 Very much for being with us here this morning. My name is Bill Taylor. I'm the acting executive vice president here at the United States Institute of Peace, and I'm very pleased to welcome you and Sheikhanucci back to the Institute of Peace. People in this room will not need introductions to Sheikhanucci, nor to Robin Wright, who I will introduce in a moment. You may you probably wonder who this is rather than these two people are. We are very pleased to welcome back Sheikhanucci. Head, of course, of the Anatha Party in Tunisia, one of the two major parties that will be contesting the elections that come up next month, the parliamentary elections next month, and then presidential elections the following month. So this is a very timely visit to hear the story, again, of the democratic success of Tunisia. Sheikhanucci just spent some time with some journalists upstairs, and he made the point that Tunisia is a candle in the dark. Discussant after Sheikhanucci gives his opening remarks. Robin, again, she is here at the Institute of Peace, but we share her with the Wilson Center jealously, I would say, but she likes our building better. So that's why we have her regularly. She's reported from more than 140 countries on six continents, has won the National Magazine Award for the New Yorker work, Overseas Press Club, Overseas Press Club Award for best reporting in any medium requiring exceptional courage and initiative, and the National Press Club Award for the best diplomatic reporting. So we're very pleased to have Robin with us. Let me also thank Radwan Masmuri, who is here right here. He and the Institute for the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy have made this all possible. Radwan, thank you very much. The embassies of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are also with us here this morning, and we're very pleased, in particular to have the Ambassador of Tunisia and the Ambassador of Algeria with us. Those are our introductions. The way we're going to work this here is Sheikh Anoushi will give his address. It will be in Arabic, I think we agreed, much to Robin's disappointment, but you will have your headsets, so be prepared to put those on. We'll make sure they're working before Sheikh Anoushi starts. Following that address, Robin will have her remarks, and following that we'll have a discussion. And that's where you come in. So I look forward to your questions and comments. We will have Mike, so all you need to do is raise your hand. You can ask directly these questions. Sheikh Anoushi has an important meeting with the State Department right across the street, and we'll have to leave right at 1130. He will depart. We'll all sit here as he leaves, and so that will all work about 1130 and shortly thereafter. Let me again welcome you here. Thank everyone for making this possible. Sheikh Anoushi, the folk podium is yours. Thank you. Salam alaikum. Good morning. Peace be upon you. Speak, because my English is not well enough, and I will be ready to respond to your questions in my English as it is. I would like to start by expressing my delight at delivering this lecture at this great intellectual institution, on the situation of the Middle East, which I personally do not see as being in a crisis, but rather at a crossroads, between going towards democracy, development and progress, and between the relapse of Arab Spring, and the spread of chaiism, and civil wars, and sectarianism. A few years ago, the world was watching with excitement the great masses of people, flooding squares, and roads in Tunisia to Tripoli, Cairo, and Sana'a, demanding freedom, dignity, and the departure of dictators and oppressive regimes. The so-called Arab exception collapsed before the world of the youth. The Arab exceptional that the Arab does not, they are not good for democracy, and it was no longer possible for anyone to describe for Arabs and Muslims as unworthy of democracy, or their political culture as rooted in the philosophy of Oriental despotism, or that support of the repressive regime by the free world is a necessary choice in order to avoid the risk of power falling into Islamist enemies of Western civilization. These stereotypes have broken down, and the Arab Spring became a source of inspiration for the people of the world before facts on the ground changed and forces pulling backwards and working to counter the revolution succeeded to drone the Syrian Revolution, terrorism, disputes and divisions before matters in Libya deteriorated towards chaos and before Egypt returned to military rule. The question now is why do the map of the Middle East change so fast from a promising democratic movement to hotspots of conflict and tensions? In the cause of that rise of Islamists to power and their failure to govern and to build stable democratic systems, ladies and gentlemen, I will attempt to present a reading that can be taken as an introduction or a viewpoint towards understanding what is happening in the region, which is geographically distant from you while being closely linked to the most geostrategic questions which draw your attention on and that of your governments. My reading is based on the reality of Tunisia's experience, the last lit candle of the Arab Spring. Tunisia has succeeded in acquiring a modernist constitution that stipulates freedom of conscience, grantees the rights of women and minorities and is the fruit of joint work between moderate secularists and moderate Islamists. Tunisia also succeeded to overcome the political crisis it experienced last year thanks to the national dialogue which culminated a consensus over an independent government tasked with guaranteeing the right conditions for holding elections which are to be held in next few weeks. Tunisia is also engaged in a successful war against terrorism which began under the Troika government led by An-Nahda which on August 27th, 2013 designated Al-Ansar