April 17th, 2025, marks two years since Rached Ghannouchi’s arrest. On the second anniversary, the leader of Ennahda — Tunisia’s Islamic democratic party — sent a message from prison through the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, republished here in full.
Dear Friends:
In the name of God, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of God:
“Those to whom the people said, ‘Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.’ But it only increased them in faith, and they said, ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and He is the best disposer of affairs.’ So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them. And they pursued the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty. That is only Satan who frightens his supporters. So fear them not, but fear Me, if you are believers.” (Qur’an 3:173–175)
“The matter of the believer is truly remarkable: all of it is good. If something favorable happens, he is grateful, and that is good for him. If something unfavorable happens, he is patient, and that is good for him.”
Two years have passed since my home was stormed on the night of the 27th of Ramadan, during Iftar, as my family was gathered. Suddenly, hordes of security forces of all types and divisions descended upon us, accompanied by dogs and automatic weapons. They raided my home, seizing and confiscating what they pleased. Yet, they found neither weapons nor funds, contrary to what they had expected from Ghannouchi’s house.
From that day, a campaign began to fabricate evidence, manufacture accusations, and compile files to create the image of a dangerous terrorist threatening the security and social peace of the country and beyond. This included concocted cases involving “money laundering,” “secret rooms,” and “clandestine apparatuses,” all aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the country’s largest and oldest political movement, one that had won four consecutive elections. What need would such a movement have for secrecy?
They also brought up the so-called “travel to conflict zones” case, accusing a party whose former Minister of Interior was the first to designate Ansar al-Sharia as a terrorist group and to ban its activities, at a time when others were defending the group’s right to operate, opposing that decision, and urging its reversal.
Following this unjust criminalization came further accusations, ranging from conspiracies and lobbying to absurdities, like converting a eulogy I gave for a colleague and a fellow struggler, in which I described him as someone who “feared no oppressor and stood up to tyrants,” into an allegation of inciting against the security forces, simply because armed groups have used similar phrases.
A Ramadan talk was also twisted into a “conspiracy,” based on my warning against continuing a policy of excluding the opposition, uprooting dissent, and ostracizing the different. I called instead for national unity and inclusive dialogue without exception, and for the establishment of a Tunisia that welcomes all its children, regardless of their views and positions, built by all its citizens.
This warning was distorted into a supposed call for civil strife, even though this movement is deeply rooted in Tunisian soil, shaped by moderate Islam, and committed to democracy in its internal practices and external relations. It has existed for over half a century, always a target of violence, never a source of it, always subject to exclusion, never practicing it. A victim of tyranny, not its instigator. My speech was a warning about the destructive consequences of exclusion, authoritarianism, and the erasure of the other, consequences that have historically brought down nations, toppled regimes, and destroyed civilizations.
Since its inception, our movement has consistently called for a free Tunisia that accommodates everyone, with no exclusion. This principle has been and remains the guiding value we urge our youth, members, and supporters to embrace in their dealings with others.
We summarized the principles and goals of the movement in a central slogan we still believe in, the call for “Muslim democracy”, a democracy that excludes no one, open to all, Muslim democrats, secular democrats, and others. It excludes only those who insist on exclusion, those who seek to monopolize the present and future of the country and impose it on all Tunisians by force. This has been our fundamental disagreement with Bourguiba, our conflict with Ben Ali, and our opposition to the current regime. All shared a single-party, authoritarian rule that denied pluralism and withheld equal rights from citizens.
This has been our consistent issue with every regime since independence. We have always sought engagement with all parties based on these principles. Yet here we are again, Muslims, liberals, leftists, and others, meeting not in dialogue halls but in prisons and detention centers, or scattered in exile across the globe. Different in ideologies, but united by opposition to dictatorship.
Here in Mornaguia Prison are Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Ridha Belhaj, Ghazi Chaouachi, Khayam Turki, Issam Chebbi, Abdelhamid Jelassi, Lotfi Mraihi, Habib Ellouz, Bechir Akremi, and others, diverse in background but united in resistance to tyranny. Politics divided them, ideologies set them apart, but dictatorship and repression brought them together.
Also here in Mornaguia are veteran leaders of Ennahda, who spent much of their lives in prison, engineer Ali Larayedh, engineer Abdelkarim Harouni, and professor Noureddine Bhiri.
Both secularists and Islamists are imprisoned by the same dictatorship, labeled “terrorists.” But who could believe that these are terrorists? And who would believe that the so-called “moderate democrat” is the one who seized freedoms, silenced expression, and besieged the judiciary? Who would believe that it was the “moderate democrat” who suspended the constitution, dissolved elected institutions, including a Parliament with 17 political parties plus independents?
From Mornaguia Prison, two years later, I reaffirm my unwavering conviction that, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, there is no solution to Tunisia’s deepening crises without freedom and democracy. The same places that ignited the Revolution for Freedom and Dignity are now erupting again, this cannot be ignored. There can be no way forward without liberties, democracy for all, and the abandonment of the illusion of guardianship, an illusion claimed by past regimes and revived today with disastrous consequences.
As I enter my third year in the prison of despotism, I remain firmly convinced that the only solution lies in responsible freedom, inclusive justice, and democracy based on equal rights for all. This is what we have always believed in, called for, and held onto as the only proven path forward.
From behind bars after two years of siege, I find solace and faith that this country, scarred by successive dictatorships and one-man rule, was once a beacon of peaceful revolution. Tunisia inspired the world through the Jasmine Revolution of 14/17, proving that history had not ended, that revolutions were not over, and that humanity still longs for freedom. Tyranny and injustice signal only one thing, the dawn is near.
Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring, despite the sabotage it faced, lived ten years of freedom, held constituent, legislative, and municipal elections in line with global standards of pluralism, transparency, and independence. All this proves that deep in Tunisia’s soil are the roots of democracy and liberty. What was built once can be built again, today and tomorrow, to raise the banner of freedom once more.
From Mornaguia Prison, I send my greetings to all those who struggle for freedom.
To the heroes of Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, steadfast in defense of our sacred places, you have shown the world a model of resilience, resolve, and hope, awakening the spirit of renewal and heralding a new world, one of freedom and justice. May our youth be at the forefront of supporting our central cause and never fall behind in this blessed journey.
“And Allah is predominant over His affairs, but most of the people do not know.” (Qur’an 12:21)
From Mornaguia Prison, my greetings to all freedom fighters.
Rached Ghannouchi
Former Speaker of the Last Elected Parliament in Tunisia
Cover photo: Supporters of Ennahdha Movement support Ennahdha Movement leader Rached Ghannouchi in front of the Anti-Terrorism Judicial Pole at Charguia in Tunis,Tunisia on February 21, 2023 . (Photo by Yassine Mahjoub/NurPhoto) (Photo by Yassine Mahjoub / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP)
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