of massive student protests in France against the
secular government there in 1968, something he
witnessed firsthand as a philosophy student at the
Sorbonne.
At the core of his ideas is the conviction that
the adoption of nationalism and secUlarism by
Arabs has weakened their countries and led to a
general crisis of identity in the region. He believes
that the only way for Arabs to enter modernity
is by following the path set by their own reli-
gion, history, and civilization. This was an idea
being espoused by the mUslim brotherhood,
with whom he had had contact in Damascus, and
one that he would subsequently develop in the
Tunisian context. Al-Ghannoushi spent much of
the 1970s working as a high school philosophy
teacher, meeting with the government-sponsored
Quranic Preservation Society and spreading the
teachings of Islamist thinkers such as abU al-ala
maWdUdi (d. 1979), hasan al-banna (d. 1949),
and sayyid qUtb (d. 1966). To their ideas he added
an emphasis on the practical solutions Islam offers
for the spiritual, economic, and political problems
of the day and the necessity for Muslims to pursue
those solutions through activism and innovation.
His message attracted a broad spectrum of people,
including students, leftists, and workers.
With a program of political liberalization initi-
ated in April 1981 by Tunisia’s president Habib
Bourguiba, al-Ghannoushi attempted to translate
his following into a political party—the Islamic
Tendency Movement—that could pursue politi-
cal change through peaceful participation in the
country’s democratic process. However, his goal
of Islamizing Tunisian society, as well as his broad
appeal, were perceived as a threat by the authori-
ties and resulted in the repeated imprisonment of
al-Ghannoushi and his followers. Al-Ghannoushi
was given a life sentence in 1987 but released
and granted amnesty the following year with the
change of government in Tunis. Throughout the
1990s, relations between the Tunisian state and
its Islamist opposition continued to deteriorate,
with many parties, including al-Nahda, banned
from participation in elections. This was a fate
shared by his contemporaries Ali Abbasi Madani
(b. 1931) of algeria and Abd al-Salam al-Yasin
(b. 1928) of morocco, whose own Islamic reform
movements have also been excluded from offi-
cial representation. Al-Ghannoushi now lives in
Britain as a political refugee and continues to be
influential in Islamist thought and politics.
See also arab-israeli conFlicts; democracy;
islamism; politics and islam; reneWal and reForm
movements.
Michelle ZimneyFurther reading: Francois Burgat and William Dowell,
The Islamic Movement in North Africa (Austin: Univer-
sity of Texas Press, 1997); Linda G. Jones, “Portrait
of Rashid al-Ghannoushi,” Middle East Report 153
(July–August 1988): 19; Charles Kurzman, ed., Liberal
Islam: A Sourcebook (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1988).ghayba (Arabic: absence)
In Shiism, ghayba refers to the withdrawal, or
occultation, of an individual—most frequently
the imam, or holy leader—from human sight. This
Imam’s life can be miraculously elongated while
in this absence, when he is thought to be close to
God. The concept first appeared in Shii circles in
the early eighth century and became connected to
eschatological beliefs concerning the return of the
imam preceding the end time. Among the various
branches of shiism, the largest group, Twelve-
Imam Shia, believe in a lesser and greater ghayba
of their 12th imam, mUhammad al-mahdi (b. 868).
Four deputies successively represented this Imam
over the span of about 70 years during his “lesser
ghayba.” Immediately preceding the death of the
fourth deputy in 941, this Imam is believed to
have inaugurated “the greater ghayba,” which will
continue until shortly before the end of the world.
Until that time, the 12th Imam remains alive on
this earth, concealed. Then, at a time appointedghayba 259 J