Al-Shari'a as a terrorist organization arresting dozens of its leaders, dismantling its cells and falling many of its operations despite the covertly attacks against our military and security forces. The question we have to ask now, why did Tunisia succeed? The answer, which I believe is evident and common, is that democracy is possible in the Middle East as long as its conditions are present. There is no Arab exception, there is no contradiction between Islam and democracy and dictatorship is not necessarily a destiny. Why did Tunisia succeed then? And why did other fail? Tunisia succeeded thanks to a variety of factors which unfortunately were not present in the required level and other experiences. The first one is the rejection of domination of monopoly of power. An-Nahda party which won the majority in the elections of the national constitution in 2011 refused to dominate the power. We called for a national unity government after the 2011 elections and we are able to form coalition government with two secular parties, Atacatul and the CPR. From the beginning, An-Nahda party has always been committed to the establishment of a political system where circulars and Islamists coexist. That was not always easy, but An-Nahda's compromises were always the principle catalyst for resolving crisis and for accelerating the adoption of the constitution. Co-existent with secularists was the result of a reformist intellectual process in which our party was the first Islamic movement to adopt democracy in 1981 and announced explicitly that it is a civic party that believes in democracy, citizenship and civic values. It is a conviction which we did not change even after the savage wave of repression in 1990s to which we were subjected to Ben Ali's regime's violence. An-Nahda remained a peaceful movement struggling against dictatorship through democratic methods and rejecting violence extremism. Refusing domination of power and opting for coexistence between secularists and Islamists were two important factors in the success of the Tunisian model. The next important factor in Tunisia's success is the adoption of what we call the consensus politics. This is based on our belief that during transitional periods, ruling a majority of 50% plus one does not lead to a stable political system and that was as needed as a wide consensus and what is needed was a wide consensus as possible between the main political trends, whether in the majority or minority. That's why we wanted a constitution that does not just represent the simple majority but one that represents the widest, the majority possible. This principle of consensus has succeeded in saving Tunisia from many of the crises that it faced through a national dialogue that brought together all the political trends represented by 22 parties with no exclusions. The national dialogue succeeded in producing a constitution supported by 94% of the constituent assembly. It also succeeded in creating the consensus of the completion of the democratic transition process through the agreement on an independent election commission and on dates for the elections. Many of these successes were the fruit of the sacrifices made by the majority party to preserve the country's unity. First, we conceded key ministries, then we conceded the government. It was not an easy decision but another adopted that decision by overwhelming majority because it is a responsible party that puts the country's interest above its own and realizes that guaranteeing freedom for all Tunisians is more important than clinging to power that led to division and conflict. The fourth factor in my opinion is firm opposition to the political execution and for refusal to exclude all members of the dissolved former ruling party despite the dangers of allowing them to operate politically. We saw the effects of exclusion and eradication in several experiences. The most recent of whom is Libya and chose instead to leave it to the people to decide not to treat those who oppressed and present and tortured us and spread corruption and despotism like they treated their opponents for decades. The fifth is related to the nature of the Tunisian military institution which is a republican institution opposed to coups which stood by the people during the revolution and committed itself to the protection of the democratic transition. It is also true of the security institution which has recovered its effectiveness and soundness. This, ladies and gentlemen, the success of Tunisian revolution is not a coincidence but is the fruit of a consensual process led by another party in collaboration with other partners, political parties and organizations such as the Workers Union and Chamber of Commerce. The problem is that this success does not negate the existence of the serious dangers threatening it. In light of the determination of some to abort all the Arab Spring experiments in order to demonstrate that the middle seas is not eligible for democracy and that the only appropriate place for Islamists is prison, torture, cells and exile. You will be told here in the United States that the best option for the region is dictatorship in order to preserve peace. Just as our people are told that they can only enjoy security, prosperity and progress under despotic regimes. In response, we say that this idea is not a new one and that it has been tried in the past. Support for dictatorships in the Middle East in the past led disaster in the region in the world and has led to the emergence of spread of terrorism in the region and throughout the world and ultimately also led to the revolutions themselves. We also say that linking Islam and violence will only give extremists greater scope to attract broad sectors of youth and that young Arabs feeling that there is no genuine commitment to supporting democracy can lead to feelings of disappointment and further bitterness towards themselves, their