Tunisia - Ghannouchi Claims Global Arab Spring will End Israle

According to Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia, all the land between the mosque in Mecca and Jerusalem is the heart of the Muslim nation and, thus, the presence of any foreign power in control of any part is a challenge to the Muslim nation (umma). Ghannouchi extolled the Tunisian revolution, describing it as a true popular revolution. He spoke also in favor of the revolutions in other Arab Muslim countries, including Egypt, Yemen and Syria and expressed his hope that the revolution in Libya would succeed.

Ghannouchi said that the revolution sweeping through the Arab world is a good omen for the Palestinians for it would bring Israel to an end. According to Ghannouchi, Arab regimes that have been supporting the West would all fall, and he quotes the prophecy of Sheikh Ahman Yassin that Israel will fall before 2027.

Reports identify Ghannouchi as a leader of the Islamist movement Al Nahda of Tunisia, in exile. Al Nahda has ties with the international Muslim Brotherhood.

Ghannouchi alleges that the "Jews everywhere are behind a worldwide campaign against Islam" and that Islam and the West could reach an accommodation "were it not for the worldwide machinations of the Jews."

On his return to Tunisia Ghannouchi is reported to have developed a new strategy for post-revolutionary Tunis which he calls "The Jurisprudence of building, economic growth and construction," which embraces a proposal for closer cooperation between different Islamic groups and the establishment of a democratic Tunisia.

The Rest @ (Ahlul Bayt News Agency)

*Ahlul Bayt News Agency, in the view of the editor, is a news agency that appears to discuss world wide news from a global shiite Islamic view point.

Rachid Ghannouchi is tied to the global Muslim Brotherhood by his:

• Membership in the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR)
• Important position in the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS),led by Global Muslim Brotherhood Youssef Qaradawi. Ghannouchi is known for his thinking on the issue of Islam and citizenship rights.

"Assuming a valid distinction can be made between Islamists who are 'extremist' and 'reformist,' Ghannouchi clearly belongs to the first category. Since his last visit to the United States, he has openly threatened U.S. interests, supported Iraq against the United States and campaigned against the Arab-Israeli peace process. Indeed, Ghannouchi in exile has personified the rejection of U.S. policies, even as he dispatches missives to the State Department."

-In 1994, scholar Martin Kramer University of Tel Aviv