Public Freedoms in the Islamic State

Reviewed by: Ammar Khan Nasir – Gift University, Pakistan

Published by: New Haven, USA: Yale University Press, 2022, 570pp. ISBN: 978-0300211528.

Rached Ghannouchi, a figure synonymous with the intertwining of Islamic thought and democratic principles, presents his seminal work, Public Freedoms in the Islamic State (al-ḥurriyyāt al-ʿāmmah fī al-dawlah al-islāmiyyah) against a backdrop of profound political and intellectual evolution. His journey from the co- founder of Tunisia’s Ennahda party—originally the Islamic Tendency Movement in the 1970s—to a vocal proponent of a pluralistic political Islam, reflects a remarkable transition from resistance against the authoritarian regime of Habib Bourguiba to advocating for a state grounded in Islamic law yet embracing free elections and equal rights for all citizens, irrespective of faith. This book emerges not only as a testament to Ghannouchi’s scholarly rigor during his imprisonment in the 1980s but also as a beacon of his later experiences in the UK, where he furthered his vision of a Muslim democracy.