Moncef Ben Salem

Moncef Ben Salem is an influential member of the moderate Islamic party, Ennahdha, and is the party’s deputy in the Constituent Assembly from the Sfax 1 electoral district. Ben Salem was proposed by the governing coalition as the Minister of Higher Education in the interim government. He is a native of Sfax and an eminent professor of Mathematics and Physics at the Faculté des Science (college of sciences) at the University of Sfax.

Ben Salem is famous for his harsh criticism of both Habib Bourguiba and Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali. He called former Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba a “Zionist” on multiple occasions, and was a forceful opponent of his regime.

Ben Salem quickly became a target of the government at the onset of Ben Ali’s regime, and was jailed for 18 months from 1987 to 1989 and then three years from 1990 to 1993 for his political activity. After 1993, Moncef Ben Salem was prohibited from working and was forced to live under surveillance.

In 2006, Ben Salem went on a hunger strike to protest the mistreatment of his family by Ben Ali’s regime, sparked by the dismissal of his son from the University of Sfax for what Ben Salem saw as political reasons. Ben Ali’s crackdown against Islamist political opposition was in full swing during this period.

Ben Salem came to politics by way of his religious convictions. He stated in an interview with the collective blog Nawaat.org that as a student he did not share the political inclinations of his peers, many of whom were leaning toward either Marxism or Western ideologies.  He sought to promote Islam and Islamic values within his university among the student body, and stated that he feels his efforts were successful.

Ben Salem is a well-respected scholar. He taught math for years in the renowned Faculté des Sciences in Sfax. He holds PhDs in mathematics and engineering from several prestigious universities such as the University of Toulouse and the Institut Supérieur de Mécanique in Paris. He has taught in Belgium, Germany, and the United States, among other countries.