societies and towards the other and we say that the absence of just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will only feed further attention and hatred. I return to my first question, is it a crisis or a crossroads? The Tunisian model, ladies and gentlemen, demonstrates that it is possible for you to trust the people of the Middle East and that the duty requires all friends of freedom and democracy in the free world to help regions continue its progress towards freedom and modernity. We appreciate the reference to Tunisia President. We appreciate that the reference to Tunisia in President Obama's speech at the UN General Assembly where he mentioned Tunisia as a positive example of coexistence between Islamic and secular parties. We also appreciated when he stressed that the war on Isim is not war on Islam and that it cannot lead to a clash of civilizations. I believe it is very important to strongly defend and promote this approach because confusing Islam and terrorism can only benefit terrorists themselves who oppose democracy and consider it to be un-Islamic. And also benefit dictators who know that prisons of democratic states that guarantee freedom, justice and the rule of law hinder their establishment of regimes based on corruption and oppression. It is important to state that uniquely security solution and fighting terrorism is not enough and that relying on security solution will complicate this problem even more in the short and long term as well as security. We need to tackle this problem at the political level through the support of democracy and inclusiveness. We also need to tackle this at the religious intellectual levels by showing that the extreme understanding of Islam that they have is wrong. We should not also forget the socioeconomic dimension and the fighting against the disease in Tunisia. We have defeated dictatorships, not we hope that we are on our way to defeating terrorism by showing that there is no contradiction between Islam and democracy and by building a growing economy. I believe that democratic Islam is the anti-antithesis to depotism. Despotism are preventing it from imposing choice between security and freedom. With this vision, Tunisia goes forward towards a new phase in our democratic process where we will, for the second time since the revolution, seek the people's will. It is an event which we wish to use on occasion to strengthen the unity of society and build a strong partnership for power. And Nader has willingly made a further decision in order to ensure the success of the coming phase by choosing not to put forward the candidate for the presidential elections and calling for a national unity government that brings together various parties because we believe that Tunisia cannot be managed by a simple 50% plus one majority in the coming years. Based on a profound reading of the crisis of the region, the causes of which include low development indicators, high youth unemployment, we chose the slogan of Nader's electoral program to be towards a rising economy and a secure country. Out of the realization of the dangers resulting from delayed development solutions as a result of the fragile economic situation in our country, I appeal to Tunisia's friends to offer the necessary financial support to the current government and future governments and not to await investments that require a long time and specific conditions for their execution. I was keen to come to Washington D.C., to Washington, despite being engaged in a busy election campaign. We need the international cooperation based on the defense of freedom and democracy while the Muslim world needs to make greater efforts in the field of reform and renewal, building the modern cultural civilizational systems to that counter extremism and rigidity, which is the vision I have defended for decades or more that is not possible until we accurately diagnose the causes that brought it to its current state at the forefront of which are the regimes of repression and corruption. From this platform, I call a comprehensive approach for... Thank you for your listening. Thank you. I think everyone here as well as those viewing will agree that this statement of one of the two major parties in Tunisia going into this political season is one of hope and of encouragement. So thank you very much for that. And Robin, would you like to make a statement before there is a dialogue? I have a little bit of a few comments. Sheka Nushi was reminding me that 25 years ago we first met and he sat in my house in Georgetown and we had a conversation that reflected much of what he said today. There are those who question the intention, the sincerity of the Islamist party in Tunisia and I can verify that going back 25 years he was saying the same things he is today, which I find quite encouraging. I also thought it was very interesting when I once asked him why Tunisia went in one direction and why Egypt went in another when it came to the Islamist party and their visions and their practices. And I thought he was wonderfully candid and I wanted to share what he told me. He said that when he went into exile and many of those of Enada went into exile they went to the west and when the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt went into exile they went into the Gulf and in terms of their world views that was very informative or it shaped their vision of the world and I thought that was a kind of candor that was also very helpful. I wanted to point out a number of things in taking kind of standing on top of the world and looking down now on Tunisia and where it stands. Look this is a precarious transition. It is clearly the most hopeful of any place in the Arab world. We all hope Tunisia makes it just to prove that whether it's the Arab world and democracy, the Islamic world and democracy that they can coexist and they can make this incredible historic transition. But