Unpacking Ghannouchi's unique approach to politics

The recent arrest of Rached Ghannouchi, the 82-year-old leader who came to prominence as a result of the moderate, reasonable and negotiative politics of the Ennahda Movement in Tunisia, is not an event that can be dismissed lightly. This incident provides us with all the data we need to diagnose the current state of the Islamic world, its problems, and its maladies.

Ghannouchi is not just a politician from Tunisia; he is an important thinker and intellectual for the whole Islamic world, and even, if his worth is truly appreciated, for the whole contemporary world. He is a philosopher who has nourished the horizons of thought and history from the lands where Ibn Khaldun was raised, and is perhaps, quite literally, a wise politician.

His intellectual depth, horizon, political and spiritual personality, and leadership, which he immediately reveals in his books and speeches, as well as his political style and the way he fills it from an intellectual and jurisprudential perspective, form a literal way of ijtihad in Islamic political science. Of course, like all ijtihads, it is a path that has the chance to hit the mark, but also the chance to make mistakes.

Ghannouchi is a gateway for those seeking ideas, intellectual depth, and horizon in the Islamic world. He is not just an ivory tower intellectual. For him, being an intellectual means being in the field, rolling up his sleeves, living with people, enduring hardships, paying the price, and constantly facing the truth, while never giving up on his claims. Therefore, he did not walk alone; he always had companions on his journey. He walked in solidarity, friendship, and mutual assistance, sharing his struggles with his comrades.

It was not easy; the oppression he and his friends faced was not only aimed at him but also at the entire Islamic world. He fought against the most hypocritical, despotic, and dictatorial proxies of colonialism, who oppressed the people of the entire Islamic world in an indirect form after direct colonialism. In this struggle, he never resorted to violence. He talked about democracy, human rights, freedom, and human dignity. He was thrown into prison, and his party was shut down. He spent long periods of his life in either prison or exile with all his friends.

The Arab revolutions, which were a centuries-long accumulation of anger against direct or indirect colonial dictatorship, began in Tunisia. As the leader of the Ennahda movement, Ghannouchi returned to Tunisia with all his friends after the revolution. He became one of the most important actors in the post-revolutionary process, but also took a separate stance against the vengeful spiral that the revolution took.

For Ghannouchi, Tunisia meant all Tunisians. He made great efforts to prepare a constitution based on human rights and democracy that could encompass all the diversity of Tunisia, including religious and secular people, socialists, city-dwellers, villagers, workers, and farmers, without excluding anyone. His political performance during this period can easily go down in history as an important experience for what is called "negotiated democracy".

Ghannouchi has a very strong, consistent discourse. When he talks about democracy, he does not refer to a tool that he will resort to until he crosses the bridge. Nor does he refer to the anachronistic implementation of Islamic Shura in the classical sense.

Of course, Shura imbued Ghannouchi with principles and values, just like it did every Muslim. Everyone knows that its applications over time can be very different, but Ghannouchi tried to convince Islamic groups that the ideal of Shura could very well be realized within the scope of democracy.

After the constitution was drafted, he could have easily become the Prime Minister, or even the President, but he chose not to pursue any positions and demonstrated that he didn't have any political ambitions. This selfless attitude was seen as a positive example that contrasted with the political approach of the Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt, which preferred to field a candidate even in a similar situation.

In fact, Ghannouchi’s example was used to argue that if Mursi had not run in Egypt, the situation might not have escalated to a coup. This highlights the importance of selflessness and putting the greater good above individual ambition in politics.

Ghannouchi’s willingness to compromise in politics was unexpected, given the hostile propaganda machine of the French and remnants of the old regime working against him. They had even accused him of dictatorial ambitions before he had taken any official position. This is reminiscent of Mursi's situation, who was accused of being a dictator from the early days of his presidency, showing how these accusations hide a desire for true dictatorship.

Despite not needing to, Nahda chose to form a broad coalition and make as many concessions as possible. Its wise leader, Ghannouchi, could have easily become the President himself, but instead supported a human rights activist, Moncef Marzouki, with his own endorsement. He also stayed away from the government, but this did not stop him from influencing its formation and actions. Despite not holding any official positions, Ghannouchi remained a key figure in all discussions related to government formation or dissolution, presidential elections, and the drafting of the constitution.

In the midst of the Arab uprisings, Tunisia was a source of discomfort as it stood out as a pioneer and an example while other countries were hit by counter-revolutions and coups.

Despite being supported by these very countries, numerous coup attempts were thwarted by the wise stance of Tunisia. The response given by Tunisia to these countries was echoed from mouth to mouth: "We exported revolution to you, but we have no intention of importing coups from you."

However, unfortunately, recently, the coup has infiltrated and begun to even seize control over Tunisia, the bastion of democracy and revolution.

It is not surprising that the latest attempt targets Ghannouchi, the symbolic figure of the Tunisian revolution, but of course, it is not normal for a country to treat its own global asset in this manner. Ghannouchi is one of the greatest assets that a country can ever wish to produce. He has ideas that can be debated, and ideas that, when discussed, can deepen a country's intellectual, spiritual, political, and moral understanding, and broaden its horizons. His ideas are inspired from universal sources and are shaped by real-life experiences and dialogues with people.

Any country or even the entire Islamic world that mistreats its own wise scholars or remains silent in the face of such treatment should not expect anything other than a bigger catastrophe.

Let our message reach other Islamic countries that keep their wise scholars imprisoned in dungeons.