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Riot police stand guard after Friday prayers near the Al Fatah mosque in Tunis yesterday |
But fugitive Abu Iyadh, chief of Ansar al-Shariah (Partisans of Islamic Law), warned that there could be another explosion of anger after two Salafists who took part in a Tuesday attack on police posts in the area lost their lives.
“It is possible that a lot of our youth will not be satisfied by an appeal for calm after the events in Douar Hicher,” Abu Iyadh said, referring to the quarter of the Manouba suburb.
“I call on you to heed the words of God and to rely upon patience and prayer,” the fugitive leader said in a video posted on the Internet.
But while calling for calm and highlighting what he said has been Salafist patience, Abu Iyadh warned the authorities of an “explosion of anger”.
“Our brothers who died as martyrs gave their lives for the Ummah (worldwide Muslim community) ... and you should be sure that the blood of our brothers will sooner or later bring about the installation of God’s law.”
Army, police and national guard vehicles and several dozen men deployed on roads leading to Douar Hicher before weekly prayers, and there were no reports of any unrest in the area.
Salafists have used Friday prayers in the past to rally their faithful and carry out attacks.
One of those who lost his life this week was the imam of Manouba’s Ennour mosque. The man chosen by the congregation to succeed him, who does not have the government’s approval, declared war on the Islamist ruling party Ennahda during a television talk show on Thursday night.
“I am going to make war on these people because the interior minister and the leaders of Ennahda have chosen the US as their god—it is the Americans who are writing the laws and the new constitution,” Nasreddine Aloui said in an appearance by video link on Ettounsiya television.