Information on the Mouvement de tendance islamique (MTI), which became the al-Nahdha movement in 1989, and whether it is inspired by the 1979 Iranian revolution, whether their goals are the same today, on the links between this movement and other Muslim Brotherhood organizations in other countries, on the distinction between hardliners and moderates within the group, on its organization and on its activities in 1992 [TUN17488.E]

The Mouvement de tendance islamique (MTI), which became the al-Nahdha movement (Renewal) in 1989, was founded in Tunis on 31 May 1981 (L'Afrique et l'Asie modernes Spring 1990, 136). Among its founding leaders were Rachid Ghannouchi and Abdel Fattah Mourou (ibid.). According to Religion in Politics: A World Guide, MTI's founders were originally members of the Tunisian Qu'ranic Preservation Society, which itself was founded in 1970 (1989, 268).

According to the author of an article published in L'Afrique et l'Asie modernes, the Islamic endeveour in Tunisia dates back to the late 1960s, and was originally inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Egypt (Spring 1990, 136). However, in the early 1980s several MTI members who favoured the use of political violence broke away from the movement to set up the pro-Iranian Islamic Jihad (Revolutionary and Dissident Movements 1991, 342; Islam and Islamic Groups 1992, 247).

Before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, the International Organization of Muslim Brotherhood (IOMB), strongest in Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Kuwait and Tunisia, was then dominated by the Egyptian Muslim Brothers (Arabies Mar. 1992, 19). This tendency within the world Islamic movement was less radical and less militant than the Iranian tendency based in Teheran (ibid.).

However, after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, there was a split within the IOMB; the Egyptian faction condemned the invasion while the Sudanese faction, led by Sudan's President Hassan al-Tourabi, supported the Iraqis (ibid.). The al-Nahdha movement was also divided on the issue; exiled leader Rachid Ghannouchi supported the Iraqi cause while Abdel Fattah Mourou and other party leaders in Tunisia sided with Saudi Arabia, which provided funds to the movement (ibid.; Revolutionary and Dissident Movements 1991, 342).

This split within the organization also reveals the existing tensions between the radicals and the traditionalists on the issues of Islamic practice and Islamic nationalism (ibid.). According to Radio France International, Abdel Fattah Mourou and a group of followers dissociated themselves from the structures of the al-Nahdha movement in order to create a new political group which would stand for a more moderate vision of Islam (27 Oct. 1991). On the other hand, a Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR) report states that al-Nahdha's exiled leader Rachid Ghannouchi has become increasingly associated with radical Islamic leaders from Iran, Sudan and other countries noted for their poor human rights record (Oct. 1993, 6).

According to Country Reports 1993, al-Nahdha remains an illegal movement which has been unable to reorganize since the 1992 conviction of its entire leadership for involvement in a conspiracy to overthrow the government (1994, 1297). Rachid Ghannouchi, the "nominal" leader of the movement sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in 1992 for his alledged role in the conspiracy, was able to obtain refugee status in the United Kingdom in 1993 (ibid.). An article published in Arabies states that since the movement was decapitated in 1992, al-Nahdha has had no Emir (chief) inside Tunisia and has been deeply divided (Nov. 1992, 25). According to The Jerusalem Post, the Tunisian prime minister said that although the al-Nahdha movement would not be allowed to nominate candidates for the spring 1993 elections, Islamists would be authorized to run as independents (24 Mar. 1993). The following information was provided to the DIRB in a 26 May 1994 telephone interview with a professor of political science specializing on the Mahgreb who teaches at Laval University in Quebec City.

The Al-Nahdha movement is not affiliated to the Iranian Islamic revolution; it is autonomous in its orientation and objectives and propagates its own brand of Islamic fundamentalism in a country of Sunni Muslims. As an organization promoting qu'ranic rule, this organization gets some financial and technical support from Teheran, but also from Saudi Arabia and Sudan. Following accusations of fostering a conspiracy to overthrow the Tunisian government in 1991, the movement is being severily repressed and most of its leaders, including Abdel Fattah Mourou, are now in jail. As a result, al-Nahdha remains a clandestine organization and little is known on its current structures and activities in Tunisia. Although al-Nahdha professes to respect the rules of democracy, exiled leader Rachid Ghannoussi has once stated in London that the notion of democracy is not mentioned in the Qu'ran. The organization also advocates the death penalty for apostasy and considers Muslim women who marry non-moslems to be apostates. This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


L'Afrique et l'Asie modernes [Paris]. Spring 1990. No. 164. Delphine Henry. "Le président Ben Ali et les islamistes."

Arabies [Paris]. November 1992. No. 71. Jean Dabaghy and Naji Khlat. "Opposition : le miel et le vinaigre."

_____. March 1992. No. 63. Antoine Jalkh. "Des « Frères musulmans » aux groupes radicaux: un feuilleton à épisodes."

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Islam and Islamic Groups: A Worldwide Reference Guide. 1992. Edited by Farzana Shaikh. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK Ltd.

The Jerusalem Post. 24 March 1993. Nissim Rejwan. "North Africa Confronts Iran-Sudan Islamists." (NEXIS)

Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LHCR). October 1993. Promise Unfulfilled: Human Rights in Tunisia since 1987. Washington, DC: LCHR.

