25 October 2011

Tunisia's Ghannouchi too liberal for some Islamists

.... Abdul-Rahim Ali, a Cairo-based researcher into Islamist movements, said Ghannouchi's problem could come from hardliners within a political movement that has tried to embrace different trends, itself a shift from the Brotherhood which is famed for its internal discipline and ideological policing of cadres.

"I think his opinions are honest, but his ideas only won out in order to attract the secularists. The hardliners could take over decision-making inside Ennahda," he said, citing preachers such as Sfax-based Habib Allouz.

Saudi preacher Awajy said despite the disputes, Islamists of all persuasions would see Ennahda's victory as a turning point on the long march to Islamise modern Arab societies. [Reuters] Read more