What Tunisia urgently needs, is freedom and the building of a real democracy.

Just like in medicine, when the normal medicine no longer works, one resorts to surgery. And the revolutions is like the surgery: Its painful, and its the last resort for nations.

I believe democracy will succeed in Tunisia, but I also believe that it will succeed in the other Arab Spring countries.

I hope that with the success of the transition to democracy in Tunisia that we will export to Egypt a working democratic model.

Al-Nahda is a movement; it is not just a small party.

I will not be standing for office. I'm nearing 70; there are younger people within our movement. I just wish to contribute intellectually to the historic process of taking Tunisia from the era of repression to one of democracy.

We in Tunisia have no problem with respecting other peoples religion, and we have a long tradition of that.