Rachid Ghannouchi observed that by focusing solely on Western philosophy, the philosophy lessons addressed primarily the psychological and sociological problems of Western societies and offered a set of solutions that were reflective of the social and religious upheavals and particular situations experienced by these societies. In his article ("Barnamij al-Falsafah Wa Jil ad-Daya" reads "The philosophy curriculum and the generation of loss", Kuwait-1992) Ghannouchi sought to demonstrate that by emphasizing Marx, Freud, and Sartre, the philosophy curriculum served to discredit religion. The evidence, according to Ghannouchi, was that no mention of Islamic societies is to be found anywhere in Marx's analysis.
How could Marx's theory be considered a universal law applicable, as suggested by the school curriculum in Tunisia, to the history of humanity? How could Marx's theory that religion is people's opium and a barrier hindering social revolution against capitalism be considered a general rule applicable to every religion while such perception is the product of the particular experience of European societies, an experience marred by the collaboration of the Church with feudal lords and their collective endeavor to dissuade the people from rebelling against oppression? Ghannouchi then applied the same line of questioning to other Western philosophers. He asked: ―How could Freud's theory, that whatever befalls humans of psychological disorders is sexually related, be considered a scientific theory when it was largely a reflection of the state of mind of an oppressed Jew in a majority Christian society that debased sexual desire?
[Excerpts from "Rachid Ghannouchi: A Democrat within Islamism" by Azzam Tamimi]
