Judges, not preachers: Essebsi’s death revives Brotherhood’s lust for takfir

Doaa Emam

A week after the death of Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi on July 25, the Brotherhood’s leadership in Tunisia is still devoting a certain amount of time to attacking the late president. The group not only attacked Essebsi’s policies during his reign of political turmoil and unrest, but they installed themselves as judges on the ground to try Essebsi and labeled him with kufr (disbelief), claiming that his adherence to Tunisia’s constitution made him abandon the Sharia (Islamic law).

London meeting

Since the first night of the president’s death, the leaders of the international Brotherhood organization met in London and appeared on one of the pro-Brotherhood channels to discuss the future of post-Essebsi Tunisia. Discussions were held between Egyptian fugitive Qutb al-Arabi, Mohammed Kheir Mousa and Azzam al-Tamimi about the making takfir of Essebsi and limiting his term of office due the law of equality in inheritance.

Following the embarrassment caused by the leaders of the group after the attack on them and the disclosure of the nature of the Brotherhood that makes takfir of others, the group’s media spokesman, Hassan Saleh, issued a statement to adorn the face of the Brotherhood, especially after Essebsi’s death revealed the group’s evils. He claimed that the group does not make takfir against Muslims and keeps away from slandering organizations and personalities.

Based on the book “Preachers, Not Judges” by the Brotherhood’s second guide, Hassan al-Hudaibi, Saleh said that the Brotherhood does not hold people accountable. This reflects the falsity of the slogans propagated by the group, especially since they are the most shrewd among their opponents and do not stop at making takfir of society for refusing the group.

In an attempt to save the popularity of Ennahda – the Brotherhood branch in Tunisia – the group’s spokesman requested stopping any dialogue or maltreatment involving inappropriate abuses or statements that affect the leadership or members of the movement.

Takfir fire burns its torch

Takfir is not limited to being against opponents only, as the Brotherhood also exchanged accusations against each other. At the same time, the deputy speaker of the Tunisian parliament, Abdelfattah Mourou, of Ennahda, responded to what Brotherhood leader Wagdy Ghoneim said against the Tunisian president, saying that talking about Ghoneim is filthy and requires ablution. The Brotherhood leaders attacked him, considering him to be establishing a new doctrine.

The head of the movement, Rached Ghannouchi, said that the Tunisian president “died and left the country on the right path.”

Share of the attack

On the other hand, Ennahda leader Abdul Hamid al-Jalasi took part in the attack after he appeared with the leaders of the international organization on one of the satellite channels to defend the secularism of Tunisia and the separation of religion from state, rejecting what was said about the late president’s negligence of the constants. He was accused of bias and reconciling with Essebsi at the expense of the Sharia.

In this regard, Tunisian researcher Ahmed al-Nadhif said that the Brotherhood leadership will not stop inspecting the late president’s creed. Those who defend him from Ennahda – which avoids talking badly about Essebsi – will be put down by the Brotherhood as atheists.