Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia)

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For other uses, see Ansar al-Sharia (disambiguation).
Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia
Ansar al-Sharia Tunisia Logo.jpg
Ideology Salafi Jihadist
Leaders Abu Ayadh al-Tunisi
Area of operations Tunisia
Strength 1000 (2013)[1]
Part of Ansar al-Sharia
Allies
Opponents

Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia ("Supporters of Islamic Law in Tunisia")[2] 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[3] as well by the United Nations, the UAE, the United Kingdom and the United States.[4] Some of its members may be linked to the 2015 Sousse attacks.[5]

Background

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.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[7]

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.[9] 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,[10] a deadly attack in September 2012 on the US embassy in Tunisia[11] and the assassination of politicians Chokri Belaid (February 2013) and Mohamed Brahmi (July 2013).[12]

The group was designated as a terrorist organisation by the Tunisian government in August 2013.[13] 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.[14]

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:[15]

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From the perspective of the development of our group’s theoretical framework/worldview, some of the most influential Salafi activists include: Abu Quttada al-Falestini, Abu Mohammed al-Maqdassi, Abu Basir Tartusi, Hani Sabahi, and al-Aulaki. Abu Kottada al-Falestini is probably the most influential among them--our brothers that were in Europe over the past years all flocked to listen to his lessons. It is not strange then that Abu Yadh [aka ben Hassine] himself or Abdallah a-Tunsi [aka ben Hassine?] went to him as well. Sheikh Hani Sabahi is also respected in our movement. We have a steady contact with him and he is very sympathetic to our experience.

Ben Hassine was reportedly killed in a US airstrike in Libya in June 2015.[16]

Foreign Relations

Designation as a terrorist organization

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

Country/Organisation Date References
 Tunisia August 2013 [13]
 United States 23 September 2014 [17][18]
 United Kingdom April 2014 [19]
 United Arab Emirates November 2014 [20]
 United Nations 23 September 2014 [21]

Allies

Terrorist Organizations Ansar al-Sharia has allied with.

Country Date References
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 2014 [22][23]
Ansar al-Sharia (Libya) 2013
Katibat Uqbah Ibn Nafaa 2013

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Eurasia Review: "Tunisian Salafism: The Rise And Fall Of Ansar Al-Sharia – Analysis" By Christine Petré October 9, 2015
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ telegraph.co.uk: "Tunisia attack: gunman's links to Britain", 30 Jun 2015
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ jadaliyya.com: "Salafism in Tunisia: An Interview with a Member of Ansar al-Sharia", 11 Apr 2013
  16. ↑ "Senior Tunisian jihadist and Osama bin Laden associate 'killed by US strike in Libya'", 3 Jul 2015
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Designates Entities-26-11-2014
  19. ↑ List of Proscribed organisations
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

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