Saudi Islamists Urge Tunisians to Adopt Islamic Rule

Publisher: BBC

Date Published: 19 January 2011

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Article Summary

Islamist activists in Saudi Arabia are calling on the revolutionists to adopt Islam rule. They say you can’t be dignified unless you are under Islam rule, which is from a poem from a Saudi poet saluting the revolution. They issue statements about converting semi-daily, and said that if people rebel it’s because the government strayed from God, and turning away from his laws. If you don’t have an Islamic law, your lives and after lives will be horrible. However, they are careful with dealing with Tunisian affairs, in case the national or secular powers spread their influence over the population of Tunisia. One key thing is that this is the opposite of the Palestinian elections, where Hamas won the elections as Saudi Islamists activity supported them and hosted some of their leaders.

The values in the article are dignity, Islam, and religion. The Saudi Islamists really want Tunisia to become an Islamist State. The say that “Countries cannot rise to dignity except through justice and life established by Islam” (Saudi). They mean that the only way to be a dignified country is to be an Islamist one. For the Islam value, they talk about the “importance of establishing a rule that works to implement Islamic Shari’ah on the basis of Shura” (Saudi). This shows that to the Saudi Islamist that Islamic law is the only good law you can have. Together these values show that the Saudi Islamist care very deeply about religion and how it effects daily life. They very much want Tunisia to become like them with the devotion to the religion.

Guiding Questions

Was the Tunisian Revolution successful?

What policies should the people of Tunisia now pursue?

When stability and security run up against liberal democracy, which should prevail or be supported?