Tunisia - Islamist Group Granted License - NYTimes.com Tunisia's government has granted a license to the hard-line Islamist group Hizb al-Tahrir to allow it to become a legal political party, making it the second such group to join the political mainstream after renouncing violence. Hizb al-Tahrir seeks to re-establish the caliphate, a defunct form of Islamic empire. It does not endorse democracy or take part in elections, focusing mostly on preaching. The group is banned in several countries and was repressed in Tunisia before last year's revolution ousted the secular dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and brought the current moderate Islamist Ennahda party into power. In May, the government granted a political license to another Salafi Islamist party, Islah Front, drawing criticism from secularists.