Ayman Al-Zawahiri calls Tunisians to start defending Sharia

The 60-year-old Islamic theologian has asked Tunisians to defend the sanctity of their religion and to work towards the restoration of Sharia

Ayman al-Zawahiri, who took over from Osama bin Laden as the head of Al Qaeda, has asked Tunisians to defend sharia (Islamic Law) despite the promises made by the moderate Islamist party in power Ennahda not to enforce sharia.

In an audio recording which was broadcasted on several Islamist websites, the Emir of Al-Qaeda blasted Ennahda. Ennahda is the coalition in power of two small secular parties and al-Zawahiri says that it has disowned and betrayed Islam by doing so.

Al-Zawahiri claims that the party is trying to moderate Islam in a way which is acceptable to the US State Department. The Egyptian also said that it is not in Islam to allow casinos, nudity and secular laws.

“They are in the process of inventing an Islam acceptable to the U.S State Department, European Union or Gulf. An Islam that allows casinos, nudist beaches, interest rate-oriented banks, secular laws and submission to international law. Come in with the
customs of your Prophet and accept no substitute to Sharia,” he concluded in his message.

Although Tunisian Islamists have not been instrumental in overthrowing Zine Ben Ali, the debate on giving religion a place in government and in society has been raging in Tunisia in recent months.

Ennahda, which dominates the National Constituent Assembly was elected in the wake of the “Arab Spring” and the new government has formally given full support to maintain the first article of the Tunisian Constitution which states that,

“Tunisia is independent, free and sovereign, it’s religion is Islam, it’s language is Arabic and it’s regime is Republic.”

Maintaining this section of the constitution means that Islamists, who demand inclusion of Sharia as the main source of legislation in the Constitution, inadmissible.

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Posted by Taimoor Tariq on Jun 11 2012. Filed under Africa. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry