Ghannouchi tells Saudi king of his hope that fraternal ties in the Gulf will be resumed soon

In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, the president of Tunisia’s Ennahda Party, Rached Ghannouchi, called on Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, to “unite all the Gulf countries once again on the same path” in order to find a solution to the current crisis between Gulf states and Qatar. Ghannouchi also seconded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s call for a solution to be agreed before the end of Ramadan.

“The Turkish position is a genuine and principled one,” explained the veteran politician. “It is the position of an advisor who is concerned about what is happening between brothers. The Turks have very strong relations with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, like Tunisia’s strong relations with the kingdom and Qatar.”

He emphasised the existence of strong Tunisian-Saudi relations. “The Kingdom has had good relations with Tunisia before and after the revolution, and Makkah is the Qibla [direction of prayer] of all Muslims.”

Such good relations pre- and post-revolution have also been maintained with Qatar, he stressed. “Qatar has supported successive Tunisian governments through aid and investments. It also played the biggest role in the success of the International Investment Conference attended by His Highness the Emir Shaikh Tamim, who declared Qatar’s support for our country.”

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The people of Tunisia, like the Turks he believes, are concerned about what is happening in the Gulf and they call on the leaders, on the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques [King Salman] to unite all the Gulf countries once again on one path based on brotherhood and cooperation. “This is what President Erdogan called for, saying that he wished that by the end of Ramadan, the Gulf crisis will have been resolved and all grudges and differences between these countries come to an end.”

Ghannouchi pointed out that the second half of Ramadan is already here. “On this special day, the day of Badr [the interview was conducted on 17 Ramadan] and a commemoration of the revelation of the Qur’an, Muslims feel a special sense of spirituality. Just as their hearts commune with heaven, their hearts commune with their Muslim brothers and sisters, with humanity and with all other beings.”

In the same context, he said that the fact that the Gulf crisis is occurring during this holy month makes him feel “very sad” to see what is happening in many parts of the Muslim world, in the place where the Qur’an was revealed, in the Arabian Peninsula.

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“We do not feel any joy. Rather, we are saddened by the disputes and disagreements taking place, as well as the rifts in kinship ties and between families. The Arabian Peninsula contains the Qibla of all Muslims. The light of Islam began from that place. Muslims hope that the peninsula will always witness peace, prosperity and progress, because Allah endowed the Gulf with a great spiritual status, with great wealth and with a location at the heart of the world.”

Ennahda’s position on the current crisis is a call for dialogue to resolve differences and for an immediate end to severed ties and the siege. “This should not happen between such countries, no matter how sharp their differences.”

The intellectual leader of Ennahda expressed the hope that the countries involved will restore unity and cooperation and resume the activities of the Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC], not only to protect material interests but also brotherly, spiritual and political interests. “This is our hope for all the parties between whom there are differences of opinion.”

He suggested that the publication of terrorism lists linked to Qatar is a “secondary problem” linked to the main problem. “When the ties of friendship and communication between our brothers in the Gulf, in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are resumed, God willing, all these secondary problems will be gone.”

Ghannouchi expressed his support for “the honourable efforts” made by the Emir of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman as well as Turkey’s President Erdogan to restore ties of friendship and cooperation across the Gulf. “We are talking about the Islam of mercy and the Islam of equality, truth and justice. We are not talking about terrorism that, in reality, has nothing to do with Islam. We do not associate Islam with terrorism because the two are completely opposed to each other.”

On the possibility of external interventions being responsible for the outbreak of the crisis, Ghannouchi said, “External intervention is caused by internal differences. If we settle our internal differences — which can indeed be settled — there will be no external intervention.”

When asked about his party’s position on the crisis and whether he is playing a personal role in resolving it, Ennahda’s co-founder emphasised its commitment to the position of the Tunisian state, as represented by President Beji Caid Essebsi and the Foreign Ministry. “They have taken a clear position that has been the Tunisian position for decades, which is that when two Arab regimes disagree, we do just as we would when there is a dispute in one’s own household between brothers. You cannot favour one over the other but you call for reconciliation.”

The Tunisian government called for reconciliation and levelheadedness and for the restoration of ties of affection between Gulf countries, he added, as well as giving priority to the voice of reason and common interest. “All of this requires reconciliation and the reactivation of the GCC.”

In Ghannouchi’s view, Gulf society has strong social and religious bonds. “There is no other region in the world with such strong ties in terms of religion, sect, culture and shared interests. It is no coincidence that the Gulf Cooperation Council was established. What is needed now is to reinforce these ties and to unite these countries once again, as well as reinforce social ties rather than dividing them.”