The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) has announced that it has given its 2014 Muslim Democrat of the Year Award to the Nahdha Bloc in the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly. According to the announcement:
Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy
June 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) has bestowed its 2014 Muslim Democrat of the Year Award to the Nahdha Bloc in the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly (NCA).
During its 15th Annual Conference, CSID president Dr. Radwan Masmoudi announced to the Nahdha Bloc leader, Mr. Sahbi Atig, that the prize was awarded ‘in recognition of your role in building democracy and preserving it in the face of hardship, for helping write a progressive, democratic, and consensual constitution, and for opening a window into a century of reason, freedom, human rights, and democracy in Tunisia and in the Arab World.’
Dr. William Lawrence, the conference chair added that ‘for more than a decade, CSID has recognized exceptional efforts made in advancing freedom, democracy, and human rights in the Muslim world. We believe that the Nahdha Bloc has succeeded with its partners in achieving a consensus that paved the way to ratifying a remarkable and enlightened constitution for all Tunisians.’
The ceremony was attended by many dignitaries including Mr. Aly Larayedh, former Prime Minister, Mr. Nejib Chebbi, leader of Joumhouri Party, and William Roebuck, U.S Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs.
Egyptian writer Amany Maged has describedthe relationship between the Tunisian Ennahda party and the Global Muslim Brotherhood. The Ennahda Party is headed by Rachid Ghannouchi (many spelling variations) who can best be described as an independent Islamist power center who is also strongly tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood and who has a long history of ties to Palestinian extremism and calls for terrorism. The GMBDW reported on a dinner held last February by the CSID to honor Mr. Ghannouchi that was attended by numerous US government officials.
The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) was founded in 1998 in what appears to have been a cooperative effort among the US Muslim Brotherhood, the US State Department and Georgetown University academic Dr. John Esposito who served during the 1990’s as a State Department “foreign affairs analyst” and who has at least a dozen past or present affiliations with global Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas organizations. Our predecessor publication reported in June 2013 reported that Radwan Masmoudi, the founder and President of CSID, had lost his bid to become the Tunisian ambassador to the U.S. Our predecessor publication had reported in January 2013 that Masmoudi, was being considered for the post. In the media report discussed in that post, Masmoudi also acknowledged for the first time that he has been a part of the Ennahda movement since the 1980’s. Both the National Endowment for the Humanities (NED) and the U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP) have supported CSID over the years.