the fact is Tunisia has faced a lot of challenges whether it's the assassination of two political leaders last year. The fundamental gap between the Ancien Régime or the old elites and the new crop of politicians. I often worry that in the Arab world there is a little bit too much democracy in that you have 70 candidates who signed up to be president now apparently down to about 21 and the list may come out tomorrow that when it comes to parliamentary elections you have 1,327 lists each one with an average of six candidates which means 8,000 candidates for 217 seats. And one of the great challenges of democracy is not just that sense of making everyone understand their rights which we've seen happen whether it was Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid standing up for his individual rights and inspiring millions of others to stand up for their rights as well. The other half of democracy is understanding responsibility and my great concern during this transition, very fragile transition everywhere in the Arab world is that there isn't that sense of responsibility that sense of common good that's emerging. And we see this everywhere with the proliferation of political parties there's as I said a little bit too much democracy because everyone feels they have a right to run and they don't think how can they coalesce how can they create coherent political parties with a common agenda and give people fewer options because at the end of the day too many candidates can often marginalize those who might be better for the long term interests of the country. Economically I think it is the area that I worry the most about Tunisia this was after all a revolution that was started for economic reasons Mohamed Bouazizi was not standing up because he wanted a liberal democracy or democracy at all he was standing up for the dignity of a job and that's really what it's ultimately about. And I went a year later to Sidi Bouzid to see what had happened to talk to the young people and to see the extraordinary monument in honor of Bouazizi and all the young we're talking about they still didn't have jobs and I think we're seeing this across the Arab world and that the instability ahead will be defined not just by demographics not just by education and access of accessibility to a sense of rights to knowing what's happened elsewhere in the world to know what people have a right in terms of politics but the fact that they can't get those jobs and they tried democracy once, they tried protests and the danger is that they go to, they get lured by extremism in many ways I think the appeal of extremism today is a result of the failure of that very brief democratic window. The World Bank issued a report this week that pointed out that Tunisia needs a lot of really basic reforms that overhaul the system that 50% of the economy is closed off to investment and that in turn limits job creation that creates this cycle that it's really hard to break out of. Corruption, you know, corruption has not gone away. Tunisia is in many ways not as bad as some other countries but it's still a very serious issue. The World Bank said there's heavy state regulation has become a smoke screen for crony practices which is also known as corruption. There's a very weak demand in Europe for Tunisian exports and this of course is fundamental to economic health. This is where Tunisia does rely on western markets, European markets and if that, it's not just what aid we provide it's the Europeans that are so crucial to the success of the Tunisian economy. The third area of concern is the security forces and the judiciary. The security forces have not gone through the kind of reforms necessary in part because of the threat of extremism and this I think goes to what Shayka Nushi was saying very profoundly about getting trapped in this cycle that you get caught up fighting terrorism and you don't get to engage in the democracy that addresses whether it's the sense of people feel that the security forces are protecting them not just going after extremists and this is something that's at the core of the Ancien regime its problem in using its force sometimes whimsically, arbitrarily, unjustly and there's the danger that in fighting terrorism without security force reform that old problem is perpetuated. When it comes to the issue of justice we're finding again that there have been no charges as far as I know filed against those who were responsible for the assassinations last year that there is this gap between what people want and what's being delivered and then finally looking at the region and this is where Tunisia is important as an example but it is also so vulnerable to what's happening in neighboring Libya particularly there was great hope that Libya and Tunisia would have a kind of relationship and the aftermath of their political transformations so that one could provide the expertise and the other the oil resources the oil revenues that these two countries could feed off each other and build a stronger block in North Africa that would be to their mutual benefit and with the tragedy is that the relationship now is Tunisia is taking in a lot of Libyan refugees there's the spillover of arms, the seepage of extremists across the border and that the two countries are destabilizing each other in a tragic way President Marzuki was at the United Nations last week and spoke and I was up there as well and I was struck particularly by one of his quotes he said in fighting ISIS without addressing the roots of the problem it seems to me as a physician as he is to take the symptoms but not cure the disease and I think that's the problem you fight extremism but you're not dealing with the root causes that created the upheaval, the unrest in the beginning and as a result you perpetuate even deepened you know on this I'll close with this because I know you're really all here to hear what Shayka Nushi has