice) has aroused much controversy. Its president, Adel el Alami, doesn’t hesitate to declare war on anything he deems in violation of Sharia and Islam.

El Alami says that polygamy is a public demand and that his association has achieved many accomplishments, such as terminating a plastic art exhibition, closing down a gay club and removing the posters of Marilyn Monroe.

Mr. el Alami, how would you describe the Moderate Association for Awareness and Reform?

It is a moderate association aimed at reconciliation, i.e. to intervene smoothly and peacefully among the disputed parties, both in business and social life. On public level, we are adjusting the processes and pinpoint the social diseases through dialogue that involves everybody, particularly theologists. Generally speaking, we are seeking to control and then eliminate phenomena not related to Islam or pan-Arabism.

What phenomena do you regard as diseases to the country and its identity?

Pornography, offensive speech and moral degradation, openly boasted and regarded as openness by some people who adopt Western ideas that have no roots and no future in Tunisia. For example, we tried to control pornography and managed to legally remove the Marilyn Monroe posters.

Don’t you think that your activities constitute flagrant violation of individual freedoms?

Individual freedoms are not absolute. All person are free, but if individuals gather in a public place they should respect the social restrictions derived from the Quran and the Sunna.

This means the sole foundation of your thought is Sharia?

Absolutely.

What is your work methodology?

First, we launch an information campaign about the subject at hand and then we resort to justice, in addition to protests like what happened with the Al-Abdaliyah exhibition and the gay club in Mursi, which was closed down and its members deported.            

Where does your funding come from?

We don’t need huge funds as our activities focusing on advocacy rather than charity. We depend on donations from our members and from the people who try to get their voices heard through us in order to address their vital issues.

Do you consider your invitation to tourists to respect Islam and not to wear their usual type of clothing an issue of concern amongst the Tunisians?

In regard to tourists, we approached them assuming that they may accept or reject dialogue with us. In fact they welcomed us in their places and we, as Muslims, consider tourists as an opportunity for preaching. I see nothing wrong as long as we deal with them in a civilized way.

Why did you change the association’s name from Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice?

Because it recalls the Saudi commission and this might lead to some confusion, so we decided to change the name. What matters in the end is the objectives and activities not the name itself.

You previously demanded and acted to close down unlicensed bars; should we expect a similar move towards all bars in Tunisia?

We move in stages. We tighten the noose on aspects reflecting moral degradation and then try to fully prohibit them, which is exactly the case with bars and alcohol consumption.

Speaking of alien trends, what about customary marriage?

Islam has no customary or temporary marriage. It is true there was disarray on all levels after the revolution and customary marriage is part of this. We consider it illegitimate since declaration is a precondition of marriage, which doesn’t exist in customary marriage, which is a form of adultery exactly like temporary marriage and we will fight all alien elements to Islam in Tunisia.

Why did you say you feel ashamed of being a Tunisian?  Because of the country’s sponsoring of prostitutes?

I said that because our country has become a haven for obscenity, especially for Libyans and people from Mashrek. We will try to eliminate this stereotype of our country by making life unbearable for brothels.

Do you agree with secularity of the state?

No doubt, because we don’t have a church or clergymen but we have theologists. We believe religion comes above the state and all decisions and laws should consider and not violate Islamic principles.

“Consider Islamic principles?” Or should the law be derived from Islam?

Of course they should be derived from Sharia and one day you will see mass demonstrations in Tunisia demanding the adoption of Sharia as a single source of legislation. Currently we don’t recognize any law that violates the Quran or the Sunna. We will only recognize Sharia in law making.

Do you then admit that you deem religion inseparable from the state?

Of course! If we have a dispute, we should resort to theologists not to alien Western schools. Our constitution is the Quran and the Muhammadan Sunna and we should refer to them in any dispute.

Some regarded the draft law that criminalizes insulting religious beliefs as a restriction of the freedom of expression, what is your opinion?

If insulting a person is a crime, what then can we say about insulting the religious feelings of the people of a whole country? If this is not criminalized by the state I believe that we will be on the brink of civil war and what happened in Abdaliyah Exhibition, (an exhibit deemed blasphemous) was a good example.

What is your opinion about the Personal Status Code?

First of all, its sources are conflicting; some say the content was drafted in France while others insist that it was prepared by Al-Zaytouna clerics. Either way, I would say that what is important is not the source but whether this Code conforms to Sharia or not. In a word, anything in that Code which contradicts our religion will have no place in Tunisia, the land of Zaytouna [olive tree].

Do you, for example, reject adoption?

Theologists unanimously agree that adoption is unlawful; Islam only recognizes sponsorship and not adoption.

But adoption guarantees the legal rights of the child, especially with inheritance?

In Islam we have the donation, where any person can, before he dies, give anything he wants to a sponsored child, but a sponsored child can never become a legitimate child.

Why do you say again and again that polygamy is a public demand?

 We look at this issue through health, well-being and human perspectives. When we meet people in public places, they confide in us specific messages, including polygamy. There are families suffering silently with the men engaging in unlawful affairs. We underlined that these are private cases that need to be resolved through the judiciary, which allows these men to have more than one spouse. Polygamy already exists in Tunisia but unlawfully, where some men have more than four mistresses. We found out that the orphanage receives more than 1500 illegal children every year.

Religious teaching at schools is very controversial; it is seen as parallel to official education, what is your opinion?

This controversy and misunderstanding was caused by Sheikh Hasan al-Obeidi who is known as undisciplined. However, Zaytouna religious teaching should be fully revived, but in stages. Our association has began establishing the Zaytouna kindergartens, which will look after children between two and six, and later on we will establish private Zaytouna institutes before eventually moving to the university level.

What kind of curriculum will be taught at Zaytouna kindergartens?

We will try to raise Muslim children according to the enlightened Zaytouna principles through memorization of Quran and general Islamic principles. We shall try in general to keep pace with the outside world while remaining faithful to our roots. Currently we are organizing seminars to familiarize the public with our project and discuss it and the door is open to everybody, whether Tunisian or not.

What is your opinion about the firing of imams in Tunisia?

I said earlier that Tunisia has been in disarray since the revolution, which has weakened the state somehow. It is true that some imams bowed their head to the former regime, but firing them in such a humiliating manner is unacceptable. A mistake should not be corrected by another. We for example met with some “suspected” imams and convinced them to resign. We asked the supervising authority to consult the local community when appointing imams. In this way, each new imam will be recommended by the state and virtually elected by the local people. This will put an end the trend of firing imams and controlling mosques by certain groups.

What about using mosques to promote certain ideas or parties?

Mosques are for prayers and teaching only; our Salafist brothers have no room in Tunisia.

What do you mean by “they don’t have room in Tunisia”?

Fundamentalism cannot spread in Tunisia. We believe that Salafists have no place in Tunisia and they have no weight either. Let them gather and they will barely fill a bus, because the Tunisian society has no fertile ground for them and Tunisia will be faithful only to its Zaytouna traditions.

Some people describe you as the backyard of the Islamic Ennahda Party, where you speak out what they cannot, how do you respond to that?

I assure you that our association is totally independent of political parties. We criticize Ennahda and even exercised pressure on it in certain issues, such as the criminalization of persons who state publically that they are not fasting. Obviously, they did not ask us to do that. Moreover, Ennahda believes that some hot issues, such as polygamy, should be put on the back burner but we insist on addressing it instantly. Thus, our relationship sometimes reaches disagreement and we will deal with them in the same way with any party which will assume power.