Nahdah, Hizb al-

Nahdah, Hizb al-

(Arabic; “Renaissance Party”)

Tunisian political party founded in 1981 by Rachid al-Ghannouchi and Abdelfattah Mourou ('Abd al-Fattah Muru) as the Islamic Tendency Movement. Its platform called for a fairer distribution of economic resources, the establishment of multiparty democracy, and the injection of more religiosity in daily life; it claims to seek these goals through non-violent means. After 1984 the party was reorganized to operate clandestinely as well as publicly; it took its current name in 1988. Though the government of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali has treated party members less harshly than did that of Habib Bourguiba, it remains illegal.