Tunisia: Ghannouchi consolidates his position as Ennahda confirms shift from political Islam

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Tunisia | 03 July 2016

As reported by the New York Times on 24 May 2016, Tunisia's most influential Islamic party, Ennahda, ratified the initiative of the leadership of the party to shift the ideological orientation of the party from political Islamism to a more civic and secular direction. The party congress also reelected Rachid Ghannouchi, a well-respected Islamic thinker, who has been instrumental in the party"s ideological shift. The congress further allowed Ghannouchi to nominate the executive council of the party, making it possible for him to reinforce the new direction of the party. Yonas Dembele, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "These developments indicate that Rachid Ghannouchi is consolidating his position and can now give prominent leadership positions to his allies and supporters in the party. This will surely help in consolidating the shift to a more secular direction. Much still remains unclear as to whether this shift shows a genuine change of heart or whether it is just a tactical move meant to make Ennahda more acceptable to those outside its core constituency and the international community. For Christians, a move by a‚ main Islamist party to detach itself from religion and prefer secularism is desirable. In a country like Tunisia where religious minorities are often discriminated against, well-balanced secularism paves the way for religious equality."