The Ennahdha Party is one of the few political parties in Tunisia that has an explicitly Islamic orientation. it is said to have been inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian revolution when it was started.
Since then, it has sought to make itself look more moderate and democratic, and it has been part of the ruling coalition of Tunisia since 2011.
Analysts are confused whether Ennahda is truly moderate or an more extreme Islamist party. Wikipedia captures parts of the problematic and fuzzy parts of its political positions:
On 13 November 2011, the party’s secretary-general Hamadi Jebali held a joint rally in Sousse together with a parliamentary deputy of the Palestinian Hamas party. Jebali referred to the occasion as “a divine moment in a new state, and in, hopefully, a 6th caliphate,” and that “the liberation of Tunisia will, God willing, bring about the liberation of Jerusalem.” While the tone was said do be sharply in contrast to official statements of the party,[73] Jebali was appointed Prime Minister of Tunisia a mere month later.
When in January 2012, Hamas leadership arrived for another visit to Tunisia, people at the airport were heard shouting “Kill the Jews.” Tunisian Jews said Ennahdha leadership was slow to condemn the shouting.[74]
Ahmed Ibrahim of the Tunisian Pole Democratique Moderniste political bloc complained to a foreign journalist that Ennahdha appears “soft” on television, “but in the mosques, it is completely different. Some of them are calling for jihad”.[30] The general manager of Al Arabiya wrote an editorial expressing the opinion that Ennahdha is fundamentally a conservative Islamist party with a moderate leadership.[75] Ennahdha has been described as a mixed bag with moderate top layers and a base defined by “a distinctly fundamentalist tilt”.[76]
Now Ennahda is surprising people again by working to nominate a Jew for an upcoming municipal election. Simon Salama will be an Ennahda candidate, in a move that the party says “reflects the openness of Ennahda and its civilization.”
Critics assert that this is a “political maneuver” to win the support of more voters in the next municipal election.
There are over 7000 municipal seats up for grabs in the next election.
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