Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia)

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Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia
Ansar al-Sharia Tunisia Logo.jpg
Ideology Salafi Jihadist
Leaders Abu Ayadh al-Tunisi
Area of operations Tunisia
Strength 1,000[1]

Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia is a radical Islamist group that operates in Tunisia. It has around 1,000 people as part of the movement.[1] It has been listed as a terrorist group by the Tunisian government[2] as well by the United Nations, the UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States.[3] Some of its members may be linked to the 2015 Sousse attacks.[4]

Background[edit]

Following the Tunisian revolution, many Islamist political prisoners held by the regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali were released, including Abu Ayadh al-Tunisi aka Saifallah Ben Hassine, who had previously co-founded the Tunisian Combat Group with Tarek Maaroufi in June 2000.[5]

Abu Ayadh aka ben Hassine founded Ansar al-Sharia in late April 2011. The group quickly established a media branch, al-Qairawan Media Foundation, and developed different media outlets including a blog, Facebook page, and a magazine.[6] Ansar al-Sharia held a national conference at Kairouan in 2012 in which Abu Ayadh aka ben Hassine called for the Islamization of Tunisia's media, education, tourism and commercial sectors, and the establishment of an Islamic trade union to confront the secular Tunisian General Labour Union.[7] The group also campaigned for the release of Islamist prisoners, such as Omar Abdel-Rahman, Abu Qatada and Tunisians who had fought with al-Qaeda in Iraq and are held in Iraqi jails.[6]

Members of Ansar al-Sharia have regularly taken part in protests in Tunisia against perceived blasphemy and have been suspected of involvement in a number of violent incidents. The Tunisian Interior ministry accused the group of masterminding the 2013 wave of political assassinations in Tunisia.[8] Violent incidents attributed to members of the group include attacks on a television station that showed the movie Persepolis in October 2011, attacks on a controversial art exhibit in June 2012,[9] a deadly attack in September 2012 on the US embassy in Tunisia[10] and the assassination of politicians Chokri Belaid (February 2013) and Mohamed Brahmi (July 2013).[11]

The group was designated as a terrorist organisation by the Tunisian government in August 2013.[12] The group was damaged by the widespread arrests that followed this designation, and many of its members left Tunisia, traveling to Libya and joining the local Ansar al-Sharia, or going to Syria and joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[13]

An interview conducted over the course of three different meetings between January and March 2013 with a young leader of Ansar al-Sharia based in Tunis describes the intellectual basis for the Salafist movement:[14]

Ben Hassine was reportedly killed in an airstrike in June 2015.[15]

Foreign Relations[edit]

Designation as a terrorist organization[edit]

Countries and organizations below have officially listed the Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia as a terrorist organization.

Country/Organisation Date References
 Tunisia August 2013 [12]
 United States 23 September 2014 [16][17]
 United Kingdom April 2014 [18]
 United Arab Emirates November 2014 [19]
 United Nations 23 September 2014 [20]

Allies[edit]

Terrorist Organizations Ansar al-Sharia has allied with.

Country Date References
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 2014 [21][22]
Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) 2013
Katibat Uqbah Ibn Nafaa 2013

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Meeting Tunisia's Ansar al-Sharia". Foreign Policy. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  2. ^ "Tunisia declares Ansar al-Sharia a terrorist group". BBC News. 27 August 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  3. ^ "US Declares Ansar al-Sharia a Terrorist Organization". BBC News. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  4. ^ telegraph.co.uk: "Tunisia attack: gunman's links to Britain", 30 Jun 2015
  5. ^ "Tarek Maaroufi: Tunisia’s Most Notorious Jihadist, Returns Home". Tunisia Live. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  6. ^ a b "The Salafi Challenge to Tunisia's Nascent Democracy". Washington Institute. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  7. ^ "Radical Islamists urge bigger role for Islam in Tunisia". Reuters. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  8. ^ Noureddine Baltayeb (3 October 2013). "Tunisia: New Details in Opposition Assassination Point to Libyan Islamist". Al Akhbar. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  9. ^ "Tunisia: Conservative Islamists Riot Over Art Exhibit". New York Times. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  10. ^ "Two dead as protesters attack U.S. embassy in Tunisia". Reuters. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  11. ^ "Tunisia leaders evicted from police memorial". Al Jazeera English. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2015. 
  12. ^ a b "Tunisia declares Ansar al-Sharia a terrorist group". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2015. 
  13. ^ "The Rise and Decline of Ansar al-Sharia in Libya". Hudson Institute. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015. 
  14. ^ jadaliyya.com: "Salafism in Tunisia: An Interview with a Member of Ansar al-Sharia", 11 Apr 2013
  15. ^ "Senior Tunisian jihadist and Osama bin Laden associate 'killed by US strike in Libya'", 3 Jul 2015
  16. ^ "Foreign Terrorist Organizations". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 20 May 2015. 
  17. ^ Designates Entities-26-11-2014
  18. ^ List of Proscribed organisations
  19. ^ "UAE Cabinet approves list of designated terrorist organisations, groups". WAM. November 15, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2014. 
  20. ^ "Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Fourteen Individuals and Two Entities to Its Sanctions List". United Nations. 23 September 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2015. 
  21. ^ "allAfrica.com: Tunisia: Ansar Al-Sharia Tunisia Spokesman Backs Isis". Retrieved 25 September 2014. 
  22. ^ Abdallah Suleiman Ali (3 July 2014). "Global jihadists recognize Islamic State". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 25 September 2014. 

Further reading[edit]