The rise of electoral Salafism in Egypt and Tunisia: the use of democracy as a master frame

ABSTRACT

Following the outbreak of the Arab Spring revolutions, Salafi parties have been established in Egypt and Tunisia. They tend to have ultra-conservative views on social and gender issues, but have denounced the use of violence. The al-Nour party in Egypt and the Reform Front in Tunisia have advocated the implementation of Sharia by democratic means. They have chosen to campaign through the parliament and within the constitution. However, their participation in the political system of post-revolutionary Egypt and Tunisia is a puzzle given Salafism's rejection of democracy. The article will utilise framing theory to understand why electoral Salafis have endorsed democratic practices to gain support and survive politically. It will first explain the content of the democracy master frame. Then the article will describe the political transformation of Salafism in Egypt and Tunisia. Finally, it will analyse how Salafis have adopted the democracy master frame to achieve their political goals.

KEYWORDS:

• Salafism
• Egypt
• Tunisia
• democracy
• elections
• Al-Nour

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments that greatly contributed to improving the paper. This article is part of a larger research project titled The New Political Islam: Human Rights, Democracy and Justice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Emmanuel Karagiannis http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6634-3511

Notes

1 Many Salafis believe that the Quran prohibits Muslims from overthrowing – even by democratic means – the ruler as long as he allows them to perform their religious duties. Indeed, the Quran demands from Muslims to ‘obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority from among you’ (4: 59). The believers can only disobey the ruler if he asks them to commit sinful acts. Those engaged only in da‘wa and education activities have used this verse to justify their non-involvement in politics.