to say having spent most of my professional life covering the Islamic world, the Middle East I have to say that I feel exhausted at the moment in trying to explain that Islam and democracy actually are compatible and I think Americans feel rather exhausted by it as well right now there was a sense after 9-11 it took a while for people to understand that Al Qaeda was something different that Al Qaeda didn't reflect the will of the majority of Muslims or the majority of the Arab world but with the rise of ISIS with the extraordinary numbers that are flocking to its cause I think that issue becomes even larger than it was in the aftermath of 9-11 Al Qaeda was much smaller than ISIS is, it didn't have territory and I think the fear that the practice of beheadings whether there have been 9 beheadings in the Sinai as well that groups that are not part of ISIS but this is the new tactic that the idea of barbarity is something that haunts us and is very hard to convince a lot of Americans that it's worth yet another investment in this part of the world I fear that Americans are going to be very impatient when it comes to results and I think tragically the ISIS war is going to be far longer than anything we've fought so far and so I wish you well because I think you've been saying a lot of the right things for a long time but I think making the case is going to be harder and harder and harder So making that case, that's exactly why we won't have this conversation and give Sheikh Tanouchi the opportunity to make this case because I agree with Robin that it needs to be made and this is why we are so pleased to have Sheikh Anishin, you mentioned in your remarks that President Obama at the UN singled out Tunisia as a model and this is as you've indicated democracy is the answer to a lot of the problems that Robin has talked about Last night in an interview on 60 Minutes, President Obama elaborated on this theme that we've been talking about here and he opined that the conflict between Shia and Sunni in the Islamic world is not just the main source of conflict and USIP cares about conflict this is what we do here, we try to address conflict and President Obama said that the biggest source of conflict not just in the Middle East but in the world was this Shia-Sunni conflict, tension you as one of the preeminent Islamic scholars, philosophers, spokesmen will have views on this how would you evaluate that claim that it's the largest source of conflict in the world? Yes, the conflict is very serious and very dangerous it can threaten the Muslim Ummah, Muslim unity this problem can disturb the regime not in, not I think it's, this conflict cannot shape or shape the constitute real element of war Shia is a Muslim minority between 10% or 15% of Muslim they live during the Islamic history as part of Muslim nation, Muslim Ummah, Muslim civilization so this problem can affect Muslim unity and affect the regime but it can be solved through dialogue, through mixed, mixed recognize or exchange recognize, mutual recognize between two parts I think the problem is the extremism, the Sunni extremism and the Shia extremism but because the plurality within Islam is acceptable during Islamic history all fractions, all minorities, all madhhab have been coexist because in Islam there isn't any spokesman, there isn't any notion of church no spokesman of God in earth so there is free interpretation of Islamic texts so from Islam many, many sort of interpretation many, Islam can be reference of unlimited interpretation and unlimited ideologies and parties so the problem is not the reason Shia in the regime or Sunni problem is extremism extremism means pretending that Islam is pretending that this fraction or this group is representative of God in earth and he can legitimize using violence against others who don't share his views so all Muslim has to fight the extremism because extremism is the base of tourism and because the society is plural, Islam is plural any sort of pretending that there is this interpretation of Islam is the only one accepted so he can make or constitute base of extremism, base of terrorism the sort of terrorism and extremism is not danger for Islam is not danger against the west but danger for Islam also because extremism seed the fragmentation, seed the element of war within the Ummah Muslim nation cannot be unified only through plurality of interpretation so for democracy can I just say one thing? you know I admire you for saying that but I'm not sure that is a belief shared by some of your brethren when I look at a place like Saudi Arabia which has a very narrow interpretation of Islam and is not pluralistic in its tolerance of not only others within the faith its own Shiite community but when it comes to Christians or Jews, I mean Jews are not allowed in Saudi Arabia you have to declare what your religion is on your visa application that I've been there for religious holidays and they don't allow people to even have a Christmas tree if they work they happen to be foreigners who work at the Aramco complex for example they don't allow non-Muslims to be buried in their soil that the idea of tolerance is one that may be enshrined in the faith but it is not practiced in many parts of the Islamic world today and following up that, so why is it that Tunisia does demonstrate that tolerance as Robin says, it's not universal it's not universal in the rest of the world for that matter but in Tunisia more so, what is it about the Tunisian society, history, culture that enables this democracy to work? I think that Tunisian society is the most Arab society, the most unified and homogenous, homogenous Tunisia has the same religion, the same language, the same race so it makes the revolution in Tunisia easier this unity because bin Ali is isolated finally and he didn't find any part of the society who is linked with him like for example the Alawit in Syria, they linked with