A mysterious fate for Ennahda in Tunisia – Details
On 17 April, Tunisian authorities announced the arrest of Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi over a leaked video of a conversation he had with leaders of the National Salvation Front in which he said: “The exclusion of political Islam in Tunisia is a project for civil war in the country. According to him, this step has exacerbated the complex crisis experienced by the mainstream of political Islam in Tunisia, which is linked, on the one hand, to the reversals that accompanied the exceptional measures of President Kais Saied’s decisions on July 25, 2021, on the structure of the Renaissance Movement, and, on the other hand, to the trend of the Tunisian authorities towards curbing the movement’s movements and opening the files of terrorism and corruption that have been involved in it.
Strike hard
A new study by the Egyptian Center for Thought and Studies revealed that the arrest of Rachid Ghannouchi represents a new blow to Ennahda, especially in light of the pivotal role played by Ghannouchi within Ennahda, on the political and ideological level, a step that would increase the siege imposed on the movement and exacerbate its already existing structural crises since the post-25 July 2021 era.
Organizational paralysis
The Tunisian researcher Hadi Hamdoun, an expert in political affairs, said it is clear that the “Muslim Brotherhood” Ennahda movement is undergoing organizational paralysis after the dismissal of most of its leaders and its previous unwillingness to renew and neutralize its leadership; “The fate of the Brotherhood’s Ennahda movement has been over since the July 25 revolution, but what is happening now inside the movement is that some of the names have been changed because of the political situation.”
The Tunisian researcher added that al-Ounissi will continue the escalator approach to pressure Kais Saied, internally and externally, to release Rached Ghannouchi, whose arrest is not expected, even for the public, even though he is involved in corruption and crimes affecting the state security. The signs of escalation started after the press conference, which had decided to issue protest rallies, in front of Tunisia’s embassies abroad and in front of foreign embassies in Tunisia to put pressure on Tunisia internationally.