Professor of political science specializing on the Mahgreb, Laval University, Quebec City. 26 May 1994. Telephone interview.

Radio France International [Paris, in French]. 27 October 1991. "Ennahdha Founder to Form Moderate Islamist Party." (FBIS-NES-91-213 4 Nov. 1991, p. 47)

Religion in Politics: A World Guide. 1989. Edited by Stuart Mews. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK Ltd.

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. 3rd ed. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK Limited.

Attachments

L'Afrique et l'Asie modernes [Paris]. Spring 1990. No. 164. Delphine Henry. "Le président Ben Ali et les islamistes," pp. 135-49.

Al-Hayah [London, in Arabic]. 16 November 1993. "Ghannouchi Denies Report of Terrorist Role." (FBIS-NES-93-221 18 Nov. 1993, pp. 25-26)

_____. 4 February 1993. "North African Fundamentalists Deny Iran Link." (FBIS-NES-93-024 8 Feb. 1993, pp. 5-6)

_____. 15 December 1991. "Ghannouchi Emphasizes Nonviolent Intentions." (FBIS-NES-91-243 18 Dec. 1991, pp. 17-18)

Al-Safir [Beirut, in Arabic]. 13 July 1992. "Al-Nahdah Leader Ghannouchi Interviewed." (FBIS-NES-92-141 22 July 1992, pp. 12-13)

Al-Sha'b [Cairo, in Arabic]. 4 January 1994. "Al-Nahdah leader Views 'Zionist' Plans." (FBIS-NES-94-010 14 Jan. 1994, p. 23)

Al-Shirah [Beirut, in Arabic]. 15 February 1993. "Al-Nahdah's Ghannouchi on Domestic, Foreign Affairs." (FBIS-NES-93-031 18 Feb. 1993, pp. 18-20)

Amnesty International. October 1992. Tunisia: Heavy Sentences After Unfair Trials. (AI Index: MDE 30/23/92). London: Amnesty International Publications, pp. 2-4.

Arabies [Paris]. November 1992. No. 71. Naji Khlat. "Ben Ali : un quinquennat au goût de cendre," pp. 16-22.

_____. November 1992. No. 71. Jean Dabaghy and Naji Khlat. "Opposition : le miel et le vinaigre," pp. 23-25.

_____. March 1992. No. 63. Antoine Jalkh. "Des « Frères musulmans » aux groupes radicaux : un feuilleton à épisodes," pp. 16-19.

_____. March 1992. No. 63. Joseph Bahout. "Gilles Kepel à « Arabies » : « Les divers modes de réislamisation ».", p. 27.

_____. March 1992. No. 63. Monique Chauvel. "L'intégrisme « vert » vu des Etats-Unis," pp. 24-26.

_____. March 1992. No. 63. Fayçal Jalloul. "L' « Islamintern » de Khartoum un an après," pp. 20-23.

_____. March 1992. No. 63. Naji Khlat. "20 figures de proue," pp. 28-29, 31.

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 20 April 1987. "North Africa: In Brief; Tunisian Opposition Movements Condemn 'Repression'." (NEXIS)

Chicago Tribune. 28 September 1987. National edition. "7 Sentenced to Hang for Tunisia Plot." (NEXIS) The Christian Science Monitor [Boston]. 20-26 April 1987. Louise Lief. "Tunisia: Islamic Activists Go Into Hiding," p. A9.

_____. 6-12 April 1987. Louise Lief. "Tunis Claims Iran Is Stirring Up Trouble," p. A1.

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Islam and Islamic Groups: A Worldwide Reference Guide. 1992. Edited by Farzana Shaikh. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK Ltd, pp. 246-50.

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_____. 22 May 1991. Foreign Financing of Al-Nahdha Movement Reported." (FBIS-NES-91-009 22 May 1991, p. 6)

Le Point [Paris]. 29 August-4 September 1992. Philippe Aziz. "Islamisme: la stratégie de Ben Ali," pp. 38-39.

_____.18-24 February 1991. Philippe Aziz."Le complot islamiste," pp. 32.

_____. 18-24 February 1991. Sylvain Attal. "L'effet Saddam," p. 31

_____. 18-24 February 1991. Philippe Aziz. "Interview : Abdelfattah Mourou," p. 33.

_____. 18-24 February 1991. Philippe Aziz. "Interview : Abdelfattah Mourou," p. 33.

_____. 3 April 1989. Mireille Duteil. "La marche des islamistes.", pp. 30-31.

Radio France International [Paris, in French]. 27 October 1991. "Ennahdha Founder to Form Moderate Islamist Party." (FBIS-NES-91-213 4 Nov. 1991, p. 47)

_____. 23 May 1991. "Ennadha Leader Refutes Allegations." (FBIS-NES-91-100 23 May 1991, p. 16)

Religion in Politics: A World Guide. 1989. Edited by Stuart Mews. Harlow, Essex: Longman Group UK Ltd, pp. 268-69.

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_____. 22 May 1991. "More on News Conference." (FBIS-NES-91-100 23 May 1991, pp. 15-16)

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_____. 8 October 1987. PM Cycle. "Moslem Extremists Executed." (NEXIS)

_____. 2 October 1987. AM Cycle. "Prime Minister Sacked." (NEXIS)

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