Assad so 10% or 50% they consider that the future is linked with the ruler so they fight with him until without limit but in Tunisia the ruler bin Ali finds himself finally very isolated because Tunisia has no minorities so there isn't any problem of conflict between Shia and Sunnah in Tunisia because very tiny minorities, 500 or 1000 persons they don't constitute any real plurality so I don't know exactly what happened in Arabia-Saudi but I know that there is a Shia in Arabia-Saudi also there is part of Saudia constituted by Shia and many fractions of Shia in Arabia-Saudi there is coexistence in Arabia-Saudi between Shia and Sunnah there isn't any sort of war in Arabia-Saudi in religious war and there is Sufism also within Sunnah, there is many Madhhab the dominated one is Hanbali but there are other Madhhab in Arabia-Saudi also can I ask one question? please, Robin and then we will turn to you so we're glad to have your questions, but Robin go ahead you spoke eloquently about extremism and the war against extremism the United States is looking for allies to support the coalition against ISIS would you support Tunisia playing a role, whether it's through providing some military role or playing a political role? should it actively join this new coalition? why or why not? we don't need to join this war because we are in this war we are in against ours already we are, last year, the Na'va government considered Ansar-Sharia as a fraction of Al-Qaeda as a terrorist group and declared war against this fraction so we are in this war against the terrorism because Ansar-Sharia belong to Al-Qaeda, to the ISIS also alright, let me put that question a different way so we are occupied with ours but there still is a coalition and the US is looking for formal support from the Arab world as a sign of legitimacy so do you support the US military action against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria? I said we are fighting against the terrorism in our country we are occupied if we succeed to liberate our, to save our experience from this disease it's a good part of this battle but I still ask you you got the answer, you got the answer he didn't answer my question we have an investor here as well okay, so let me ask you if you have questions you can follow on Robin's question if you want let's go right here, right next to here yes sir if you'll state your name I'm Ahmed Adin Ahmad with the Minerative Freedom Institute Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh I wanted to ask you about the comment you made in your formal remarks welcoming foreign aid before waiting for conditions to change so that investment would be, you know, attracted and I'm asking you do you think that that kind of policy might not, might remove the incentives from both the government and the people to make the reform, economic reforms that are necessary in order to make economic prosperity successful I think that what, like what Robin said the revolution in Tunisia is made by youth and employed they haven't job, they revolt against the social injustice and as long as their needs will not be responded so another revolution can be repeated in Tunisia so the social problem, now we resolve the political problem in Tunisia by accepting, drafting the constitution but now we move toward the social problem and we tackle this problem believing that without solving this problem the demands, real demands of the revolution will not be done, will not be satisfied just to follow up on that question because so we have to invest, I think the West can invest in democracy democracy is worth to be, to invest for it and to encourage investors to come to Tunisia to invest, to assist the Tunisian economy I think this is the best way to confront the terrorism to confront the extremism it's a very good point about the request for investment and your Prime Minister, the current Prime Minister came a couple of months ago and made exactly this point, invest in democracy, invest in the startup in Tunisia the investment from the United States and from the international community both private and public will be important Robin pointed out the economic challenges so part of your message here in Washington and at Yale and at Columbia will be to encourage that kind of economic investments yes, we promise that we will raise the condition of investment to encourage the investors but this problem is very important without solving the social issues the period of democrat transition will be threatened one of the members of your coalition in the parliament would like to make a contribution here my name is Emel Azouz, I'm a deputy at the National Constituent Assembly in my block and I'm also a member of the political board of my party I'd like to build on what Sheikh Rashid has just mentioned and the question is a very good question as well we know that we need now as a nascent democracy we need people, our friends investing in this democracy we need that, but your question is good in the previous period, I mean during these three years we've been busy building the new democracy I mean building it politically through the new constitution the inclusive if you want, the constitution and the consensual government and all of that political basis if you want now if you have a look at the programs, at our programs for the coming elections which will be held on the 26th of October you'll notice that there is a focus on these what you have been just saying now on these reforms reforms for example of the subsidy of the taxation system of the investment system of the banking and financial institution we are aware that the change should start from inside from our, if you want from our wills if you want but then at the same time we know that financially and at the level of AIDS we still need our friends assistance so that as Sheikh Rashid said this revolution exploded because of people yearning for food on the table