Correspondents met Amer Al-Arid, head of the political bureau of the Ennahda Movement, to discuss the ruling party’s assessment of the current situation in Egypt, the possibility of the Egyptian scenario reproducing itself in Tunisia, the relationship between the Ennahda Movement and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and Ennahda’s relationship with the global Muslim Brotherhood.

Correspondents met Amer Al-Arid, head of the political bureau of the Ennahda Movement, to discuss the ruling party’s assessment of the current situation in Egypt, the possibility of the Egyptian scenario reproducing itself in Tunisia, the relationship between the Ennahda Movement and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and Ennahda’s relationship with the global Muslim Brotherhood.

Q: The events that have taken place in Rabia al-Adawiya square have shaken the conscience of the world. Could the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have avoided the violent scenario if they were more pragmatic?

A: In Egypt, there is a coup against the will of the people who elected the Muslim Brotherhood. This military coup has turned into a bloody coup against peaceful demonstrators. Perhaps this coup against legitimacy did not come as a surprise for the Muslim Brotherhood because the goal was to end the protest.  However, the bloodshed and the high number of victims did not only surprise the Muslim Brotherhood, it was a surprise to all people. 

Today, we are confronted with a massacre that has left thousands of martyrs and wounded people. This is not what happened to the Muslim Brotherhood; they were only the coup’s excuse. It was a counter-revolution which came to serve a political agenda other than that of the revolution.

The only mistake committed by the Muslim Brotherhood is that they peacefully expressed their message demanding the return of the ousted President Morsi and respect for the legitimacy of the ballot boxes.  The army, instead of protecting citizens, entered into a bloody battle, driven by hidden hands to help the apostasy revolution.

We, as a movement, believe that the situation in Egypt confront the Egyptian people confronted with two bitter options. Either to defeat the coup and make sacrifices or accept the coup and move backwards. The latter would mean a return to the tyranny of the military authority, which is serving certain political interests that aim to return Egypt to the era of despotism and repression.

Q: Many observers believe that what happened in Egypt is a severe blow to the Muslim Brotherhood movement.  Did the Ennahda Movement exert efforts to prevent what has happened in Egypt, given your ‘special relationship’ with the Brotherhood in Egypt?

A: We, as an Islamic movement, made efforts to intervene before the military coup against the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. We made a short visit to Cairo a few days before the coup and we met with the most important political parties in an attempt to reach common solutions between the different parties.

On the day of our visit, the Egyptian army, under the command of General Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, had already made its decision in agreement with a large part of the Egyptian opposition.  During our visit we emphasized that there is no solution, other than accepting the will of the people through the polls. But the view of the Ennahda Movement did not prevent the holocaust and massacre of Muslims in Egypt.  Today Egypt is facing an unknown fate as a result of the illegal coup.

Q: Sheikh Rashid El-Ghannouchi is one of the leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood. What is your relationship with the global organization of the Muslim Brotherhood?

A: Sheikh Rashid El-Ghannouchi is a leading member of the global Muslim Brotherhood organization. As a movement, we have relations with the organization and we have relations too with all moderate Islamic movements as well as other associations and non-Islamic parties which serve the public interest and expand the circle of our relations. The multiplicity of common ideas between the Ennahda Movement and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt makes it closer to us, especially as we both believe in the importance of the Renaissance of the Islamic Nation and the defense of freedom, which is the essence of Islam.

We both defend the independence of the Islamic Nation’s decision. So he relation between Sheikh Rashid Gannouchi’s relationship to the Muslim Brotherhood is one thing and Ennahda’s relationship with the global Muslim Brotherhood organization is something else.  We are only partners in the values and aims on the Arab Islamic level. And for this reason relations between us are good.

Q: But Rashid El-Ghannouchi and Mohammed Akrout have signed, a while ago, a statement in Cairo calling for Jihad in Syria? Is this statement still binding for the Ennahda movement?

A: Personally, I did not see the statement which was signed to serve political, Islamic and public interests. I do not have accurate details on its content.  According to what I know, the statement is no longer binding for the Ennahda Movement.

