8 July 2014

Tunisia: Ansar Al-Sharia Tunisia Spokesman Backs Isis

Tunis — A Tunisian court on Monday (July 7th) summoned the Ansar al-Sharia spokesman and other members of the outlawed movement for questioning in connection with their support for terror leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Ansar al-Sharia spokesman Seifeddine Rais on Friday declared fealty to al-Baghdadi, head of the group formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Speaking at the Okba Ibn Nafaa mosque in Kairouan, the preacher also called for followers to "liberate" jailed members of Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia.

Ansar al-Sharia's spokesman addressed worshipers, who were surprised by his sermon, during the Tarawih prayers.

A large number of Tunisians scorned Rais' call, considering the "caliphate" declaration an outdated matter. In their view, ISIS is a terrorist organisation killing innocents and practicing sectarian cleansing.

"I think that al-Baghdadi has gone mad when he put a map of countries he will conquer and where he will establish his caliphate," Mohamed Hadi Bouhi, an imam at a mosque adjacent to the capital, told Magharebia.

Mariam Sliti, a professor of sport, said mockingly, "It seems that we are required in Tunisia to go to Iraq and pledge loyalty and obedience individually."

"I ask him to reveal the names of the battleships he owns and the number of aircraft his followers will lead to regain the glories of the past," she added.

However, private bank executive Souhail Sekkouhi called for taking the call seriously.

"What ISIS is doing and announcing in the media and in its websites will find a resonance among young Tunisians who dream of the return of the caliphate," he warned.

"We have to be cautious and raise our voices that the massacres committed by ISIS have nothing to do with the Islamic faith," Sekkouhi added. "Everyone involved in these crimes must be tried before an international court and charged with ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity."

Political analyst Hachemi Nouira, however, blamed the terrorism that has plagued Tunisia on "the silence and complicity of the so-called political Islam and the inaction of the rest of the political forces".

Tunisia is not alone in recognising the ISIS threat.

Last week Egyptian, Algerian and Tunisian intelligence officials met in Tunis to discuss security reports about the transfer of ISIS to Libya, El Khabar reported on Monday.

"It's only a matter of time," an Algerian security source told the paper.

"We have received reports indicating the return of Libyan jihadists and others from Tunisia to their countries to create branches of ISIS in North Africa," he said.

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