Tim Sebastian Launches “New Arab Debates”

As Tunisia is heading toward its first free election, Tim Sebastian, the founder and chairman of the Doha Debates, is back in the country with his team to launch the so-called “New Arab Debates.”

The first debate took place in Tunis, on October 20th, just three days before the elections of the Constituent Assembly. The discussion focused on whether or not Tunisians should fear a possible victory of Islamists in the elections.

A large number of students, free thinkers, managers, and foreign media attended the debate.

Representatives from both sides participated, including Saeed Ferjani, Ennahda spokesman and Khaled Abdel Jawed of the Democratic Modernist Pole, a secular party.

Ferjani launched the debate by pointing at the struggle of Islamists during the rule of both Bourguiba and Ben Ali. He stated that Ennahda envisions a democratic system in which the voice of the people count the most.

According to Ferjani, Ennahda believes that Islam and democracy go hand in hand, whereby democracy can even be strengthened by Islam, and vice versa.

“Ennahda will protect the people’s faith,” said Ferjani.

The party’s spokesman also emphasized that Ennahda will defend the Arab-Muslim identity of the Tunisian people.

Israel was also a topic within the debate. To many people’s surprise, Ferjani called Israel “a legitimate state.” While avoiding an answer to the question as to whether Ennahda would work to penalize any normalization with the Jewish state, Ferjani stressed that he and his party condemn any oppression against any people in the world such as Palestinians.

Abdel Jawed, sceptical of Ennahda, argued that such claims are contradictory and stressed that this is evident by many speeches and public statements of the party.

Suggesting that Ennahda exploits people’s’ faith and loyalty, Abdel Jawed accused Ennahda of causing the violence that occurred lately across the nation.

Abdel Jawed’s main reservation on Ennahda’s policy was that it follows an Islamist ideology, failing to develop his criticism further than reciting lines from previous articles where Ennahda figures did not stick to the party’s official line of promoting moderate Islam.