Will Hamas abandon political Islam?
▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/06/ennahda-decision-separate-religion-from-politics-tunisia.html
Saleh al-Raqab, the former minister of religious affairs and endowments in the Hamas government and a prominent Sharia scholar, told Al-Monitor, “To evaluate Ennahda’s decision designed to separate politics from preaching, we must know the truth behind this step. If the movement means to separate religion and the state, it is catastrophic. But if this is just a matter of procedure, then it is possible. When Hamas ruled between 2007 and 2014, it decided that none of its ministers would be a member of its political bureau. But Ennahda’s decision is clearly due to the developments of the Muslim Brotherhood’s experience in Egypt and the subsequent Western pressure. It seems that Ennahda had to take this decision, not out of political conviction or intellectual progress. But Western states are not naive, and they will not believe that Ennahda’s decision came out of real progress rather than a tactical measure to overcome the pressure. The West wants them to give up everything ultimately.”
A European diplomatic source commented on condition of anonymity on the latest Ennahda developments, saying that Ennahda’s decision to separate religious from political action was due to the lack of political meetings regarding cultural and religious issues. According to the source, Ennahda is obsessed with convincing the West that it is not the same as the Muslim Brotherhood.
Read more: ▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/06/ennahda-decision-separate-religion-from-politics-tunisia.html#ixzz4AexUY