Three generations of Tunisian jihadists

In “Beneath the black flag: Tunisia’s Salafists” Tunisian journalist and analyst Hedi Yahmed examines the Tunisian jihadi phenomenon. Middle East Monitor’s Christine Petré speaks to the author about his book, why there are so many Tunisian jihadists and what the Tunisian state should do now.

For the book you interviewed many Tunisian jihadists, what were the similarities and differences in their mindsets and attitudes?

Yahmed: The similarity between all of these people is that they all carry the same jihadist and Salafist ideology. The differences, on the other hand, lie in their itinerary, how they decide to act upon these ideas, as well as the different features of the three generations that I divide the Tunisian jihadists into in the book.

What do you mean ‘three generations of jihadists’?

Yahmed: I’ve divided Tunisian jihadists into three generations. I call the first generation the “generation of exile”; it is a generation of jihadists that became influenced by jihadi ideas outside of Tunisia, for example in Europe. It developed in the end of the 1990s after Tunisia experienced a conflict between the previous President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the Islamist movement of Ennahda, after which many Tunisian Islamists immigrated to Europe and other parts of the world.

The second generation include the jihadists just before the revolution, between 2001, after the 11 September attack, and 2011. During this period there started to be attacks on Tunisian soil, such as on Djerba in 2002 and in 2007 there was a confrontation in Slimen between Tunisian security forces and terrorists, where after many Islamists were imprisoned. During this period about 3,000 were put in jail as “jihadists” and that’s why I call this generation the “jihadists of prison”. It was also at this point that the first and second generation of jihadists were connected to one another as first generation jihadists returned from for example Afghanistan and were imprisoned.

The third group covers the post-revolution period when the number of jihadists multiplied by five; I call it the “post-revolution generation”. After the revolution there was an explosion of jihadists due to, for example the newly discovered freedom of expression, the freedom of mosques as well as the anarchy of mosques. This trend could be seen by Ansar Al-Sharia’s second congress in Kairouan, which 20,000 people attended. During this period, Ansar Al-Sharia recruited thousands of young people. Religious movements were the first ones to use and grasp the new freedoms in order to find their new identity, something that can in part also explain the increase in the number of jihadists.

What kind of research did you do for the book?

Yahmed: The book covers 20 years of this Tunisian jihadist phenomenon. I spoke to Salafist leaders, such as Seifallah Ben Hussein (known as Abou Iyadh), who is now a fugitive, probably in Libya, and the Salafist head Slim Guetari (known as Abou Ayoub), who is currently in a Tunisian prison. I also spoke to young jihadists that for example went to fight in Somalia with Islamic tribes around 2007 and then I talked to their families. I also went to conferences, mosque and the Ansar Al-Sharia tents.

Before 2013 and the assassinations of Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, it was easier to meet and speak to the Salafists, many talked more freely then. Now it is not easy, it is almost impossible because some are absconders, some are in prison, and the others are afraid of being prosecuted.

What was the aim of the book?

Yahmed: My research focuses on drawing the portraits of these jihadists and their paths towards jihad. It is a book that aims to understand the phenomenon, this is the book’s strength, how to understand this phenomenon from the inside. In order to unmask the personalities of the jihadists I ask: How do they think? What are their personalities? For what reasons do they do this?

My goal is to explain this phenomenon to Tunisians. How did it develop over time and how did we end up here? What is actually happening? Why have some military men been slaughtered in Chambi [the mountain chain where the radical Islamist group Uqbah Ibn Nafi is believed to be hiding]? So the aim is to make the phenomenon understandable for Tunisians. The Tunisian jihadist phenomenon should be considered an example of jihadism in general; it is based on the same ideas. The most important part of the result is to understand this phenomenon concretely and beyond the theoretical speculations. In my book we listen to the jihadists, they get to express themselves and speak openly.

So, in your opinion, why are there so many jihadists from Tunisia?

Yahmed: It is complex, but I can reply keeping a few factors in mind. The Tunisian jihadists have increased since the revolution because of the political situation in Tunisia, after the revolution the state had no control over the mosques, which were in total anarchy and under the influence of external forces, for example from the Gulf, including Wahhabism from Saudi Arabia. This political climate encouraged the increase in the number of Tunisian jihadists. In addition, the international context with the war in Syria and international will to bring down the regime of Bashar Al-Assad and the then governing Troika coalition, with Ennahda – which was in support of bringing down Al-Assad’s government, facilitated things for the jihadists.

There is also another factor that I think is interesting, before the revolution, Tunisia had a totalitarian regime, controlling not only freedom of expression but also religious freedom, so after the revolution some young Tunisians wanted to integrate religion in their new lifestyles and wanted to identify themselves as religious, including going more regularly to the mosques. But, at the same time, there were religious associations that recruited these people to for example jihad. Now the jihadist stream has decreased after the last election. The strength of religious organisations and parties has decreased as the state has regained its place and we have started to regulate this issue.

What would you like to see Tunisia do now?

Yahmed: The state has to combat terrorism through security measures, but that is only a short-term solution. For example, now there are almost 1,500 jihadists in prison, I think these are fathers of future terrorists. How do we convince these young people in prison to drop their violent approach? It needs to be done politically, religiously and socially. There should be religious lessons in the prisons about the fact that Islam says people should be at peace with their society. Sure, you can be a Salafist but the red line is the use of violence and that you should never cross.