for jobs etc. unless you meet those expectations you cannot carry on this process, it's a democratic process so I don't know about the other parties but concerning my party and the program of my party there is a real focus on policies, on new policies and this was not easy in a transitional government or transitional period but with an entrenched government and established democracy and established government this would be much easier okay I mean real and structural reforms yes right back here please and right up on right here, thank you coming here right Mohamed Wafa from the NBN I have a question about the future of NAHDA NAHDA had pledged not to introduce a candidate in the presidential election how do you fathom the NAHDA's rule in the near future in the two or three or four years to come would be more involvement in the dealings of government or the NAHDA will be a movement that only introduces ideas and some new understanding of the political scene this is my first question second one I will make it very quick about the Labour Syndicate in the last couple of years there was more rule and actually effective one during the political crisis in Tunisia do you think the Labour Syndicate will have more rule in the coming years or other parties and factors might be introduced like the military thank you very much NAHDA has not presented a presidential candidate why even NAHDA is the main party as so far NAHDA is the first party in Tunisia according to the last elections the next elections what will be happen I think that NAHDA will steal the main party or among the main party I think the main party in Tunisia why NAHDA abstain abstain of presenting a candidate because we believe that our country still in period of transition so in the normal democracy with 51% you can rule legitimate but in period of transition is not enough the government has to base to on very vast majority Ibn Khaldun said Asabiya Qawiyya government has to bigotry so if we NAHDA as the main party if we succeed to gain the majority in the parliament and we will have a right to point the prime minister and the government what left for others so we will be find ourselves in Egyptian scenario we will face sort of polarization in the society polarization is very danger for transitional democracy so we control our desires we control we prevent ourselves from going to the stage of domination we prevent our movement to dominate the scene because dominate the scene is constitute the real danger for the transitional period which we are so we are very keen to sharing power with the main parties even with the main social forces like trade unions and chamber of commerce so it's because we frame we we prevent ourselves from going to the presidency if I can just follow up on that and then I know we have a question right here so Cairo Asepsi the leader of Nida Tunis another strong party in Tunisia will certainly challenge all of the electoral outcomes so there will be a real democracy a real competition there but building on your following up on your point about 51% is not good enough in a transitional democracy you need a broader so if in the election on the 26th of October in the parliamentary election it's pretty close and the polls indicate that Nida Tunis another pretty close how do you get this broader coalition we are ready to cooperate with the fruits of ballot box the results of ballot box without any veto against anyone Mr. Asepsi sometimes said that he will not share power with Islamists we never said that we are ready to share power with the results of the ballot box because this is the will we have to respect the will of our people if the people elect two or three or five parties we have to cooperate with them because this is the interest of Tunisia the process of democracy the success of this process is more important for us than than the than the Nahva interests than our party because if the process continue if we are we will not in the government this time we will be in government in other time in other time but if the process collapse we will move from the power to the prison yes ma'am thank you very much I have two quick questions Robin put the onus on you saying you have to continue making the case it's very difficult etc etc my question to you is it your experience it's your sentiment that people on the other side is hearing the case and here I am thinking in particular about the US you are going to the State Department after this we saw President Obama meeting with President Morsi President Sisi sorry last week something he didn't do with President Morsi two years ago how does that make you feel do you have any reflection on this was there something that sort of went through your head when you saw that and secondly we are all putting all our money on Tunisia this is the model case democracy and you have explained why it was a success at the same time Tunisia is the country that has most foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria more than Saudi Arabia how do you explain that I think that political of CSA in the real politics sometimes can lead opposition some opposition which can be seen is not acceptable like for example cooperation between the United States and the system or the regime of Sisi Sisi is dictator he made coup d'etat against elected president real politics can push the president to this stage we can understand that in politics but I think this is this behavior can send very negative message to the Muslim youth that democracy is not absolute system absolute values if Islamist gain the majority gain through the power through elections coup d'etat against them can be accepted but if coup d'etat made by another fraction it will be refused so I think supporting system Sisi regime can send very negative message to the Muslim youth to the Islamist everywhere real politics can push, can justify or can do this act but I don't think that in long term