By MOHAMMED IQBAL and MOHAMMED OSMAN
DOHA: The Tunisian government led by the Islamist Ennahda party will soon issue a new law that merges the principles of Islamic Shariah and the modern civil state, Ennahda founder Rachid Al Ghannouchi said here yesterday.
Addressing a symposium on Islamists and democracy in the Arab Spring countries at the Doha Sheraton, Ghannouchi, who is known for his moderate views, reassured that his party will not insist on making Shariah the source of law.
He categorically stated that the current government will not try to impose Islamic laws on the people nor interfere in personal issues like “ how to dress, what to believe and what to eat.”
“We are about to issue a new law which merges Shariah and the values of modern civil state. We will not insist on making Shariah as the source of law,” said Ghannouchi.
“We don’t want to divide the country between people who support the Islamic Shariah and those who oppose it.”
“In Islam, there is no theocratic state. And the state has no right to impose any particular religion or interfere on personal issues like what to wear, what to believe in or what to eat.”
“If we want to have real democracy, we should give priority to harmony and consensus, not to majority or minority. If there are some sections of citizens who do not feel secure, this means there is no good environment for implementing democracy,” he added
Differing with some traditional Islamic schools of thought, the Ennahda ideologue said his party was not opposed to women and non-Muslims becoming the heads of state.
“The issue of equality among citizens is a controversial issue but the Islamic movement in Tunisia believes in equality for all citizens. We believe in the rights of non-Muslims and women to be elected as head of state,” said Ghannouchi.
“We don’t believe in exclusive rights for some segments of the society… The country is owned by all citizens irrespective of their religion, race or political ideology,” he added.
“Islam does not prevent benefitting from others’ experiences. That is why we are talking about modern state, multi-party system and independency of judiciary. But there are some narrow-minded Islamic groups that still believe Islam cannot practise democracy,” said Ghannouchi.
He said secularism could be a better option, if Islamist parties become sectarian like what happened in Iraq.
On women’s rights, he said the current parliament in Tunisia has 52 women of whom 42 are from Ennahda.
“Some of them wear Niqab ( face veil) and some even don’t cover their head… We defend the rights of women to take up any position that they are qualified for as citizens. Difference between people should not be on the basis of gender,” he said.
He said the new Tunisian constitution will be given to the people for discussion, to decide whether the country needs a presidential or parliamentary system.
“We believe the Presidential system had led us to dictatorship. That is why we prefer parliamentary system but our political partners see this issue from a different angle. The final decision lies with the people. If people want the presidential system we will not mind because it is working in the US,” said Ghannouchi.
He said the current system of mixing powers between the president and the prime minister had created some problems due to overlapping of powers.
One of the problems that the government faces is whether the higher election committee should be elected from the parliament, civil society organisations or directly from the people. “We are looking for consensus on this issue,” he said.
In reply to a question about the Salafis in Tunisia, Ghannouchi said: “Among the Salafis there are extremists and moderates. But the important thing is we are in a state where law governs. Anyone who crosses the red light should be stopped regardless of which party or group they belong to”.
He said earlier Salafis had refused to join politics, but recently two Salafi groups sought permission to set up parties and it was granted. The Peninsula
