Ennahdha: Corruption, Terrorism, and Chaos Threaten Tunisians
Since 2011, Tunisia has failed to achieve the desired economic breakthrough. The plans and programs designed to push the economy forward have stalled due to political unrest. Partisan conflicts and attempts to control the state began after the fall of the regime of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Due to the impact of the Arab Spring wave that swept several Arab countries, the path of Ennahdha, with its Muslim Brotherhood affiliations, to reach power appeared to be at a stage marked by the fragility of state institutions.
By winning first place in the 2011 elections for the National Constituent Assembly, with 89 out of 217 seats, the Brotherhood’s Ennahdha has managed to control the reins of power and has achieved its desired goal since its founding in 1981 under the name of Islamism.
For ten years, Ennahdha has been at the wheels of power, dubbed by Tunisians as the black decade, plunging the country into a dark tunnel and exploiting power for its political and ideological interests at the expense of the country’s higher interests and the Tunisian people, who have been harmed by the danger they face because of their policies.
Threat to the People
The political class in general, and the Ennahdha movement in particular, accumulated many material and political benefits during its rule, as many governments successively ruled in short periods of time. Most of its members were not as competent as they needed to serve the interests of the state and society, and their number was inflated because of partisan complacency. ultimately posed an imminent threat to the country’s national security.
Involving Tunisia in foreign conflicts
The movement, especially its president Rached Ghannouchi, has worked to inject the country into the politics of regional and international axes, contrary to the practice of the foreign policy of the Tunisian state. This has led to a decline in Tunisia’s image in international forums, both in terms of interfering in the affairs of other countries according to Islamist ideological agendas and in terms of exporting terrorists.
Terrorist operations and political assassinations
On the security front, Tunisia witnessed several terrorist operations between 2011 and 2016 that destabilized the country and almost destroyed the state, especially in the events of the Ben Guerdane operation, in which ISIS terrorists tried to establish an Islamic emirate in the border city with Libya. “During its presidency of the executive branch in the troika governments, Ennahdha left the field open, unchecked, for Salafi-jihadi groups (especially Ansar al-Sharia) to engage in proselytizing and to attract Tunisian youth.”
It has also allowed its advocacy and association arms, like the World Union of Muslim Scholars in Tunisia, to sweep the public space in its social and educational dimensions, in order to carry out the tasks of advocacy and polarization to effect the required change in mentalities and ideas in order to achieve the ideological domination of society and impose its Islamization on their Muslim Brotherhood approach.
The movement has been implicated in cases involving the so-called secret service, the military arm of Ennahdha, charged with assassinations, accused of assassinating political activists Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi. It has also been involved in the deportation of Tunisian youth to hotbeds of tension in other countries such as Syria, and has increased its role in the growth of terrorism in Tunisia and in financial violations, after it was able to penetrate state institutions and penetrate its security and judicial organs and was immune from accountability for all of that.
A massive economic failure
As for the socio-economic level, the indicators have taken a serious downward turn, as successive governments have failed to formulate development policies that promote the various economic sectors. This has been reflected in the decline of all the relevant indicators, as the growth rate in 2020 was 8.8% negative, the inflation rate was 6.2%, the trade balance suffered a deficit of 1275.4 million dinars, and the unemployment rate rose to 17.9%. The fiscal deficit in 2020 was 11.5%, and public debt exceeded 90% of Gross domestic product. The sovereignty of the State and the independence of its decision and choices are threatened by dependence on foreign aid.
This difficult economic and financial situation has had social repercussions, as there have been many protests due to the high prices, the deterioration of living conditions, the spread of unemployment, in addition to the deterioration of the services provided by the State in terms of health, education, and others.. In addition, corruption is rampant in the political, administrative and economic spheres and is rampant in the various State institutions and agencies.
Post-crash clutter
Fearing that legislative elections would be held on December 17 as a step toward ending its rule, Ennahdha is attempting to destroy the rest of the country with its hostile rhetoric and threats.
Ghannouchi said late last month during a speech in the northern province of Bizerte that he would resist this course, referring to the roadmap outlined by President Kais Saied, which calls for a return to democracy. He stressed that he is counting on the street and the movement of the street.
According to observers, Ennahdha is seeking to incite violence in order to destroy the country by rallying its supporters to grab a negotiating space with Tunisian state institutions. especially in light of the strong popular rejection against them. Tunisian political analyst Sahabi Al-Seddiq believes the Brotherhood is trying to derail the upcoming legislative elections in any way. It is likely that the scenario of violence practiced by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt will be recalled to achieve their goals.
Al-Seddiq added that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Ennahdha Movement knows that it has become a popular vocabulary, which is only a small number in the political process, and that is why it has resorted to threats. He pointed out that this is not the first time that the people have threatened internal fighting to push the country into civil war in the event that the Brotherhood were finally expelled from Tunisia and thrown into prison.
He said the Brotherhood is the constant threat and will not hesitate to strip it of its terrorist face whenever its popularity diminishes and its influence diminishes in the mainstream of the state.
