Controversy of the Constitution in Tunisia
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Political Observation - The Controversy of the Constitution in Tunisia
In a move akin to a role reversal between President Kais Saied and the so-called opposition, the Tunisian president issued on Friday evening, 8 July, an amended version of the draft constitution, which will be submitted to a popular referendum on the 25th of this month, following the criticism expressed by political organisations and parties due to the wide-ranging powers Kais Saied granted himself, a move deemed to be in contravention of the existing parliamentary system. Meanwhile, the "opposition" parties stressed that this amendment gives the authorities considerable scope to limit freedoms without censorship.
Following the demands of the “opposition” and regional and international forces from Kais Saied to deliver a roadmap to end the crisis he had caused with Western encouragement, Kais Saied set about arranging a timetable for introducing reforms to the political system with the aim of diverting the masses’ attention away from the conspiracy of the political forces against society’s identity, and framing their aspirations under the guise of the illegitimacy and invalidity of the 2014 constitution, as per the statement of Kais Saied on 9 December 2021, and contrary to the pledges he made on 11 September 2021, through which he stressed his respect of the 2014 constitution, with the possibility of amending some of its chapters pertinent to rights and freedoms.
In a recording aired by the presidential palace before the new amendment had been issued, Kais Saied said “it is imperative to add a few clarifications to avert any confusion and interpretation.” For instance, Kais Saied added in the new text the phrase “under a democratic system” to the fifth chapter, to make it as follows: “Tunisia is part of the Islamic Ummah, and the state should alone work, under a democratic system, to achieve the intentions of the upright Islam in terms of protection life, honour, wealth, religion and freedom,” instead of article 1, which stipulates that “Islam is the religion of the state”, which was removed from the new constitution.
It is no secret that drafting the clause of “Islam is the religion of the state” in the constitutions of Arab states is designed to throw dust in the eyes, deceive the Muslims, separate their religion from life and foisting, constitutionalising and protecting the secularist systems. It is imperative in this context to indicate that the point at issue is neither the competencies of the president nor the article pertinent to the “religion of the state”, as they deceived people into believing and directed their attention towards it, but rather the foundation upon which life, the state and society are built, and from which all the laws emanate, and according to which all foreign and domestic affairs are governed; this for the Muslims is the Islamic Aqeedah that confers sovereignty to Shari’ah and authority to the Ummah, and compels the ruler to implement the Shari’ah of Allah despite his singlehanded governance and his right to adopt the rules regulating the relationships, pursuant to what Shari’ah has assigned to the ruler, and the concept of leadership stipulating unilateral competency in decision-making, and according to Shurah within the boundaries of what Shari’ah approves such as technical matters in which opinion is sought from experts, and actions that are subject to Shurah and in which the opinion of the majority is sought.
Hence, the issue with Kais Saied and his constitution is not only turning the regime into a worse than a presidential one, but deceiving the people of Tunisia, conspiring against their volition with the help of the political forces, bulwarking secularism and giving the collaborators exclusive access to power. Governing the affairs of the Ummah and redressing her matters is confined to the ruler, as long as he is loyal to his religion and his Ummah, and as long as he implements on his subjects the Shari’ah of Allah alone, and when the Ummah is alert and perceptive of the duty of answerability and the legitimacy of removing the ruler if he deviated away from governing her affairs according to her viewpoint towards the interests.
Hence, standing up to Kais Saied must be on the grounds that he is a ruler who rules by kufr, who is affiliated to the kafir West, who concretises the doctrine of separating religion from life, and, together with the so-called opposition, looks after the interests of Western powers rather than on the grounds that he has confined the competencies to himself. This is because all the injustice lies in the implemented political system, be it presidential, parliamentarian or a monarchy, or be it a democratic secularist liberal system, i.e., a soft dictatorial system, or a totalitarian secularist system, i.e., a hard dictatorial system.
All this is contradictory to the system of Islam which genuinely confers authority to the Ummah by appointing a deputy to rule the masses according to their Aqeedah and their viewpoint towards the interests, which makes the uprightness of society dependent on the adherence of the ruler and the subjects to the Shari’ah of Allah, and which makes the honourableness of the ruler and society, as well as the guaranteed virtuous performance of the system linked to piety and the authority of the laws and Shari’ah rules.
Suffice to perceive that assigning the task of drafting the constitution to the doyen Sadok Belaïd, who presided over the consultative committee in charge of drafting the constitution with the help of Amin Mahfouth, who are both notorious for their animosity towards Islam, is clear evidence of Kais Saied and the political milieu’s tinkering with the identity of the masses and their eagerness to alienate Islam from the reality of life, the state and society. After the presidential palace had published a copy of the constitution in the official gazette, Sadok Belaïd announced that the copy he handed over to the president has no relation to the copy published in the gazette. The head of the consultative committee protested the official version as it gathered all the competencies into the hand of the president and stripped the other authorities of their competencies.
Irrespective of what has been said about the rifts between the parties and Kais Saied over the constitution, the whole issue is nothing but a deception of the masses and an attempt to divert their attention about the reality of what is occurring in terms of Westernising society.
In a nutshell, all the constitutions drafted in Tunisia since the occupation have never taken the masses and their religion into account because they are derived from Western culture which entrenches political and cultural affiliation to the kafir West. All the constitutions that Tunisia and all Muslims’ countries ratified before and after the “Arab Spring” are no different from the ones that preceded them: they all originate and concentrate Western concepts and values into the psyche and life of Muslims and separate them from their religion and doctrinal identity, thus facilitating the West’s task of controlling Muslims’ lands militarily, culturally and economically.
Therefore, the Muslims in Tunisia should snub Kais Saied and the collaborating political milieu and reject everything they issue that led to putting the president above all authorities and answerability. It is also worth mentioning that it would be forbidden for the people of Tunisia to partake in the referendum on a constitution that does not adopt the Qur’an and the sunnah, and whatever they may guide to, the only source of legislation, and does not enable the masses from exercising their right to implement their willpower. The obligation dictates to the people of Tunisia to uproot the corrupt and collaborating regime and devise a constitution that pleases Allah the Almighty and confounds the colonialist kuffar, their secularist surrogates and those smitten by Western culture.
“Legislation is not but for Allah. He has commanded that you worship none except Him.” [Yusuf-40]
11 Thil Hijjah 1443h hizbuttahrir.org
10 July 2022