is good the second part of the question was more Tunisians more Tunisians are in Iraq and Syria and most and more of them they have been stopped in the Tunisian border minister of interiors, Tunisian minister of declare that he stopped about 7000 Tunisian youth stop them in the border prevent them from going to the Iraq or Syria or Afghanistan or Somalia or any feat of battle why these peaceful people Tunisian people how these fruits how these young people mobilized to participate in saying with extremist groups its results of Ben Ali regime this youth have not been grow up or educated within the revolution but before the revolution one Ben Ali regime eradicate any sort of religiosity even the prayer or wearing hijab all religious behavior has been banned during Ben Ali regime so the milieu have been prepared to this generation and this generation have been attracted by Qaeda by extremism through channels through internet but I think that extremism has no future in Tunisia because Tunisian people usually is peaceful people and united and there isn't any justification now in Tunisia to educate a new generation linked with extremism so this phenomenon is marginalized this margin group and the majority vast majority about 94% of Tunisia have signed drafted the constitution Hi, I'm Ed Badir with United Voices Robin mentioned that the case that you're trying to make investment in democracy and Islamist being in democracy and democracy can become more harder and that Americans are growing tired of it but has it been your experience as the United States investing in democracy in the Muslim world or is it an obstacle to democracy some of the United States partners especially in the Gulf and throughout the Muslim world seem to be on the side of dictatorship is that investing in democracy and what can be done about it especially as you mentioned and do you think that ISIS is a direct result of America's failed policies in Iraq and Syria that has led to producing something like ISIS by backing Nouriel Maliki who was not democratic and eventually it led to that and will the same thing potentially happen in Egypt and even Tunisia if democracy is reversed and the West has seen a supporting dictatorship is that the root cause of extremism or is it Islam as I said the tourism in the regime is the heritage of despotism Mubarak and Ben Ali and Al-Assad and Qaddafi and Ben Ali and Maliki these despots seed the heritage in the regime they didn't far left they didn't leave any space of freedom any space of hope for this so they went to the weapons as a response they considered because there is lack of education also so it's very easy to mobilize these people these young people who hopeless they haven't any hope any real education so they respond or they accept they receive the discourse of simplify discourse of Al-Qaeda of the extremism ISIS so we have to don't accept that only or through the military or security means can solve this problem only this problem cannot solve only through mixed of medicine among it I'm playing the rule and fighting against who take weapons but education social also social needs has to has to be responded so this problem is complicate problem cannot be solved through simple mixed we have time for one more question here and then Robin if you would like to say anything and then she can see the final word please thank you my name is Ali Ramadhan Abou Zakouk I'm an elected member of the House of Representatives in Libya the one who is boy cutting toprock just to make it clear Sheikh Rashid it's always good to hear you I like you as a neighbor and as a leader of the you know the Maghrib Union how do you look at the Libyan situation and what kind of suggestions that you may suggest to solve the Libyan crisis our brother Abou Zakouk I know him from more than 25 years ago in Washington also in Virginia Libya is living now in sort of chaos and Tunisia's Tunisia situation is affected by our neighbors about one million one and a half million Libyan are in Tunisia now they living peacefully without any any problem because there is many many relations social and relation between the two people I think Libya revolution is different from Tunisia revolution because the Tunisia revolution was peacefully one but the Libyan has people forced to use violence against the former regime so once the weapons become part of the politics the situation will be complicated so the people who now take the weapons don't like to leave it and to dialogue in Tunisia our problems have been solved through dialogue in Libya there is another element is the army the weapons but I think Tunisia Libyan people is unified also and it has a real chance to reach its unity and its peaceful life inshallah I am optimist with Libya but I am not optimist with Syria and Iraq another topic I defer to Sheikh Anushi the only thing I will say the stark difference between Libya and Tunisia when I was in Libya shortly after my friend Chris Stevens was assassinated I remember the Prime Minister telling me that there was an average of five weapons for every Libyan including every newborn and that is in stark contrast and also that period when during eight months of fighting against a regime I think you see the great thing about Tunisia you don't see arms as an instrument of political power or expression and I think that is to be commended to be commended and supported and here at the Institute of Peace where we look for nonviolent means of solving disputes is a great example of that you need your efforts we are glad to help but the Tunisians that is true there is a lot to be done and we are very pleased to be able to sponsor this kind of discussion with this model of success and the international community including the United States should support and I know you are going across the street to encourage that kind of support so please join me in thanking both Robin and Sheikh Anushi for our great work