Tunesien: Jüdischer Kandidat aus islamistischer Liste

Die islamistische En-Nafha Partei in Tunesien mit einem überraschenden Kandidaten für die Kommunalwahlen:

Tunisia’s Islamist En Nahda Party is raising eyebrows by running a Jewish candidate in the upcoming municipal elections, in what it says is a sign of its openness.

But Simon Salameh’s nomination for the council in the Monastir district by the party within the governing coalition has come under criticism, referred to as a cold political ploy by the party and a sign of normalization with Israel. (...)

En Nahda is perhaps unique among Islamist parties in the Arab world, with its founder and leader Rached Ghannouchi long espousing the idea that Islam and democracy are compatible. 

During years in exile, he cultivated ties with non-religious Tunisian opposition movements. In the elections after the 2011 revolution, En Nahda emerged as the largest party and played a key role in formulating the new constitution. It showed a willingness to modify its positions and did not demand that Shari’a (Islamic law) be the basis for legislation in Tunisia. When it lost parliamentary elections in 2014-2015, it conceded defeat and handed over power.

“En Nahda is committed to democracy and has demonstrated that commitment in word and deed,” says Daniel Zisenwine, a fellow at the Hebrew University’s Truman Institute who specializes in Tunisia.

For about a year, Zisenwine says, En Nahda has been positioning itself not as an Islamist party but as a center-right conservative party with something of a religious orientation, akin to the Christian Democratic parties that emerged in Europe after the World War II.

“They don’t want to be seen as a radical Islamic party,” he says. “Having a Jewish candidate is part of an effort by En Nahda to position itself as a conservative party that is not a threat to secular values in Tunisia.”