ABSTRACT
On attempting a retrospective analysis of the history and discourse of al-Nahda, one finds oneself necessarily addressing two fundamental questions, both of which at first sight may have been deemed irrelevant. Many would maintain that attempting a definition of Islam should not be problematic. None the less, it has proved to be a major source of contention for those movements which have dedicated their efforts to defending Islam and implementing it. The intellectual project of al-Afghani and 'Abduh at the beginning of the twentieth century seemed irrelevant to the new activists of Islam. It was people such as al-Banna, al-Mawdudi, Qutb and Khomeini who, at a later stage, offered the guiding models for the Tunisian Islamist. It is also interesting to note that, in spite of all of its claims, the Tunisian Islamic movement has rarely concerned itself with the classical model of Islam, as represented in classical Islamic literature.