Q: The status of Islamists in the Syrian revolution is nweak; in Libya the influence is dwindling  in Egypt the Brotherhood is being crushed. Is Tunisia the last fortress for the Islamists?

A: Yes, Tunisia is the last fortress for the Islamists. There is a high wave of apostasy targeting the Arab revolutions and their Islamic governments. But I, in my capacity as Chairman of the Ennahda Movement Political Bureau do not think that these revolutions have ended.  I believe that the people of the region have taken the decision to be free and therefore the victory of the will of the revolting peoples will have an expensive price with regard to the conflict in Egypt, especially among the supporters of the ballot boxes’ legitimacy and those who turned against this legitimacy as well as in Libya, Syria and so on.

As for Tunisia, I describe the Islamic movement as the only candle that is still lightened and that is now threatened of being extinguished in order to spread darkness in the whole region.  It is for this reason that we are exerting much effort to make this Islamic experience succeed on the basis of consensus, reform and change.  We are sure that we will succeed in building the foundations of co-existence.  Perhaps all this is documented in the documents of the Ennahda Movement available at the Interior Ministry and which contain the preparations for free elections to be held regardless who will win in these elections because it is in the interest of everybody to put Tunisia on the path of democracy and coexistence in the confines of differences and even contradiction.  This is more important to us that which party will win in the next stage.

Q: The whole world today is waiting to see the strength of the movement’s steadfastness in confronting the challenges imposed on it. Are you capable of making the Islamists adopt the path of democracy?

A: The Ennahda Movement is one of the most Islamist movements that have been criticized because our experience confirms the correctness of our conviction as an Islamic movement of the inherent bond between Islam and democracy and how they complement each other.  This is reflected in the ruling troika coalition between the Islamic Ennahda Movement, the secular Ettakatol Party and the Congress for the Republic Party. In our attempt to strengthen democracy we have brought together generations of the Islamists and secular streams and we are prepared to coexist with everyone in an atmosphere of pluralism and democracy.

The Islamic experience in Tunisia could be considered as a successful one because it was able to achieve coexistence between all streams despite of their difference. We have discovered that there are some radical groups who do not give any importance to the supreme interests of the country and they refuse to negotiate even if the constants they believe in would lead to the destruction of the country.

Perhaps the scenario of Egypt will not be repeated because no one accepts the repetition of the Egyptian bloody scenes in Tunisia. Moreover, those who refuse to negotiate and are willing to turn against the legitimacy of the popular will, “the legitimacy of the ballot boxes” should take a close look at the Egyptian coup against the ruling authority and should notice that all the sit-ins demanding the departure of the Egyptian Islamic government have failed and their leaders have escaped such as El-Baradei and others who abandoned some of their stances.  It is for this reason that those who are turning against the government in Tunisia should understand that there is no solution other than the legitimacy of the ballot boxes.  In Egypt, al-Sisi interfered and helped those who turned against the legitimacy and he arbitrary interfered in the popular will. This will not happen at all in Tunisia.

Q: What are the implications of the meeting, which took place between Sheikh Rashid El-Ghannouchi and the leader of Nidaa Tounes, Beji Caid Essebsi, especially as the country is going through a crisis between an opposition demanding the dismissal of the government and another faction stressing the legitimacy of the ballot boxes? 

A: This is not the first interview with Beji Caid Essebs and it will not be the last interview with him.  It came in the framework of finding political solutions to the outstanding complexities such as the “Leave Sit-in” which we consider as a coup against legitimacy.  We, in the Ennahda Movement, see that interview with Essebsi was very positive, contrary to what has been promoted. Its actual positive impact will become clearer in the next few days.

Q: One question is often asked about the identity of your movement. Are you able to distinguish between what is political and what is religious? 

We are a Tunisian party and a national movement. We have our ideas which are based on our moderate understanding of Islam. Our approach is popular action, political dialogue and a keenness to preserve coexistence between all people. And given that we are a political movement with a religious authority, perhaps it is difficult for us to distinguish between what is political and what is religious.